Kharkov update.

Our firstborn along with the rest of the group after a 24 hour shlep have finally made it to the city of Kharkov (my mother's birth city). Thankfully, (as you all know, we Russians do everything together as a family see the video at Stern), we made our way to the airport, had a pleasure of spending a couple of hours with Avital before her flight, and gave her an unlocked cell phone. So, now I get updates via text messages from the very heart of the jewmanitarian humanitarian mission. Apparently, they were having dinner at a "great Greek place in the center of the city" very late at night. Another new fact that came to light is that Dmitry is still one of the most popular names in Ukraine, who knew?

updates to follow


Наша лягушка-путешественница забросала меня СМСками из ридной Украины. После почти 24-х часового путешествия, группа все-таки добралась до город-героя Харькова и их даже покормили в греческом ресторане в центре города. И как выяснилось, Дмитрий все еще одно из самых популярных имен на Украине.

about the news

Always respected Ted Koppel
"We celebrate truth as a virtue, but only in the abstract. What we really need in our search for truth is a commodity that used to be at the heart of good journalism: facts - along with a willingness to present those facts without fear or favor."

Avital update

Only yesterday my mom's cousin asked to find out what happened to the Choral Synagogue in Kharkov, and this morning I got a text that the group is at the synagogue, even before I could forward the question.

The Kharkov Choral Synagogue was completed in 1913. The style of the building combined Romano Gothic and Mavritanic styles, which the Architectural Society of Kharkov viewed as 'reminiscent of the huge walls of ancient Palestine'.

During the Communist years, the synagogue was closed and converted into a public club and then into a sports complex. Only in 1990, with the arrival of the city's Chief Rabbi Moshe Moskowitz, was the Synagogue returned to the local Jewish community.

Mincha at the Kharkov Choral Synagogue

Drobitsky Yar is a ravine south east of Kharkov, Ukraine. In December 1941, Nazi troops invading the Soviet Union began killing local inhabitants over the following year. At the end of this period, some 30,000 people, mainly Jews, were killed. Notably on December 15, 1941, when the temperature was −15 degrees Celsius, over 15,000 Jews were shot. Nazis also executed Russians, Ukrainians and Armenians at this site.




Только вчера мамина кузина попросила передать Тале, чтоб она узнала что сейчас находится в Хоральной синагоге в Харькове. Как ни странно, синагога, сообщила Таля из самого здания, не успев даже получить вопрос.

Отмолились в Харьковской хоральной синагоге и поехали на поминальную службу у мемориала в Дробицком Яру, где 15 декабря 1941 года 15,000 евреев были убиты, а всего за год около 30,000 евреев. Там же убивали русских, украинцев и армян.