Historic Night For The Bukharian Community

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On Tuesday night, April 5th, the city of Elad, Israel, was full of energy and excitement. The United Worldwide Chief Bukahrian Rabbinate of Bukharian Jewry, headed by Rabbi Hillel Chaimov organized another memorable evening that showcased the Torah scholarship of the Bukharian community.

This event featured dozens of leading Rabbis of the Bukharian community together with many special guests including HaRav David Yosef shlit”a, head of Kollel Yechave Da’at, and HaRav Masoud Ben Shimon, Chief Sefardic Rabbi of Bnei Brak.

Rav Yitzchak Yosef, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, was unable to attend due to prior commitments, though he did deliver a special one hour class to members of the Bukharian community earlier that day at a gathering headed by Rabbi Ilan Meirov, in honor of publishing his newest book on the laws of Pesach with insights to the Bukharian traditions. Chief Rabbi Yosef showered members of our community with blessings for all the life changing work they are involved with.

Similarly, Chacham Shalom Cohen, Rosh Yeshiva Porat Yosef, who was just released from a stint in the hospital could not attend in person yet shared a special video blessing the members of the community.

A Highlight of the event was the first public appearance to the Israeli Bukharian community by Chief Rabbi of the Bukharian community in USA and Canada, HaRav Yitzchak Yisraeli. The Chief Rabbi delivered an in depth analysis on some of the most complex halachic topics, leaving the hundreds of yeshiva students and Rabbis in attendance happy to know that the leadership of Bukharian Jewry in North America is in the hands of a true Torah scholar who is well versed in Shas and Poskim.

At the conclusion of the event, each student received stipends to assist them with their upcoming Passover needs along with a selection of books authored by Bukharian Rabbis on various Halachic topics.

When all was said and done, the Bukharian community will remember this as a night that showed the world that communism may have caused great damage to the our ancestors, but they did not destroy us. We kept that spiritual flame burning and today we are seeing how the torch of this once downtrodden community, is now spreading Torah both far and near.