Faith, war and a $1,800 taxi: 46,000 Hasidic pilgrims return to Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah

For several days each year, the pilgrimage transforms Uman, a city of just over 80,000 people in central Ukraine. Streets fill with Hebrew signs, temporary schools and medical facilities appear, and checkpoints control access to the pilgrimage area.

Russia's full-scale war has made getting there considerably harder.

With Ukraine's airspace closed to civilian flights, most pilgrims travel through Poland, Romania or Moldova before continuing overland to Uman.

Just days before Rosh Hashanah, Russian drones struck the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova. Yet many of the pilgrims hromadske spoke to appeared undeterred by the risks.

Eliezer was making his 24th trip to Ukraine and said he had not heard about the attack.

“Listen, I believe in God. If He wants me to die, I will die, so it doesn't matter,” he said.

For Eliezer, the journey is an essential part of his faith. Rabbi Nachman, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement, died in Uman in 1810, and his grave has since become one of the world's most important pilgrimage sites for his followers.

“He told us: ‘Every New Year, come to me, ask me what you want me to ask God for, and I will do it,’” Eliezer said.

A long and expensive journey

Crossing into Ukraine can mean waits of between three and 10 hours, pilgrims told hromadske. Many travel in groups to share the increasingly high cost.

Eliezer said a taxi to Uman cost his group of six about $1,800.

“Not hryvnias - dollars!” he emphasized.

Air raid sirens do not particularly frighten him, he said, because he is accustomed to living with war in Israel.

“I was in Odesa, I saw fires and a lot of destruction, but … it's all right,” he said.

Finding somewhere to stay in Uman during the pilgrimage can be almost as challenging as getting there.

With apartments and hotels packed, some visitors set up makeshift camps beside apartment buildings, sleeping in tents, old cars or under rain shelters.

Two families hromadske met paid more than 50,000 hryvnias (about $1,200) for outdoor space where they could camp. They had a refrigerator and a lamp - and, nearby, two ducks brought in to entertain the children.

“It gives children joy in life, you understand? They see the duck - and it is joy!” said Moshe, one of the pilgrims.

Asked whether the bird might eventually become dinner, he protested.

“No, no, we buy food at the supermarket! He's beautiful! The children come to play with him.”

Moshe, who repairs air conditioners for a living, said he saves throughout the year for the pilgrimage and spends thousands of dollars on the trip.

“This is our faith,” he said.

A city transformed

The arrival of tens of thousands of visitors reshapes Uman for several days.

Access to the main pilgrimage area is controlled through checkpoints, with entry limited to registered local residents and pilgrims carrying official passes. Police officers from other Ukrainian regions are deployed to help maintain security.

This year, 17 Israeli police officers also traveled to Uman to work alongside their Ukrainian counterparts.

Israeli police spokesperson Michael Zingerman said there had been no serious incidents involving pilgrims during the celebration, although four people were detained after small amounts of drugs were found in their possession.

The pilgrimage also brings substantial revenue to the city. Last year, the tourist tax paid by visitors brought a record 20 million hryvnias (about $480,000) into Uman's municipal budget.

Local attitudes toward the annual influx are mixed. Some residents complain about disruption and higher prices while the pilgrims are in town. Others welcome the visitors and the atmosphere they bring.

Larysa, a local psychology lecturer, described Hasidism as a “religion of optimism.”

“They live by sustaining themselves through this joy, this celebration,” she said. “We feel that it is a holiday. This optimism helps us survive as well.”

Moshe said the pilgrims had also come to pray for peace.

“We feel safe both in Israel and in Ukraine,” he said. “We came here to pray for peace, so that everyone will be well.”

Despite the war, the annual pilgrimage has remained remarkably resilient. According to Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, 46,000 Hasidic pilgrims entered the country for this year's Rosh Hashanah celebrations.