At the Yahrtzeit of Harav Shabsai of Rashkov: Yeshivah in Moldova to Be Named After Him 

By Hamodia Staff

Decades after the Holocaust nearly wiped out the Jewish community in Moldova, a yeshivah dedicated to Torah study will be opened for the first time in Chisinau, Moldova.

The announcement of the yeshivah, to be named after the noted Kabbalist Harav Shabsai of Rashkov, zt”l, was made by Rabbi Pinchas Zaltzman, the Chief Rabbi of Moldova, during the yahrtzeit of the author of Siddur Rav Shabsai, on 21 Sivan. The event was attended by dozens of Jews from Israel and around the world who participated in the special trip in honor of the yahrtzeit of Harav Shabsai of Rashkov.

The special journey to Rashkov was led by Rabbi Yehoshua Sheinfeld, who inspired the crowd with teachings from the niftar.

Rashkov is located in Transnistria, a self-declared autonomous region in Moldova controlled by Russia and not recognized as an independent entity by most of the world.

The Jewish community in Moldova, led by Rabbi Pinchas Zaltzman, has organized the special nesiah for the third consecutive year and is establishing a guest house near the kever to provide hospitality to those who come to the kever throughout the year.

The trip, which culminated at the sacred kever in Rashkov, began in the town of Dubasari at the kever of Harav Mendel of Bar, and also included visits to mass graves of thousands of Bessarabian Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

In Rashkov, the participants also visited the remnants of a centuries-old shul where great Torah scholars once learned and davened.

The journey was accompanied by a group of musicians who performed stirring Chassidic melodies.

At the peak of the journey, participants davened at the holy kever of Harav Shabsai. During the emotional tefillos, Tehillim were recited for the well-being of the Jewish people and the preservation of the Torah world.

Rabbi Pinchas Zaltzman, the Chief Rabbi of Moldova, said, “Walking through the towns of Transnistria, one feels the power of Jewish history that thrived here before the Holocaust. Everywhere you look, there are structures and cemeteries filled with close testimonies of the rich Jewish life that once existed. The Jewish community in Moldova has taken upon itself the responsibility to revive this history and preserve the great heritage, as seen at the kever of Harav Shabsai and other places. In recent years, we have witnessed the flourishing and strengthening of communities across the region, especially in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria.”