Shock spread through the Jewish community of Chernivtsi, Ukraine, on Thursday evening after a mentally unstable man set fire to the famed Sadigura shul known as the “Kloyz Kadisha,” causing extensive damage. After police apprehended him, it was revealed that just a month ago, he had attempted to ignite a local church, lehavdil elef alfei havdalos.

The incident occurred when the man entered the shul in the Sadigura district of Chernivtsi, just as the guard stepped away. Police rushed to the scene and quickly detained the arsonist.

“This is a harrowing and heartbreaking event,” said Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenstein, the city’s rabbi and shliach. “This shul is one of the most significant buildings in the world of Chassidus.”

Rabbi Glitzenstein stressed that Chernivtsi is generally a peaceful environment for Yidden. “We do not experience antisemitism here. Jewish institutions are well protected, and there are serious efforts to prevent any sign of antisemitic activity. The residents here live together with a sense of harmony.”

The historic shul was rededicated nearly ten years ago following a full restoration. Its reopening took place about 180 years after it was originally built by Reb Yisroel of Ruzhin (“Der Heiliger Ruzhiner”), founder of the Sadigura dynasty, and roughly a century after it was abandoned during World War I.

Four generations of Sadigura Rebbes led their court from this kloyz, described by historians as one of the largest and most magnificent chassidic structures of its time. The building stood empty after it was deserted in 1914 during the upheaval of the First World War.