Four years into the brutal war and amid a deepening humanitarian crisis, Jewish communities across Ukraine celebrated Purim 5786 under nearly impossible conditions.

From a Jewish soldier briefly released from the front lines to hear the Megillah in Kyiv, to communities celebrating in darkness and bitter cold in Chernivtsi and Kryvyi Rih, and a massive logistical operation that delivered mishloach manos to tens of thousands across the country, Ukraine’s Jews once again marked Purim with determination and faith.

“This is already our fourth Purim with the background noise of explosions,” one rabbi in Ukraine reflected.

While Jews in Eretz Yisroel also experienced Purim under the shadow of war this year, for Ukraine’s Jewish communities the sounds of explosions have accompanied the reading of Megillas Esther for four consecutive years.

At the central synagogue in Kyiv, alongside the Megillah reading, congregants this year could hear the ominous buzzing of drones and attacks in the skies above the city. Yet despite the tension, one particularly moving moment stood out when Aryeh Leib, a Jewish soldier in Ukrainian uniform, entered the shul after receiving an almost impossible leave from his unit.

Aryeh Leib’s story became a symbol of this year’s Purim.

Only about a month ago, while returning home from an ordinary evening at the synagogue, he was stopped on the street and drafted into the army under an emergency order. Since then, he has been serving in a combat unit, far from the community life that had been central to his daily routine.

Aryeh Leib, who returned to his Jewish roots and underwent bris milah as an adult, had been careful to attend shul every morning and evening. Now, the uniform and weapon replaced the tallis, but his heart remained the same.

“His commander, once he understood the importance of the mitzvah, granted him a rare leave — solely to hear the Megillah,” said Rabbi Simcha Levenharz, a Chabad shliach in Kyiv.

Without even stopping to visit family, Aryeh Leib traveled directly from the front lines to the benches of the synagogue.

“He refused to miss even a single word,” Rabbi Levenharz said. “For him, this was the oxygen he needed in order to continue.”

Celebrating in Darkness

While Kyiv contends with drone attacks, in other cities, the war is felt through severe infrastructure shortages.

In the community of Kryvyi Rih, Purim celebrations required a complex logistical effort.

“For months now, electricity in homes has been available for only three hours a day,” said Rabbi Liron Edri, the community’s rabbi and Chabad shliach. “That means heating systems don’t work during harsh winter weather. Recently, we even suffered a direct drone strike on the mikvah and our home.”

Despite the hardship, the registration for the Purim seudah exceeded expectations, with more than 200 participants seeking a moment of light and joy.

In Chernivtsi, conditions are similarly difficult.

“These days, when it’s dark and cold outside and we have no electricity for more than twenty hours a day, our mission is to increase joy,” said Rabbi Menachem Glitzenstein, the city’s rabbi.

The community organized a large Purim meal for hundreds of Jews, bringing people out of their freezing homes into a warm and welcoming environment.

A Massive Purim Operation

Across the country, Chabad’s humanitarian efforts in Ukraine resembled a large-scale logistical operation.

In recent weeks, 24,000 mishloach manos packages were distributed across 25 major regions and hundreds of isolated villages. The packages included hamantaschen baked in Eretz Yisroel, groggers, and treats, alongside thousands of essential food packages containing poultry, oil, legumes, and other staples.

“There are families who have struggled to make ends meet for years,” organizers explained.

This year, due to the worsening crisis, the packages also included emergency supplies such as generators, fuel, and heating equipment.

“You can’t talk about a Yom Tov when people are freezing in their homes,” they said.

In the cities of Dnipro and Odessa, synagogues were filled to capacity.

In Dnipro’s central synagogue, under the leadership of Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky, hundreds of Jews — men, women, and children in costume — gathered to celebrate together.

In Odessa, the heavily targeted port city, the joy was palpable as participants drew strength from one another under the leadership of Rabbi Avraham Wolff, Chief Rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine.

Although the celebrations ended early in the evening due to the nightly curfew, the hope remained strong in the hearts of many for a modern-day “v’nahafoch hu” — a time when all soldiers, like Aryeh Leib, will return to the synagogue not just for a few hours, but for good.

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