On April 20, 2026, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Reuven Asman shared a story that, in wartime, carries far more weight than a routine communal visit. At the Central Synagogue of Ukraine in Kyiv, better known as the Brodsky Synagogue, Jewish chaplain David Milman welcomed officers from the chaplaincy service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who came to acquaint themselves with Jewish tradition and the life of the Jewish community.

This was not a formal courtesy call arranged for appearances. It was a meaningful encounter inside one of the most visible Jewish religious spaces in Ukraine, at a moment when the country continues to fight for its survival.

The setting itself mattered. The meeting took place in Kyiv’s Central Synagogue, widely associated with Rabbi Asman and known publicly as a major center of Jewish life in Ukraine. That gave the event a seriousness no neutral venue could have offered.

What the chaplains did inside the synagogue

Among the visitors were representatives of Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, and Protestant clergy. They were not simply greeted and photographed. They were given a tour of the synagogue and introduced to the foundations of Jewish law and custom, to prayer, to the rhythm of Jewish holidays, and to the way the Jewish community of Ukraine lives today under the pressure of full-scale war.

That detail is essential.

What took place was not symbolic multicultural choreography. It was an effort to understand a living religious tradition from within, in its own sacred space, through direct contact with the people who preserve it. The visitors were shown not only........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)