Uman: What You Need to Know about the City of Souls

The Two Massacres

Located approximately 130 miles south of Kyiv on the Umanka River, Uman is a well-known city that was part of Poland-Lithuania until the 1793 Partition of Poland that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. For more than a century (1726–1832), it was owned by the prominent Potocki family. (The famous convert, Avraham ben Avraham, was a member of that noble family.)

Uman was first mentioned in historical documents in 1616, but the earliest discussion of the Jewish community was in the early 18th century. The Haidamacks were a violent group of Cossacks and serfs that rebelled against the Polish nobility and banded together to attack cities throughout Ukraine. In 1749, they cold-bloodedly killed many Jews of Uman and burned down part of the town.

In the late 1750’s, Count Franciszek Salęzy Potocki decided to restore Uman. He fostered its development as a commercial center by holding fairs there and rebuilding parts of the city. He built Sofiyivka, a beautiful park in Uman with grand eighteenth-century landscape architecture that has remained until today.

Sofiyivka National Park

Count Potocki permitted 450 Jews to reside in Uman, but their respite was short-lived. In 1768, a new Haidamack rebellion, under the leadership of a peasant Cossack revolutionary, Maksim Zhelezniak, destroyed many Ukrainian towns and estates. After murdering the Jews of Tetiyev, Zhelezniak marched south into Uman on June 19, 1788. In terror, many Poles and Jews had fled to the fortified city of Uman under the protection of Commandant Mladanovitch, assisted by Ivan Gonta. Although some were suspicious that Gonta’s sympathies lay with Zhelezniak, he was sent to fight as the leader of the soldiers anyway. When Gonta joined forces with Zhelezniak and betrayed those who had sent him, the Poles and Jews in Uman joined to fight their mutual enemy. Yet, despite their valiant and desperate efforts, the city fell.

Three thousand remaining Jews gathered in the synagogues and prepared to defend themselves. They were unable to in the face of their bloodthirsty and stronger enemies, and they and all the remaining Jews of the city, as well as many Poles, were killed over a three-day massacre. The massacre began on the 5th of Tammuz and would be observed in the coming years as a fast day, known as the Evil Decree of Uman.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

In the early 19th century, Uman became a center of Hassidism and is most prominently associated with the great Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772 -1810). Rabbi Nachman’s maternal grandmother was the daughter of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Hassidic movement. His father was the son of Reb Nachman of Horodenka, an early Hassidic leader and disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov was one of the most innovative Hassidic Rebbes and founded the Breslov stream of Hassidism, named for the town in Ukraine where Rabbi Nachman lived and taught.

Rabbi Nachman particularly emphasized living Torah life with joy and happiness. One famous saying of Rabbi Nachman is, "It is a great mitzvah to be happy."

The gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

In 1798-99, Rabbi Nachman traveled to Israel through Turkey. He later said that his spiritual understanding was much greater following his trip. After returning to Ukraine, he began teaching students and spreading his unique ideas expressed within the greater framework of Judaism.

Three unique aspects of his teachings are (1) the role of a tzaddik (a very righteous and saintly leader), (2) hisbodedus -- self-secluded Jewish meditation, and (3) storytelling.

His approach regarding a righteous rabbi is that a rebbe can help redeem lost souls, primarily through prayer, even if the person himself is not worthy. The primary work that expresses his ideas is called Likutei Moharan.

Rabbi Nachman innovated the idea to meditate by taking time to be alone with God and speak to Him in one’s own words and about one’s hopes, worries, and dreams.

He innovated the idea to take time to be alone with God and speak to Him in one’s own words and about one’s hopes, worries, and dreams. This should be done in complete isolation, outdoors and at night, but he also acknowledged that it could be practiced anywhere. He taught that it should ideally be practiced for one hour each day and explained that Jews will experience God’s closeness.

Towards the end of his life, Rabbi Nachman began telling stories, viewing it as an effective medium to express the deep thoughts on Judaism he was trying to convey. After he passed away, the stories were translated and published and continue to be explained and elaborated on until today.

Rabbi Nachman settled in Uman a few months before his death from tuberculosis at 38. Many years before, Rabbi Nachman had passed through Uman and told his students he wanted to be buried there. He commented, "The souls of the martyrs (killed in the Uman Massacres) await me.” As he had foretold, he was eventually buried there.

After his passing, his followers decided that as a Rebbe, he was irreplaceable, and they did not appoint a successor. Rabbi Nachman's teachings were published by his disciple Rabbi Nosson and his teachings continue to be taught worldwide today. His grave in Uman’s cemetery remains a place for prayer by Breslov Hassidim and many others, especially on Rosh Hashanah.

Uman in the 19^th Century

Following the partition of Poland, Uman was incorporated into the province of Kyiv. Tax registers show that in 1801 there were 1,895 Jews in the town, but the Jewish population increased rapidly: in 1842 to 4,933; in 1897 to 17,945 (59% of the total population).

Uman’s Old City Library

In 1890 the railway station was opened, which enabled the continued development of local industry and commerce. The Jewish community also continued to grow, and by the start of the 20th century, there were four large shuls and thirteen smaller ones in Uman.

During the Communist Revolution

During the Bolshevik Revolution, the Jews of Uman suffered greatly. In the spring and summer of 1919, troops passing through the city would attack Jews. 400 Jews were killed in a pogrom in May 1919, and 90 more Jews were killed in a later pogrom.

From the Holocaust to Fall of the Iron Curtain

In 1926 there were 22,179 Jews in Uman, making up half of the city’s population. Antireligious campaigns by the communists in 1937 forced the Hassidim of Uman to go into hiding. The Breslover shul was shut down and converted into a metalworking factory.

During World War II, the Nazis gained control of Uman after defeating the Soviets in the Battle of Uman. The situation under the Nazis was far worse than under the communists, and nearly all the Jews of Uman were murdered under their occupation. Today, a monument remains in Uman with a Yiddish inscription in memory of the 17,000 Jewish victims of the Nazis.

Following the war, the Jewish community would slowly dwindle. In 1959, there were 2,200 Jews in Uman, 5% of the total population. By the late 1960’s, the Jewish population was down to 1,000. Today, after the fall of Communism, more than 100 Hasidic families live in Uman year-round

Rosh Hashanah in Uman Today

Today, Uman is renowned as a prayer site where tens of thousands of Jews gather on Rosh Hashanah. This gathering has its source yet in the lifetime of Rabbi Nachman.

Jews in Uman for Rosh Hashanah

Rabbi Nachman urged his followers to spend Rosh Hashanah with him during his lifetime. Hundreds of followers would come to him on Rosh Hashanah, spend the prayer services and meals with him, and listen to the Torah ideas he would teach. Reb Nachman would say, "Rosh Hashanah is my whole mission! I cannot understand how it is that if my followers really believe in me, they are not careful to come to me for Rosh Hashana." He elaborated that during the year, he couldn’t always help those who approached him, but on Rosh Hashanah, he could help them achieve the greatness they were capable of.

When one of his students commented that he preferred to visit the Rebbe after Rosh Hashanah, when there would be more space to pray, eat and sleep, the Rebbe replied, "Whether you eat or don't eat, whether you sleep or don't sleep… just make sure to be with me for Rosh Hashana, no matter what!”

After Rabbi Nachman’s passing, Reb Nosson of Breslov, his foremost disciple, shared with the other students that Rabbi Nachman wanted his Chassidim to continue to “be with him” even after his passing. Reb Nosson encouraged Rabbi Nachman’s followers to continue to gather at Rabbi Nachman’s grave every Rosh Hashanah. He continued to arrange the Rosh Hashanah gatherings in Uman for the rest of his life until his passing in 1844.

When the number of Hassidim that came exceeded the space constraints of the shul, Reb Nosson purchased a property and oversaw its construction to enable more Hassidim to join on Rosh Hashanah.

The Rosh Hashanah gatherings in Uman ended with the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, which closed the border between Russia and Poland. Uman became a closed-off city where foreigners were strictly prohibited from entering.

Despite the Communist ban on public prayer gatherings, Breslover Hassidim in the Soviet Union would secretly gather every Rosh Hashanah to pray together.

Despite the Communist ban on public prayer gatherings, Breslover Hassidim in the Soviet Union would secretly gather every Rosh Hashanah to pray together. In 1934, the Soviets surprisingly granted permission to 28 Jews to travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. However, it was actually a cruel trick to enable them to know which individuals in the Soviet Union were fervent Hassidim. Sixteen of the 28 Jews were murdered in cold blood while still in Uman, and 12 others were exiled to Siberia.

Following the Holocaust, in 1947, the local authorities planned to build on the territory of the destroyed Old Jewish Cemetery (something that almost happened again in the late 1970's). However, their plans were successfully blocked by Rabbi Zanvil Lyubarskiy of Lviv, who managed to purchase part of the property through a local agent.

There is an adjacent property where the grave is located. Rabbi Zanvil Lyubarskiy owned one, yet it did not allow easy access to the grave. The second property was owned by a family that did not like Jews and wouldn't allow anyone to visit the grave through their property. Years later, another gentile family bought the house from him, and they eventually were amenable to letting Hasidim in to access the grave. In 1996, Breslover Hasidim were able to buy the second property, and now the grave is easily accessible for those who wish to visit.

Following the purchase, the Rosh Hashanah prayers in Uman resumed on a drastically smaller scale.

From the 1960’s until the end of the Cold War, hundreds of American and Israeli Jews would clandestinely make the trip to Uman to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman, always at great risk. In 1988, bending to international pressure, the Soviet government permitted 250 foreign citizens to spend Rosh Hashanah in Uman.

The end of the Cold War in 1989 changed the situation completely, and the doors to Uman were flung open. Hundreds of Hassidim joyously gathered in Uman for Rosh Hashanah in 1989.

Hassidim in Uman

In 1990, 2,000 Chassidim attended, and the numbers would continue to grow. In the year 2000, there were over 10,000 individuals in Uman for Rosh Hashanah, and in 2005, almost 20,000. In 2019, a staggering 50,000 Jews gathered in Uman for Rosh Hashanah.

Today, the Rosh Hashanah coordinators in Uman arrange the monumental logistics for the holiday. They bring in massive numbers of holiday meals for all the participants, arrange temporary lodgings, and even set up an infirmary to care for any medical issues.

Uman has been revitalized as the city of souls, where the martyrs' souls are joined by tens of thousands of Jews praying for spiritual and material success every Rosh Hashanah.