Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Wolff promises to strengthen the community and rebuild the synagogue after the place of worship was completely destroyed
He highlights a “clear moment” of divine protection, as no one was injured.
A synagogue in Kherson, southern Ukraine, was hit by a Russian missile on Thursday.
The building suffered extensive damage, but no one was injured.
The information came from a social media account linked to the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
The synagogue’s rabbi, Yosef Yitzchak Wolff, narrowly escaped: he had left minutes earlier to affix a mezuzah (a small scroll with verses from the Torah, affixed to the door of Jewish homes) in the home of a local family.
Photos shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Chabad.org show the damage: a huge hole in the ceiling and chunks of concrete scattered across the floor of the prayer hall.
A missile directly struck the main synagogue in Kherson, Ukraine, causing severe damage to the synagogue and the office of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Wolff. He narrowly escaped, having left minutes earlier to affix a mezuzah at a community member's home. pic.twitter.com/9vHr84gvwL
— Chabad.org (@Chabad) October 23, 2025
The rabbi’s office was also damaged.
Kherson is a city that has seen intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces since the beginning of the invasion.#Y#
Rabbi Wolff said in several reports that the incident was a clear example of *hashgachah pratit* – that is, special protection from God.
“The walls shook, and the heart of the community, the prayer hall, was completely destroyed,” he said.
“But our spirit will not be shaken.
We will strengthen the community and rebuild the synagogue so that prayers can continue to echo there, God willing.”
This was not the rabbi’s first scare in the war, which has lasted more than three and a half years.
In July, a Russian kamikaze drone (which explodes upon impact) hit the Wolff family’s car, denting the front of the vehicle.
The rabbi, his wife, and their 19-year-old daughter were unharmed and called the incident a “miracle.”
The attack in Kherson is the latest targeting Jewish community spaces in Ukraine.
The previous night, a synagogue in Kyiv (the capital) was damaged by a Russian drone.
Two months earlier, another historic synagogue in Odessa suffered severe damage in a similar attack.
Many Ukrainian Jews have fled the country for Europe or Israel since the start of the war.
Still, an estimated 32,000 Jews remain in Ukraine.
Most of the rabbis working there belong to Chabad.
Some helped their families flee at the beginning of the conflict, but all have returned.
This follows the movement’s philosophy: Chabad emissaries pledge to stay in the cities where they were sent, no matter what.
Published in 10/24/2025 06h52
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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