Yad Yisroel, who does Kiruv in Belarus, together with the Union of Religious Congregations of the Republic of Belarus, aspire to give Jews a place they can go to in order to feel their Yiddishkeit, where they will experience the ambience of being a Jew, learn more about their Jewish heritage and stand in a building where such Gedolim once stood. Yeshiva Eitz Chaim Volozhin is being renovated so the torch of Yiddishkeit will once again shine from within these four walls.

  • Kiruv Center – fighting assimilation by hosting regular seminars on the strengthening of Jewish identity for local students from the former Soviet Union
  • Shabbatonim Center – lectures for local married couples on the foundations of building a Jewish home
  • The Yeshiva World Museum – Roshei Yeshivos throughout the ages, Gedolei Torah, architecture of all major pre-war Yeshivos and historical documentation
  • “Spiritual Recharge” Center – short term stay for bochurim who wish to come and learn in the ambience of Yeshiva Eitz Chaim Volozhin
  • Visitor Center- providing information and the highest standard of Kosher L’mehadrin food to tourists wishing to explore our rich historical past and connect to its timeless legacy

Yad Yisroel- An Overview

Yad Yisroel, is a registered non-profit organization in the USA, England, Israel and the Former Soviet Union.

Yad Yisroel is dedicated to the revival of Jewish life in the former Soviet Union, as well as assisting former Soviet Jewry wherever they may be.

Before the Holocaust, Belarus had a population of 1,000,000 Jews. The Jewish community in the region has suffered considerably in the last century, withstanding over 80% physical annihilation as well as spiritual decline under Communist rule.

Yad Yisroel was founded in 1990, at the behest and directorship of the Rebbe of Karlin Stolin, by Rabbi Shmuel Dishon and Rabbi Yaakov Shteierman in the aftermath of the Soviet Communist regime.

The remnants of Jewish communities spread across Eastern Europe were in dire need of reconstruction and Jewish revival. Rabbi Moshe Fhima, is Yad Yisroel’s local Director of Operations in the Former Soviet Union. Moshe, together with his wife Riki, arrived in 1995 with a mission, “to save the lives of Jewish children”.

Yad Yisroel fills every void in the lives of the Jewish residents; caring for the Jewish communities’ social, welfare, educational, religious, cultural and medical needs. Thanks to the passion, vision and hard work of the Yad Yisroel emissaries, Jewish schools and community centers have been opened in Kiev, Minsk, Pinsk, Lvov and in other cities in the Ukraine and Belarus.

Today, Yad Yisroel is the leading Jewish organization in Belarus, with Pinsk as the epicenter of Jewish life in the country. Pinsk has a boy’s and a girl’s boarding school recognized as state orphanages, community outreach programs, Chesed Fund, a Yeshiva, summer and winter camps, Holocaust memorial programs , a Graduate Program and a Wedding Fund, as well as other Jewish community infrastructure.

Yad Yisroel’s Official Website: www.yadyisroel.com