Yosef Chaim Bernfeld, a young businessman from New York who is trying to clean up his life, journeyed to Uman this weekend for a “spiritual fix.”Every Jewish New Year, even this one during a raging war, thousands of Hasidic pilgrims turn this city in central Ukraine into a mini Jerusalem.
They roam around in big groups sucking down Coke Zero and kosher pizza, paying in shekels.
They pump out Hebrew hip-hop and dance hard together in the middle of the street.
They exchange blessings — “I ask God to give you a sense of belonging, to give you stability, to grow your business this year” — and drink copious amounts of red wine way past the wartime curfew.
Persons:
Yosef Chaim Bernfeld, — “
Locations:
New York, Uman, Ukraine, Jerusalem, shekels