In Poltava, 150 Jewish families received religious items as tefillin, mezuzot, kippot, Shabbat candles, tallitot (prayer shawls) and more. The purpose of this campaign was to strengthen Jewish observances in this central Ukrainian city.
The mitzvah campaign was made possible by the generous support of Yair and Nechemiah Lediev of Israel and France, respectively. The Lediev brothers visited Chief Rabbi of Poltava Yosef Yitzchak Segal during their visit to the Ukrainian city.
A total of 850 mezuzot were distributed and affixed in the dwellings of the 150 families that the campaign touched. In addition, hundreds of kippot, dozens of tallitot and over 100 sets of Shabbat candles were given out. Forty pairs of tefillin were also gifted to men and boys in the city. Those who received the tefillin did so after committing to put on the tefillin each weekday. Each of the families who participated also received a beautiful portrait of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
The Poltava Mitzvah Campaign was timed to coincide with 12 Tammuz, the day that the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, was released from false imprisonment.