This year over 30 Jews came to the synagogue in Ulyanovsk to participate in a “Torahthon,” where they studied from 6:00 p.m. until midnight. Ten people even stayed up all night, as is customary, until 6:00 a.m. “To be honest, I didn’t think many people would show up,” stated Chief Rabbi of Ulyanovsk Yosef Marozov. “And for those who did, I was sure that I would be the only one left in the synagogue by 11:00 p.m.. That's why I only arranged to have 5 lectures. To my surprise, many people wanted to continue studying, so we opened a Talmud and studied until 6:00 in the morning. Afterwards, we prayed and went home.”
Later in the morning, Jews of Ulyanovsk celebrated Shavuot. Over 100 people listened attentively to a talk by the rabbi, followed by the reading of the “Ten Commandments” from the Torah. Afterwards, participants went outside to enjoy a delightful dairy buffet featuring delicious hot dishes, cakes and salads, which were cooked and baked by Rabbanit Sara Marozov. Many people were overwhelmed by the variety of the food and by the novelty of it being set up “buffet-style” which is not typically done in Russia.
Also for Shavuot, an ice cream party was held, to the delight of over 20 children! The youngsters made a “Mount Sinai” mountain out of ice cream and then ate it.
“We truly hope and pray that this Shavuot experience will be the starting event for the many Jews living in Ulyanovsk to make learning Torah a regular part of their lives,” said Rabbi Marozov, who is also a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary serving in the region.