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In this photo guests dine on free food on Sept 7 2010. Two enormous tents, each accommodating 2,500 people have been constructed approximately three minutes away from the beis hakvaros.

Uman, Ukriane - In the last year of his life, R’ Nachman of Breslov stressed to his followers that it was important they spend Rosh Hashana with him.  Consequently, thousands of Jews travel to the central Ukranian town of Uman every Rosh Hashana to daven at his kever.  In order to facilitate the logistics of what can be a difficult trip, a group of individuals in conjunction with two organizations joined together to provide free food in Uman from the Monday before Rosh Hashana through the following Sunday.

A group of people who wished to remain anonymous have funded the project for approximately five to eight thousand Rosh Hashana vistors to Uman for several years, this is the first year that they have been able to do it on such a large scale. Numerous containers of food and supplies were shipped to Uman and they expect to feed 20,000 people daily at no cost.  A full commercial kitchen was built and a complete staff including five chefs has been in the Ukraine preparing for Rosh Hashana for three weeks.  Two enormous tents, each accommodating 2,500 people have been constructed approximately three minutes away from the beis hakvaros.

Massive quantities of food have been brought in to feed the expected crowds including 20,000 pounds of beef, 10,000 pounds of chicken, eight container loads of non perishables such as tuna, beans and corn, two containers loads of fruits and vegetables, half a container load of challah and 45,000 gallons of water.  While endless quantities of goulash, cholent, meat, chicken, rice, farfel, potato kugel and soda will be served, schnapps will not.

A full commercial kitchen was built and a complete staff including five chefs has been in the Ukraine preparing for Rosh Hashana for three weeks.

Finding a place to sleep in Uman is no small task.  Rosh Hashana visitors pay as much as $3,000 for an apartment in Uman, which is more than most of the residents in Uman earn in an entire year.  Other visitors sleep on floors or pitch tents anywhere they can. 

Community activist Tzvi Gluck from New York helping serve the thousands of guests at the free soup kitchen in Uman

Approximately 30,000 people come to Uman for Rosh Hashana every year to daven at the kever of R’ Nachman, located on the former site of a Jewish cemetery in a rebuilt synagogue.  While R’ Nachman lived only the last five months of his life in Uman, he specifically requested to be buried there.  Chasidim have been coming to R’ Nachmans kever on Rosh Hashana since 1811, the year after R’ Nachman’s death. 

Many visitors to R’ Nachman’s kever come to say Tikun Haklali, which consists of perakim 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, and 150 of Tehillim.  It is said that before his death R’ Nachman told two of his closest talmidim, that he will personally rescue anyone from the depths of Gehinnom, no matter what they have done, if they come to his grave, give a coin to charity, say Tikun Haklali and do teshuva for their sin.

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