Over 2,000 Chabad Hasidim Gather in Muslim Kazakhstan for Rabbi Schneerson’s Yahrzeit

More than 2,000 Hasidim from around the world convened this week in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to mark the yahrzeit of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Despite logistical challenges and complex travel routes through Muslim countries such as the UAE, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, the crowds gathered at the revered rabbi’s gravesite on the 20th of Menachem Av. A special charter flight also brought hundreds of guests directly from Israel for the event.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was exiled to Kazakhstan by the communist regime after serving as chief rabbi in Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine). He was imprisoned in 1939 and later moved to Almaty, where he passed away in 1944. His wife, Rebbetzin Chana, cared for him devotedly during his exile. His Torah writings, especially on Kabbalah and Talmud, were preserved and published posthumously.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Rabbi Yeshaya-Elazar Cohen has served as the chief rabbi of Kazakhstan and emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Under his leadership, the Jewish community has flourished, with eight Chabad families operating in seven cities across Kazakhstan. Rabbi Cohen has developed the gravesite into a vibrant center of Jewish life and pilgrimage.

This year’s pilgrimage began days before the yahrzeit, with hundreds spending Shabbat at the central Chabad synagogue near the cemetery. Rabbi Cohen expressed gratitude to Kazakh authorities for their security and support, highlighting Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s spiritual resilience against communist oppression. He emphasized the growth of Jewish observance in Kazakhstan, including new mikvahs and increased Torah study, calling on the rabbi’s merit to bless those supporting Chabad’s work in the region.

The event reflects a remarkable revival of Jewish life in a predominantly Muslim country, honoring a rabbi who maintained faith and leadership under severe persecution and exile.