This past Thursday we had the opportunity to visit the Great Choral Synagogue (also known as the Podil Synagogue) in Kiev.  When we arrived, it was so great to see a bevy of activity.  There is a Yeshiva which meets there as well as a cheder.

A cheder is a small Jewish school for boys where Judaism and Hebrew are taught.  They can meet outside of regular school hours or they can actually serve as elementary school.  They were very common in Europe in the 1800s and are still in use, especially in communities with smaller numbers of Jewish people.  The cheder in this community functioned as elementary school.

As I said, it was busy there.  There were several young men studying at the Yeshiva and many little boys studying at the Cheder.  It was very inspiring to see the activity there.  We visited there immediately after visiting  Syrets, where so many Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust.

Am Israel Chai!