On her first Shabbat away from the fighting in Ukraine, Rabbi Julia Gris twice led services to welcome the Jewish holy day. A week earlier, Ukraine’s only woman rabbi had been fleeing the war that scattered her Odesa congregation from Moldova to Romania and Israel. Some stayed behind, braving the Russian shelling. She first led…
Many Jews are among the more than 2.5 million refugees leaving Ukraine. Rabbi Julia Gris is one of them. International Jewish organizations have mobilized to help, working with Jewish communities in Poland, Romania, Moldova and elsewhere to organize food, shelter, medical care and other assistance