A black-and-white photograph from early 1940s Mogilev, Belarus, captures a hauntingly familiar scene. A group of Jews, their faces etched with uncertainty, being herded down a street by German soldiers, their fate unknown.
Eighty years later, that very image rested in the hands of Rabbi Mendel Alperowitz, the city’s Chabad-Lubavitch emissary and rabbi, as he stood on the same ground, dedicating a new Jewish community center.
Alperowitz, together with his wife, Rivka, dreamed, planned and toiled for more than a decade to bring the new center to life. It now serves as the heart of Jewish life in the region. Within its walls are a large hall for prayers and events, a commercial kosher kitchen that provides countless warm meals for holidays and Shabbat kiddush celebrations, and a youth club for the next generation of proud Jews. The spacious building also features dedicated rooms for Torah classes, a Jewish kindergarten, administrative offices and additional resources for the revitalized Jewish community.
The building was dedicated on Feb. 4 in a grand ceremony, attended by local government officials, fellow Chabad rabbis, and Rabbi Berel Lazar, the chief rabbi of Russia, who was honored with affixing the mezuzah to the front door.
In his address to the gathered crowd, Lazar reflected on the city’s rich Jewish history, which spans back centuries. He urged the community to build on its deep roots, transforming the new center into a vibrant hub filled with the sounds of Jewish life.
Speaking to Chabad.org, Alperowitz emphasized that the new center is not only a significant cultural milestone for the Jewish community, but for the entire city.
“Tourists are already arriving to learn about the city’s Jewish history, and teachers are bringing schoolchildren to explore the heritage of the People of Israel and the Jewish religion. This is especially important in today’s world,” he noted.
A Storied History
The Jewish presence in Mogilev dates back to the 16th century. The community quickly wove itself into the city’s cultural and economic fabric, and through the 17th and 18th centuries, the community thrived, eventually becoming one of Belarus’s largest Jewish populations. It was during this period that Mogilev emerged as a vital Jewish center, boasting numerous synagogues and a yeshivah dedicated to advanced Talmudic scholarship.
The villages of Liozna and Liadi, where Rabbi Schneur Zalman, founder of Chabad, was born and taught, are both located within the historic bounds of the Russian Empire’s Mogilev Governorate, as was the village of Lubavitch. As the capital of the region, the city of Mogilev played a key role in Chabad history dating back centuries, and was home to a large Chabad Chassidic community until the Holocaust.
On the eve of World War II, Mogilev’s Jewish community numbered 16,200 out of a total population of 99,400. Official records list no fewer than 50 synagogues and 44 traditional cheder schools providing religious education for young children. For several years, the city even had a Yiddish department within its municipal court.
In 1941, Mogilev fell to the Nazis, who swiftly unleashed a brutal campaign against the city’s Jews. Many were rounded up and murdered, while the rest were forced into a squalid ghetto, only to be executed later that year. By the end of October 1941, Mogilev was declared Judenrein, and the ghetto grounds were reclaimed by the city. To all appearances, the accursed Nazis had extinguished the vibrant Jewish presence that had flourished there for centuries.
But the story did not end there. After World War II, Jews gradually returned to Mogilev and once again took on roles in business, government and other sectors. However, while the Nazi terror had ended, Soviet oppression of Jewish life continued. The authorities systematically suppressed religious expression, and in 1959, the city’s last remaining synagogue was shut down and repurposed as a sports hall.
A new chapter in Mogilev’s storied Jewish history began in 1989, as the Soviet Union neared its collapse. With the establishment of an official Jewish congregation, the spark of Jewish life was rekindled.
Yet a flame needs tending.
Mogilev’s newly reignited Jewish community struggled to gain a foothold, and for more than a decade, it operated from a modest 300-square-foot office, striving to rebuild what had been lost.
In 2004, Rabbi Yosef Gruzman, who founded Chabad of Belarus under the direction of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory—reached out to the Alperowitzes, inviting them to move to Mogilev and serve the local Jewish community. Without hesitation, they accepted the call, joining the ranks of thousands of Chabad emissaries dedicated to revitalizing Jewish life across the globe. Thus began a new era of Judaism in Mogilev.
Immediately upon their arrival, the couple set out to reconnect with local Jews, fanning the long-dormant flame of Jewish life in Mogilev. Their efforts, combined with the establishment of a Jewish day school, quickly led to a thriving community that soon outgrew its rented space.
A Dream Turned Reality
“As soon as we moved to Mogilev, we already had the dream of building a beautiful Jewish center—one that would serve the needs of the community and be a source of pride,” recalls Alperowitz. “But making that dream a reality would be a lot harder than we thought.”
Thirteen years ago, the Alperowitzes set out to find a property to purchase, but time and again, every opportunity slipped through their fingers. “It seemed to us that Heaven was telling us to go all the way and build a center that would fully fit our needs.” And that’s exactly what they did. After securing a prime property on Leninskaya Street in the heart of the city’s central pedestrian zone, construction began.
Key funding for the project was provided by the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, local philanthropist Yevgeny Baskin, the Rohr family from Miami-New York, and Moscow businessman Abraham Asher Zhurov—a Mogilev native with deep ties to his hometown—along with the 770 Foundation and generous donors from around the world.
After five years, the project was finally completed this February.
“In our wildest dreams, we never imagined that we would be able to have such a beautiful and spacious Jewish center in Mogilev, yet, here we are,” Alperowitz says.
Shortly after its completion, locals and guests gathered for a dedication ceremony.
After the ceremonial ribbon cutting, the crowd streamed inside for a gala and tour. The celebration also included a sofer—a traditional scribe—beginning to inscribe the first letters of a new Torah scroll which will be housed in the center’s synagogue upon its completion.
“This is also a historic milestone for the Jewish community, and the start of a new chapter in its long and fascinating history,” Alperowitz told Chabad.org. “In the short time since it opened, we have already seen a growing number of people attending prayer services, events and programs. This is just the beginning; we aim to make this center a second home for every Jewish person in the region.”
But Alperowitz views the center as more than just a milestone for Mogilev, Belarus or even the entire Former Soviet Union. He sees it as an inspiration for Jews around the world.
“There are always opportunities to inspire, always a way to fan the hidden spark of a fellow Jew into a roaring flame. Yes, there may be challenges, but if a new Jewish center can be dedicated in Mogilev—a place where Jews endured extermination, decades of Communist persecution and immense hardship—then there is no doubt that Jewish life can thrive anywhere. All it takes is the effort on our part to reach out.”
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