Just Managed to Say Goodbye: A Heartbreaking Farewell
Our mission may seem straightforward at first glance: helping Jewish families from towns and villages across Ukraine reach Kishenov as a step toward making aliyah to Israel. But the reality, especially since the war began nearly four years ago, is far more complex.
What used to be a day’s journey has now stretched into two or three days or more. Each family brings with them not just bags and papers, but stories of loss, resilience, and hope. One such story is that of Vlada and her three children.
Vlada came from a small village between Kharkiv and the Russian border. The war had reached dangerously close. She was ready to make aliyah, with an appointment secured at the Israeli consulate in Kishenov. Her husband, a welder in a large factory in Kharkiv where he also sleeps at night, was granted permission to return home to say goodbye.
But the war doesn’t wait.
On his journey back to the village, he was stopped at a military checkpoint. Upon inspection of his documents, he was immediately conscripted to the front lines—yet another man called to replace the growing number of casualties. He pleaded with the officers to let him see his family one last time. They agreed, under escort, allowing him just a few minutes with Vlada and their children before taking him straight to the barracks.
Will they ever see each other again? No one could say.
Two days later, the village were Vlada and her family lived was bombed. Meanwhile, the family’s journey to Kishenov hit another unexpected hurdle. Critical documents being sent from Vlada’s mother in Haifa were delayed and would not arrive in time for the consular appointment. With the reception center in Kishenov only able to host guests for one or two nights, we had to find a solution quickly. We brought Vlada and her children to our shelter near Kiev, where Jewish families in transit are often housed for both short and extended stays.
Finally, the original documents arrived. The family resumed their journey—another 650 kilometers to Kishenov. Soon after, they received their visas. But with the next flight not scheduled for several days, we made arrangements for them to stay at a nearby Chabad center. Thanks to a conversation just weeks earlier with the local rabbi, we knew we could rely on the center for help, even though renovations were still ongoing. The rabbi had graciously offered to host families in need of longer-term accommodations.
One of our drivers remained with the family throughout this final phase—escorting them to the consulate, transferring them from the shelter to the Chabad center, and ultimately, bringing them to the airport on the day of departure.
After a long and emotionally charged journey, Vlada and her three children boarded a flight to Israel—beginning a new life in the Promised Land.
Their story is one among many. In the coming weeks, more families embark on the same journey. The return to the Promised Land continues, undeterred.
‘Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations. The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.’”’
Isaiah 62: 9-10
