Mentally Unstable Man Reportedly Torches Historic Sadigura, Rizhiner Shul in Ukraine

The Jewish community of Chernivtsi, Ukraine, was jolted on Thursday evening when a man set fire to the revered Sadigura shul, the famed “Kloiz Kadisha,” inflicting major damage on a site central to the Chasidus.

Community representatives said the suspect, described as mentally unstable, entered the synagogue in the Sadigura (Sadhora) neighborhood during a brief moment when the guard stepped away. He allegedly ignited a fire inside before police arrived and took him into custody.

A preliminary review suggested the same man attempted to set fire to a nearby church, lehavdil, about a month ago, according to community leaders, pointing to a pattern of unstable behavior rather than any targeted act against Jews.

While b’chasdei Hashem nobody was hurt, locals reported that the blaze severely damaged parts of the shul’s historic interior. Engineers, preservation specialists and municipal officials are slated to evaluate the extent of the destruction in the days ahead.

“This is a very painful and distressing incident,” Chernivtsi’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glitzenstein, who also serves as Chabad’s emissary told the Jerusalem Post. “The synagogue is one of the most important buildings in the Chasidic world.”

At the same time, Rabbi Glitzenstein emphasized that the event should not be interpreted as growing antisemitism in the city. “In Chernivtsi, we do not feel antisemitism,” he said. “There is extensive security around Jewish institutions, and efforts are made to neutralize any sign of antisemitism. All residents here live in brotherhood and peace.”.

In the 1840s, the Rizhiner Rebbe zy”a, Harav Yisrael Friedman, established his court in the shul after fleeing persecution in the Russian Empire.

The shul was constructed in a roman style with touches of Moorish design, built from red brick and resembling a palace more than a typical Eastern European shul, true to the Rizhiner Rebbe’s emphasis on showing malchus Hashem. The Rebbe was know to dress in royal garb, but with shoes that had no soles, so as not to derive any worldly pleasure. When he was about to be niftar, chasidim say that he raised his pinky finger and made the same declaration that Rebbe Yehudah Hanasi, who was also very wealthy, made when he was about to leave the world – a shvuah that he had never enjoyed Olam Hazeh even with his smallest finger.

For four generations, the leaders of the Sadigura Chasidus presided from this site, which historians have long described as one of the largest and most impressive shuls in the Chasidish world.

That era ended with World War I. In 1914, as fighting neared the area, the Sadigura court moved to Vienna, and the once-thriving Jewish life of Sadhora — along with its celebrated shul — fell into decline.

During the Soviet period, the structure was seized and used for secular purposes, including as a factory, before later falling into disrepair.

After Ukraine gained independence, Jewish descendants, Chasidish groups and local partners began working to restore the building. A major renovation, backed by international donors connected to the Ruzhin–Sadigura lineage, was completed in the mid-2010s.

By 2016–2017, the restored shul, with its renewed interior and shining brickwork, was rededicated and regained its role as a center for prayer and pilgrimage.

In recent years, Sadigura Chasidim from Israel, Europe and North America have returned to Chernivtsi to daven in the kloiz and visit the nearby graves of earlier rebbes. Local Jews have also used the site for Yamim Tovim, including large Sukkos gatherings.

The incident comes as Ukraine continues to grapple with Russia’s invasion, leaving Jewish heritage sites vulnerable to both wartime conditions and limited resources.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly committed to protecting religious institutions, and in many cities, authorities work closely with Jewish communities to safeguard synagogues, cemeteries and monuments.

“This place has already survived wars, regimes and decades of neglect,” one community member told the Post. “We are sure that with G-d’s help, and with the support of Jews around the world, the Kloiz Kadisha will be repaired and will continue to stand as a beacon of Torah, prayer and Chasidic heritage.”

Ukrainian police have launched a criminal investigation into the arson.