First Hanukkah Candle Lit at the Jewish Museum in Dnipro

The Dnipro Museum “Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine” marked the beginning of Hanukkah with the opening of a new exhibition, “Art and Memory on Paper,” dedicated to the Jewish paper-cutting tradition reizele and contemporary Ukrainian-Jewish calendars.

The ceremonial lighting of the first Hanukkah candle was led by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Karshenbaum, Deputy Secretary of the Dnipro Rabbinical Court, who recited the traditional blessings and lit the hanukkiah displayed in the museum’s exhibition space devoted to post-World War II and contemporary Jewish life.

Following the candle lighting, the exhibition was officially opened by Olena Kolpakova, PKU regional manager and curator of the Ukrainian-Jewish Calendar project. The exhibition features works by renowned Bukovinian artist Hanna Fochuk, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, whose papercut designs weave together Ukrainian and Jewish symbols.

Visitors explored the history and meaning behind the artworks, discovering how reizele differs from Ukrainian vytynanka and how shared cultural motifs are preserved through paper. The evening became a warm and thoughtful conversation about art, memory, and the intertwining of Ukrainian and Jewish heritage — illuminated by the light of the first Hanukkah candle.