A Prayer at the Kishinev Ghetto Memorial

A Prayer at the Ghetto Memorial – Honoring Memory, Building Life
On a bright summer afternoon in Chișinău, the Chief Rabbi of Moldova, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Axelrod, stood with a small group of worshippers at the Chișinău Ghetto Memorial. He recited El Malei Rachamim and Kaddish for the thousands of Jews imprisoned here 84 years ago during the Nazi‑Romanian occupation — most of whom were later deported to Transnistria and perished.

The memorial, built in 1993 by sculptor Nehemia Applebaum, depicts a praying Jew before a broken Star of David — a powerful reminder of a wounded people and an enduring call to remember.

Rabbi Axelrod, an Israeli‑born Chabad emissary to Moldova since 2014, serves as Chief Rabbi, following in the footsteps of Rabbi Zalman Abelsky ז”ל, who revitalized Jewish life here after the Communist era. Today, five Chabad families continue this mission across Moldova, led by Rabbi Zushe Abelsky.

Standing at this historic site, Rabbi Axelrod’s prayer was more than remembrance — it was a declaration: the Jewish people live, continue, and rebuild.