Chabad Pilgrimage: 2,000 Travel to Kazakhstan Gravesite

More than 2,000 Chabad Hasidim from Israel, the United States, Europe, and reportedly Iran converged this week on Almaty, Kazakhstan, to honor the grave of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, on the anniversary of his death on the 20th of Av on the Jewish calendar.

The pilgrimage represents a remarkable feat of Jewish diaspora devotion: thousands traveling through multiple Muslim-majority countries, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, to reach a grave in Central Asia. In addiiton, a charter flight departed Israel directly for the event.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was arrested and exiled to Kazakhstan by Soviet authorities in 1939 for his crime of spreading Torah and Jewish practice in the USSR. Considered a prominent kabbalist and Torah scholar, he spent the final years of his life in exile after initially being deported to Chiyali in the Kazakh wilderness. He died in Almaty in 1944 and was buried in the city cemetery.

Kazakhstan's Chief Rabbi and head Chabad emissary, Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen, has served in Kazakhstan for 29 years since the Soviet Union's collapse, overseeing the transformation of the gravesite into a pilgrimage destination and establishing eight Chabad families operating across seven Kazakh cities. According to Chabad sources, the gravesite is recognized as a place of blessing and spiritual connection.

This year's gathering is significant for both scale and composition. Hundreds of visitors arrived Friday, with hundreds more expected Sunday and Monday. Guests included Chabad emissaries, yeshiva students, and laypeople from major Jewish diaspora centers.

According to reporting from Collive and Chabad.org, the attendance has grown substantially in recent years. One pilgrim from Lod, Israel, told Ynet News that he has attended the Hillula for five consecutive years, noting that it represents a meaningful opportunity to honor Rabbi Levi Yitzchak's suffering and sacrifice for Jewish continuity.

Rabbi Cohen reflected on the historical irony in remarks at the gravesite: "It is a privilege to host guests from across the globe. The Soviets sought to isolate and destroy Jewish practice here, but today, eight Chabad centers and vibrant Jewish communities operate throughout Kazakhstan. We hope that one day, together with Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, we will merit to ascend to Jerusalem in resurrection."

The Kazakh government provided security and logistical support for the pilgrimage, reflecting what officials have characterized as official recognition of the site's cultural and heritage significance. In 2020, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak's gravesite was formally designated as a National Heritage Site of Kazakhstan.

Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, the rabbi's widow, had joined him in exile and supported him through his final illness by gathering plants to make ink for his kabbalistic writings. Many of his teachings were posthumously compiled and published in the work "Likkutei Levi Yitzchak," which became influential in Chabad theology.

The annual pilgrimage reflects broader patterns in Jewish diaspora practice, where Hasidic Jews maintain spiritual connections to grave sites of revered teachers across the former Soviet Union and beyond, often traveling to dangerous or difficult locations as an expression of faith and remembrance.