Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews gathered in the Ukrainian city of Uman for their annual pilgrimage, officials said on Sunday, although authorities urged them to cancel the trip because of the war.

Every year Hasidic Jewish pilgrims from around the world come to Uman in central Ukraine to visit the tomb of one of the main figures of Hasidic Judaism on the occasion of the Jewish New Year celebration of Rosh Hashanah.

“This is the most important day of the year to connect with God. And this is a great place to do that,” one pilgrim, Aaron Allen, told AFP.

Uman is relatively far from the frontline, but Ukrainian and Israeli authorities nonetheless urged believers to skip the celebrations between September 25 and 27 this year.

Despite the warnings, crowds of Hasidim in traditional black dress gathered in Uman and celebrated in the streets.

“There were sirens, but being from Israel we are used to sirens, we know what to do. We feel pretty safe,” said Allen, a 48-year-old doctor from Yad Binyamin.

Pilgrims often cite a religious text by Rabbi Nachman, the founder of an ultra-Orthodox movement who died in the city in 1810, in which he promised to “save (worshippers) from Hell” if they would visit his tomb on Rosh Hashanah.

The police set up a wide perimeter to enter the area around the tomb, checking IDs and only allowing residents and Hasidim through.

The sale of alcohol, firecrackers and toy guns is banned during the celebrations in Uman, regional police spokeswoman Zoya Vovk told AFP. There is also a curfew between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.

In his daily address to the nation on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wanted to “congratulate the Ukrainian Jewish community and all Jews around the world on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah.”

“May all prayers for victory, all prayers for peace in Ukraine be answered,” he added.

And despite the restrictions, the shrine that houses the tomb was full of celebrations on Sunday.

Pilgrims – men and boys only – prayed, pressed against the white walls and pillars of the tomb.

Outside, a simultaneous prayer rang out from hundreds of pilgrims.

Meters from the temple, while shouting out a polyphonic prayer, pilgrim Yaniv Vakhnin explained how Rabbi Nachman could offer comfort in the most difficult of times.

“Rabbi Nachman says that even (if) there is a war in a country, whoever listens to it will not be affected,” said the 48-year-old from Safed in northern Israel.

“We are fully protected by the tzaddik (nachman), and we feel very safe and very happy to be together,” he added.

Vakhnin said it took him 30 hours to get to Uman: first a flight to neighboring Romania and then a 15-hour bus ride.

As confirmation of his faith, he came to Ukraine with two of his children, while five others stayed at home.

“We will pray to God. And hopefully Ukraine won’t get hurt and win the war because Rabbi Nachman is buried here, so Ukraine is protected,” Vakhnin said.

The organization United Jewish Community of Ukraine said more than 23,000 pilgrims had arrived in Uman.

The police will not reveal the exact number of pilgrims until the end of the celebrations for fear of attacks from Russia.

“We understand that there is a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and that the enemy is monitoring information,” police spokeswoman Wowk told AFP.

“All I can say is tens of thousands (of pilgrims have already arrived)”.

In September 2020, thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews were trapped between the borders of Belarus and Ukraine for days after Kyiv refused them entry due to the Covid pandemic.

Uman was hit by Russian missiles in the first weeks of the war and a civilian was killed by a Russian missile in the district last month.