'Scripture says we are the salt of the earth' - Rabbi Vladimir Lieberman

Rabbi <b>Volodymyr Liberman</b>, the head of the Odesa Jewish Messianic community, spoke frankly with Intent about the life of the community in the context of a full-scale war.

In the interview, he shared his personal journey of faith and resilience, and spoke about prayers during the shelling by Russian Kalibr. At the end of the Shabbat prayer in Odesa, the city was attacked by enemy ballistic missiles. According to Lieberman, when the explosion occurred, he felt the extraordinary presence of God. This experience was connected to the feeling of strong spiritual energy from more than a hundred people in the community center.

"We have a position. We are believing citizens. We do not take another person's life, but we can defend our homes. When the time came to mobilize, most of our brothers are in the Armed Forces. The Scripture says that we are the salt of the earth, so how could we be 'shirkers'?"

The rabbi paid special attention to service and defense: he explained the position of believers who join the Armed Forces not to kill but to defend their land. Lieberman also revealed details of the chaplaincy service and work with military personnel with PTSD. In addition, he touched upon the topic of repatriation to Israel and the complex relationship with the TCC.

Don't miss this great and frank conversation about faith, war, and the humanitarian work of the community. The full recording is available on our YouTube channel.

Earlier, Intent had a conversation with Bishop Stanislav Shyrokoradiuk of the Diocese of Odesa and Simferopol of the Roman Catholic Church . In this interview, the bishop did not avoid any hot topic: he openly called corruption a sin and "the greed of the authorities" and revealed the details of the situation when Catholics in Crimea cannot even pray for peace, and in Odesa, parishioners have not yet been returned their church buildings.

In particular, they discussed internal disputes (for example, the conflict at the Ukrainian Catholic University), possible conditions for reconciliation with Russia, and the reality of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Ukraine. The bishop shared his thoughts on why, in his opinion, the saints have a special "Odesa" character.

Катерина Глушко