Shuva Israel also in Georgia: A new study center in Batumi

Spiritual momentum: preparations are complete for the festive opening of the Shuva Israel study center in the city of Batumi, Georgia.

Batumi has become a popular tourist destination in recent years, mainly for Jews and Israelis looking for a destination free of anti-Semitism.

The city now has a new study center under the leadership of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, the head of the worldwide Shuva Israel community.

The new synagogue is located in the center of a residential and tourist complex in the city that was purchased by about 200 Jews, some of whom live there.

The founders of the new synagogue are Doron and Shlomo Cohen, among Rabbi Pinto's veteran students. This week they celebrated the entry of two Torah scrolls and an elegant Book of Haftarot for the benefit of worshipers to the synagogue.

The synagogue has added a respected library of Rabbi Pinto's books, chief among them the Siddur for the New Shabbat, which was published only recently.

"For nine months, special carpentry work was done of solid wood and in a special color befitting the atmosphere in the place," they relate. "We founded the synagogue on the name and for the recovery of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, who is our guide and that of thousands of Jews all over the world."

About the study center’s future, they say: "With the time, a number of young married scholars will move to the city for the purpose of establishing daily Torah study in the center. With God's help, towards the month of Elul, Rabbi Pinto will arrive for the ceremonial opening of the study center and the ceremony of affixing a mezuzah."

This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel