A historic yeshiva in Radun, Belarus, has reopened for the first time since World War II, marking a significant restoration of a Jewish heritage site long dormant under Soviet and Nazi-era disruptions. The Radin Yeshiva, originally established in 1869 by the renowned Lithuanian rabbi Israel Meir Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chaim, once hosted 300 students before its closure at the outbreak of the war.

The reopening ceremony this month drew approximately 100 rabbis from around the world, celebrating the revival of a school that had been repurposed as a theater during the Soviet period and neglected for decades. The yeshiva had ceased operations when Soviet forces occupied the region at the start of World War II. Following the Nazi occupation of Radun in 1941, the Jewish population was devastated, with over 2,000 residents from Radun and nearby villages confined to a ghetto and largely murdered by German forces and local collaborators.

David Hofstedter, a Canadian rabbi who leads the international Torah study organization Dirshu, spearheaded the effort to restore the building. Hofstedter, who first encountered the derelict site on a visit five years ago, saw the potential to revive it as a functioning religious school rather than a museum. Restoration work, overseen locally by Moshe Fhima of Yad Yisroel—a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening Jewish life in Belarus—began after the organization purchased the property from the Radun municipality in 2025. The project included replacing the roof and windows, rebuilding the Torah ark, and recreating original wooden furnishings. A new library stocked with books from Israel is being added.

The Radin Yeshiva’s legacy continued abroad after World War II through Rabbi Mendel Zaks, the Chofetz Chaim’s son-in-law and last pre-war head of the school, who fled to the United States in 1941. He reestablished the yeshiva in New York City, later relocating it to Suffern, New York, where it remains active today.

The reopening reflects a broader trend of renewed interest in Jewish history across Belarus and Lithuania. Alena Kulouniakh, deputy chair of the Union of Belarusian Jewish Public Associations and Communities, noted that other historic sites, such as the Volozhin Yeshiva in western Belarus, have also reopened recently, drawing attention despite small local Jewish populations.

Belarus currently has an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Jews, many of whom are secular but increasingly interested in reconnecting with their heritage. Hofstedter anticipates that the revived Radin Yeshiva will attract students both locally and internationally, serving as a center for learning the Chofetz Chaim’s teachings, which remain influential among Orthodox Jews worldwide. The yeshiva’s restoration signals a step toward bridging past and future by fostering active religious study rather than focusing solely on preservation as a historical site.