Shabbat in Poland
After a very stressful week in Poland it was very nice to finally relax. Spending Shabbat in Poland was really fun and it was really interesting to see the similarities and differences the Polish Jewish community has in comparison to ours at EIE. 
We started our day on Friday at the Lodz Ghetto. Before the Nazis took over the city, Lodz held the second largest Jewish community in Poland. Walking through the Ghetto was really sad but hard to imagine what it was really like because so much of it was not there anymore (although the original buildings are still standing). However we did learn a lot about Chaim Rumkowski who was a Jewish man in the Ghetto that relayed messages to and from the Nazis to the Jews within the Ghetto. He was the leader during the time of the Lodz Ghetto and dealt with the dilemmas facing the Jews there. He got them more food and “better” working conditions, relative to the conditions in other ghettos that we saw. However, it was still very difficult to be in this ghetto as we heard many stories of hardship and death. Rumkowski was often faced with the difficult task of handing over Jews to the Germans to be sent to the gas chambers. In his most infamous speech, he asks parents to give up their children so that the community may live. We had a discussion about whether or not the work he did with the Nazis was good or bad. On the one hand, he helped keep many tens of thousands of Jews alive during this time by having them work and on the other he paraded around the ghetto in a horse and buggy, acting like a dictator. I think that he did what he had to do in order for him to survive through this hard time. Although it was his job to make sure others were safe, he had to look out for himself as well.
For Shabbat Services we went to Beit Warszawa. This was one of the best services I have ever been too. We sang, danced, and ate amazing Polish food (Kosher of course). During the service it was really cool to see how two different groups of people who spoke different languages could come together and understand each other through these services. I also did not know that there was a large enough Jewish Community still left in Poland to have a synagogue. It made me really happy to see people still living here stick to their Judaism. This Shabbat I really felt that I could connect to the people around me.
For our final day in Poland we went to
the Museum. Here we got a break from learning about the Shoah and had the opportunity to learn about how the Jewish community came to be in Poland. The museum was really interesting and had a lot of really cool quotes on the walls. One that I found really interesting was “There was not a house in all of Poland in which the Torah was not studied”. This just really showed me how big the Jewish community was in Poland at one point.
Overall I think Poland was a great experience. While I do not see myself ever going back, I do believe that every Jew should visit and see what is left from the Shoah and learn everything there is to know. I really learned a lot and I was amazed by how affected I did feel while visiting the camps. My favorite part of the trip was the service and feeling the sense of community that was there. What was your feelings on having Shabbat in Poland? How did their community seem to you?
I absolutely loved having Shabbat in Poland. Firstly, it shows that we were not all killed, and that a Jewish community can still exist in Poland. Secondly, I too loved the services. They were one of the greatest services I've ever been to, for so many reasons. Their community was wonderful; very warm, inviting, fun, and of course very Jewish. We cannot let the memories of the Shoah die, and by living/celebrating a bright Jewish life there, we can do just that.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the community in Poland was very small, they were passionate and everyone seemed very involved. The congregants got up and read during the service, and everyone sang together. I think this really attested to the survival of the Jews even in places that hold such horrors in their histories. I was inspired by the Jews who still live there and pray regularly.
ReplyDeleteGoing to the synagogue on Shabbat in Poland was such an awesome experience, I was expecting the service to be confusing and boring but it was the total opposite. I felt as if I was at my temple at home or on EIE, the melodies were all the same and the service was for the most part in English. It was so nice to see such a lively temple in a community where the Jews thrived previous to the Shoah, the community was so welcoming and excited to have us. I would not have wanted to have ended the hard week we had in any other way.
ReplyDeleteShabbat in Poland was amazing, I love Shabbat services regardless, especially when it is full of music and dance, which it was, but my gosh I just loved Shabbat in Poland. It was just so lively, and even though we were visitors in their community, they invited us and celebrated with us, not to mention that the food was so much better than we had had all week.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved spending our Shabbat in Poland. When we were all dancing and singing they were songs we listen to at camp so that just added to how great it was. Also everyone was very nice and accepting, overall the night was just awesome.
ReplyDeleteI think the Shabbat in Poland was my favorite one, by far. It was such an amazing and honoring experience being able to have it there. The songs felt a lot more special and special. Everything about it felt a lot more of a community experience and heart-warming time. They were so inclusive and warm about having us.
ReplyDeleteHaving Shabbat in Poland was a chance of a lifetime, saying that I also plan on not returning. Seeing such a lively (but small) commuunity really gave me hope that the Jewish community would once be as lively and active as it once was. I also thought their community although small was very nice and welcoming. The Rabbi was very funny.
ReplyDeleteHaving Shabbat in Poland didn't make a particularly big impact on me at the time, but I think that looking back, it was really important. So many people died for their beliefs in Poland, but we got to express ourselves as Jews there. I really liked the community. There was a gay, brazilian computer linguist named Pedro whom I met, and he was really cool and great.
ReplyDeleteShabbat in Poland was fantastic. It was awesome to see the Jewish community as it is now and to see that it is not totally destroyed. but this fact was also bittersweet because we also know what it once was and that it will never be the same way again.
ReplyDeleteShabbat in Poland was absolutely a night I will never forget. The aspect of celebrating with Polish Jews today, on the site of so much death and destruction was definitely special, but that night was fun for another reason too. As a piano player, you know when you are playing on a shittly piano, but you also know when you are playing on a very good piano. That night I played on the nicest piano I have ever played in my life. It was a Steinway, and I want one.
ReplyDeleteThe Shabbat service in Warsaw was my favourite service of all of EIE. It was weird. For some reason, I felt very at home at that synagogue. Most of the tunes they sang were the same as the ones that my rabbi uses at my synagogue which made me very happy. Also, my great-grandparents were from Poland and celebrating Shabbat there made me feel connected to them.
ReplyDeleteI loved the service in Poland, it was one of my favorite times on EIE. The service was weird because the rabbi was american and seemed to speak little polish, but the community was very tight knit and it seemed they truly were proud of their Judaism. I just felt very free and happy being part of that community.
ReplyDeleteThe service was cool, because we were across the world and we had similar melodies and songs. The most amazing part was returning the Torah from Poland after 100 years
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