I was invited to join Friends of Jewish Renewal in Poland (FJRP)’s Board of Directors this summer by Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak. Joining this tremendous group of dedicated volunteers in their laudable efforts to bolster the Jewish community in Poland was an honor for me. Not long after joining, Rabbi Beliak informed me of a […]
Thoughts on Rebuilding Jewish Life in Poland
I am going to start with questioning my own title. Is the work that we are doing Rebuilding Jewish life or starting all over again, Building from anew? I confess that I am not sure – but I tend towards the latter view. It is true that many people come forward and say they have […]
Cindy’s Experience in Poland
From whence does my love for the Yiddish song stem? It is older than my love for music. It is like a treasure in which you find the strings of a timeless violin. The Yiddish song is the celebration of the Yiddish language – and its obstinate determination to vanquish despair and resignation. Elie Wiesel […]
Krakow, Summer 2017
This past summer, I traveled to Poland to participate in the week-long Krakow Jewish Culture Festival. This was my fourth visit to Poland. I’d visited previously to teach Progressive communities in Warsaw, Gdansk, and Poznan, and lectured in Lublin and Bialystok. I’d met wonderful and thoughtful Jews (and their allies), enjoyed multiple Shabbat meals, led […]
Paulina’s Story
I met Paulina in 2010 when my husband Rabbi Allen Maller and I went to help the Reform Jewish Congregation in Warsaw. She was a slender, blue eyed, young woman in her late twenties. Allen asked Paulina to write a paper about why she wanted to convert to Judaism. I have edited what Paulina wrote, […]
Szira
I met Szira in Warsaw at Beit Warszawa. She was the temple librarian. The congregation had worked out an agreement with Alex Lauderback our neighbor in Encino, California. He is a man in his late 80’s, a Polish Holocaust survivor. Alex found Jewish books from synagogues and temples that had surplus Jewish books. He would […]