FJRP Blog

Perspectives for Our Time

By Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak 10/12/2023 Leave a Comment Filed Under: Freighted Legacies

Marking the Polish Translation of Transcending Darkness: A Girl’s Journey Out of the Holocaust

A Conversation with author Estelle Glaser Laughlin

Estelle Glaser Laughlin is a child Holocaust survivor who was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1929. We are marking the Polish translation of her book Transcending Darkness: A Girl’s Journey Out of the Holocaust. This interview and other testimonies by Mrs. Laughlin will constitute a curriculum unit for Polish High school students.

In September 1939, Estelle’s family lived in Warsaw when Poland was attacked.. Along with her parents and sister, Freda, they were confined to the 1.3 square mile Ghetto area.[…]

In Solidarity With the Nation and State of Israel

By Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak 10/08/2023 Leave a Comment Filed Under: Beit Polska News, In the World, Official Statements

Statement from October 8, 2023

Beit Polska The Union of Progressive Jewish Communities, together with the European and World Reform Movement, as part of the Jewish Family, stands in solidarity with the Nation and State of Israel.

The criminal attack by Hamas terrorists and the cruelty against Israeli civilians is a challenge not only to Israel.[…]

Wisdom and Unwavering Joy

By Menachem Mirski PhD 10/07/2023 Leave a Comment Filed Under: Holidays, Sermons

Thoughts on Simchat Torah 5784

Why do we read the Book of Kohelet, the most ‘existentialist’ book of the Hebrew Bible, on Sukkot – the most joyous among the Jewish holidays? It seems to contradict the spirit of Sukkot! Did the rabbis want to put limits on our joy and happiness? Were they afraid that we might have become too happy? That’s exactly one of the (many) answers! Rabbi Azaryah Figo (1579-1647) in his Binah L’itim (published in Venice in 1648) connects the[…]

Mądrość i niezachwiana radość

By Menachem Mirski PhD 10/07/2023 Leave a Comment Filed Under: Holidays, Polish Sermons

Refleksja na Simchat Tora 5784

Dlaczego czytamy Księgę Koheleta, najbardziej “egzystencjalistyczną” księgę Biblii hebrajskiej, w Sukkot – w najradośniejsze ze świąt żydowskich? Cz nie wydaje się to sprzeczne z duchem tego święta? Czyżby rabini chcieli ograniczyć naszą radość i szczęście? Czy obawiali się, że możemy stać się zbyt szczęśliwi? Taka jest dokładnie jedna z (wielu) odpowiedzi! Rabin Azaryah Figo (1579-1647) w swoim Binah L’itim (opublikowanym w Wenecji w 1648 r.) łączy lekturę Kohelet z radością Sukkot:[…]