Taube Jewish Heritage Tours and the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland Foundation, in cooperation with the Northern California Board of Rabbis, have co-organized a groundbreaking trip for 24 multi-denominational Northern California rabbis. Led by Rabbis Marvin Goodman and Allen Bennett, the group represents a diverse array of congregations and institutions.
The intensive 6-day program, with its focus on exploring the current challenges and accomplishments of Jewish communities and institutions in Poland and the complexities of Polish Jewish identities, began with a visit to POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. There, the delegation was welcomed by POLIN Director Dr. Dariusz Stola. In the evening, the rabbis were briefed by Dr. Sebastian Rejak, Special Envoy of Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs for Relations with the Jewish Diaspora.
The program continued with meetings and informal conversations with rabbinical colleagues from different congregations in Poland, leaders of Jewish communal institutions, a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and walking tours in Warsaw and Krakow, which introduced the delegation to 1,000 years of Polish Jewish history, bridging past and present, trauma and triumph.
Additional highlights of the itinerary included: an evening at the JCC Warsaw, a visit to the Emanuel Ringleblum Jewish Historical Institute with a special viewing of selections from the Ringelblum Archives; consultations with genealogists at the Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center; a meeting with Hon. Anna Azari, Ambassador of Israel to Poland; and a visit to the Lauder-Morasha Jewish Day School, where the delegation met with Director Rabbi Mati Pawlak, as well as Founding Director Helise Lieberman, who currently directs the Taube Center. The program also included a meeting with colleagues from different religious minorities in Poland, Shabbat dinner at the JCC in Krakow and a day-trip to former shtetls before departing for Germany.
Conversations among the participants, between sites and sessions, are passionate and inspiring, as they explore and grapple with Poland's Jewish past and its Jewish future.
Participants' Reflections: