Part 2 Thursday, October 22 - A Light Among the Darkness

PLEASE NOTE - I intentionally split up today's blog entry into two separate posts.  I think you will understand why when you read them both.  Please be sue to start with our journey to Auschwitz.

Baruch Ata Adonai... Thank you, God, for giving me life, for sustaining me and for enabling me to reach this moment.

On the bus ride back to Kraków after leaving Auschwitz, most people slept.  We were physically and emotionally exhausted.  We had witnessed such unthinkable darkness that it almost felt like there was no recovering.  Even our service at the synagogue in Oswiecim, although uplifting, was hardly enough to get us to choose to live again.  The victims of the Holocaust were not given a choice.  We, on the other hand, are.  If we choose to allow the weight of the Holocaust to bog us down it is as if we died in Auschwitz as well.  We need to be able to walk away from Auschwitz and choose life.  We bring these memories with us, and are strengthened by the burden that we carry, but we choose to allow it to carry us towards life.  In the memory of all of those who need us to remember, we must choose blessing, life and happiness.  

And so we slept and as we approached our evening activity which was having dinner at the Kraków Jewish Comminity Center, I think I could speak for everyone on our bus when I say that after Auschwitz, all we wanted to do was go to the hotel, curl up in the fetal position on our beds and weep.  

But Ron woke us all up gently and we went back into the Jewish Quarter of Kraków to the JCC.

Here we met the JCC Director, Jonathan Ornstein, Rabbi Avi, and some members of the JCC.  We sat around the table and enjoyed a delicious meal and learned about the workings of the JCC.  

I know what you are thinking...  A JCC in Poland?  But there are no Jews left.

I thought the same thing.  But the truth is that there is a resurgence of Judaism there, mostly by those who are just learning that they have Jewish roots.

Jonathan shared with us that after the war, and after communism most people denied their Judaism.  And, if they had kids, they would not tell them that they were Jewish.  I think this is understandable given the enormity of the Holocaust.  And now, there are young adults learning that they are truly Jewish and are seeking ways to learn about their Judaism.  Rabbi Avi shared with us story after story of how people were discovering that they were Jewish and embracing that discovery.  They are not ashamed of that heritage, they are proud of it, and want to bring Judaism back to Poland.  How exciting is that?  Literally in the shadows of Auschwitz is a resurgence of Judaism.  Before the war 10% of the Kraków population were Jews.  And in Warsaw it wa 30%.  In Lublin, some say it was as high as 60%!  Think about this for a moment...  In the United States about 2% of our population is Jewish.  Think about the hole in Polish life and culture with the destination of the Jews.  We learned yesterday that there is a strong desire to learn about Judaism, and we learned today that part of the reason is because people are discovering that they have Jewish roots and want to explore what that means.  

We learned about the many programs offered by the JCC and how they were impacting Jewish life in Kraków.  

Sitting on one side of me was a 79 year old Holocaust survivor who was the most active member of the JCC.  You could see and feel her passion for this place and the resurgence of Judaism in Kraków. The most important thing that the JCC has done for her is to help her to connect with other survivors, with other Jews, with other people who are passionate about Poland and Judaism. 

Without question, the highlight for me was the conversation I had with Agga, the 21 year old girl who was sitting on the other side of me.  She was not Jewish at all, had no Jewish roots, but as she learned about the Holocaust and visited Auschwitz she felt this void.  It was the missing element in Poland, the Jews.  She walked into the JCC at age 16 to volunteer in order to learn about the culture that was wiped out during the Holocaust.  Now, 5 years later, she is working there full time, and serving as an ambassador for Judaism.  Agga opened my eyes to something really important.  Something I had never thought of before.

Every Pole was impacted by the Holocaust.  Not just the Jewish Poles.  Agga's family were survivors as well, only survivors in a different way.  We learned how she had an uncle who was killed at Auschwitz, only for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Agga's deep love and respect for Judaism is guiding her towards a life of promoting Judaism in the diaspora, especially showing the world that Judaism is alive and well in Poland.  After the darkness of Auschwitz, and I mean a darkness darker than anything imaginable, Agga and the JCC was the brightest possible light.  

We learned that there are 600 members of the JCC, well, 601 because today I joined and I bet many from our group will be overseas members as well.  

Many groups come to Poland and see the museums, the cemeteries and the camps.  And that is where their trip ends.  It was so wonderful that our trip included all of these things and the recognition of the work that the Jewish community is doing there today, right now.  From the darkest of all possible places, a place of no life, no potential for life, to the bright light of a strong, vibrant and growing Jewish community.  

We were all dreading this visit, and we left inspired and blessed by our time with this wonderful community.  I hope it is just the beginning of a connection between TAE and this Jewish Comminity Center.

As we were leaving, Jonathan played the largest shofar in the world which is a piece of art in their courtyard.

Poland is hearing the sound of the shofar, waking up to the resurgence of Jewish life and culture.  What better way to show the Nazis how much they failed to accomplish their goals.  I am a proud member of the JCC in Poland!

I could have never expected that talking with my 21 year old Catholic friend Agga would teach me such a valuable lesson.  I live a Jewish life.  I have dedicate my life to Judaism.  And I take her for granted more than I thought possible.  Agga has enabled me to see that I need to do more to express my gratitude for the blessing of Judaism in my life.  Not just for the opportunity to practice it openly, unlike Sophia and the countless other victims of the Holocaust, but for the richness it can bring to our world.  In my life, I hope that I become more like Agga.  I will try my best to not take Judaism for granted again.  I am grateful for my friend Agga who I met at the JCC in Kraków!

Baruch Ata Adonai... Thank you, God, for giving me life, for sustaining me and for enabling me to reach this moment.