Shavei Israel seminar for Polish Jewish teens in Warsaw
Polish teens at Shavei Israel’s Teen Seminar in Warsaw
When Shavei Israel held its last “Teen Shabbaton” in Warsaw, the universal takeaway from the 18 Polish teenagers who participated was “When can we do it again?” That was in January. After a cold six months of Polish winter, the summer has finally arrived – and so has the next teen event.
Earlier in July, Rabbi Yehoshua Ellis, Shavei Israel’s emissary to Katowice, Poland, and the manager of the teen program, organized our third seminar for Polish youth looking to reconnect with their Jewish heritage. This time, the get-together was during the week, not on Shabbat, which enabled the group to try out some new bonding and educational opportunities.
In particular, the group of 17 teens volunteered to help clear out some of the debris in Warsaw’s Jewish cemetery. The activity was organized together with an American Jewish teen group that was visiting Warsaw at the same time. “We did a lot of important work and got to share a Jewish moment,” says Rabbi Ellis.
That was in keeping with the theme of the seminar: community. “We worked a lot on group dynamics, with group-building games and challenges, and we visited various parts of the Warsaw Jewish community.” On the opening night of the seminar, one of the Polish teens led Israeli dancing for about 100 people in the parking lot of the Warsaw JCC.
The first event for young Polish Jews was a Shabbaton held in November 2014. It was initiated after Polish Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich pointed out to Rabbi Ellis that there seemed to be a lack of programming for teenagers. It was planned in cooperation with the JDC (Joint Distribution Committee) in Poland and included prayers at Warsaw’s historic Nozyk Synagogue, Shabbat dinner at the nearby Warsaw JCC, and a day filled with havruta study in pairs and tours of Jewish Warsaw.
The second Shabbaton in January 2015 had a surprise visit by film director Steven Spielberg who was in Warsaw with another teen group from the USC Shoah Foundation, an organization Spielberg founded to gather video testimonies from survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust.
The next Shabbaton is already being planned. It will take place in the fall, over a weekend during the intermediary days of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
We have a few pictures from the most recent teen seminar below.
