Nearly seven decades after its demise, Rabbinical Association of Poland to be re-established in the Presence of the Chief Rabbi of Israel
At a special gathering this weekend being organized by Shavei Israel in Lodz, Poland, a ceremony will take place to re-launch the rabbinical group, which comprised all of the country’s rabbis prior to the Holocaust
For the first time since the 1930’s, Poland’s rabbis will unite together under one organizational roof when the Rabbinical Association of Poland is re-launched at a special ceremony being organized by Shavei Israel this Saturday night, February 23, 2008 (17 Adar I 5768) at the Jewish community center in Lodz, Poland.
Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger will sign a special scroll together with Polish Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich and all of the community rabbis currently serving in Poland (in Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz and Wroclaw) declaring the formal re-establishment of the group. The Rabbinical Association of Poland existed up until the outbreak of World War Two and included all of the country’s rabbis.
The ceremony will take place as part of Shavei Israel’s annual conference for “Hidden Jews”, which will bring together 150 participants from across Poland, many of whom only recently learned that they have Jewish roots.
Michael Freund, Chairman of Shavei Israel, said, “Jewish life in Poland has been growing stronger in recent years, as many young Poles have begun to discover their family’s Jewish ancestry, which was often hidden out of fear of persecution by the Nazis and the Communists. We initiated the rebirth of the Rabbinical Association of Poland, together with Polish Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich, as a means of further strengthening Jewish life in a place where the Germans once sought to extinguish it. This symbolizes the eternity of Israel and the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people.”
Shavei Israel is a Jerusalem-based organization that assists “lost Jews” seeking to return to the Jewish people. It currently has two full-time emissaries in Poland: Rabbi Boaz Pash, who serves as Chief Rabbi of Krakow, and Rabbi Yitzhak Rapoport, who is the rabbi of Wroclaw (formerly Breslau).
For more information, contact
Michael Freund, Chairman michael@shavei.org