Help young Polish Jews reclaim their heritage on a Shavei Israel trip to Israel this summer
Flyer advertising summer seminar (in Polish)
For today’s young Polish Jews, who are rediscovering and reclaiming their Jewish roots in unprecedented numbers, a trip to Israel is often the foundation stone upon which their Jewish futures are built. Shavei Israel has been offering select groups of Polish “Hidden” Jews an educational, spiritual and ultimately transformational summer seminar for the past seven years.
We are now gearing up for our eighth seminar, to take place over two weeks, from August 18-31, 2015 in Jerusalem, and we need your help. Each seminar is jam-packed with activities – field trips to Safed, Masada and the Dead Sea; homestays with families on Shabbat; daily classes in Polish on Judaism and Hebrew; tours in Jerusalem to the Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall Tunnels, Yad Vashem and Mea Shearim.
Given the close proximity of the seminar to the High Holy Days, this year’s theme will be “A New Year” and will focus on the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Rabbi Yitzhak Rapoport will be leading the Polish-language educational program, with help from Shavei Israel’s emissaries Rabbi Avi Baumol, who serves in Krakow, and Rabbi Yehoshua Ellis, who will be flying in from his base in Katowice to join the group.
As most of the young Polish Jews who want to come to Israel on the seminar cannot afford the costs involved, Shavei Israel charges participants only a symbolic fee of 175 Euros (a little less than $200). The real cost per person is over $1,000. This covers accommodations, meals, trips, classes and materials. Participants are responsible for their own airfare, which is not included in the price. With 20 young Polish Jews expected this summer, the direct cost to Shavei Israel for the seminar comes to more than $20,000.
Shavei Israel’s summer seminar changes lives. It is the highlight of the year for young Poles with Jewish heritage – and most of 2015’s participants will be newcomers. Please consider sponsoring a young Polish Jew on the trip of a lifetime to Israel. You can make a donation of $1,000 to cover the full costs, or a smaller donation of $500, $250, $100 or $50 to defray some of the expenses. It’s all on our Support page.
Here’s a picture from last year’s seminar, enthusiasm brimming from face to face. With your generous donation, we can bring more smiles, and more importantly, deeper Jewish knowledge and lifelong engagement, to a new group of Jewish seekers from Poland. Please visit the Support page on our website today.