Update from Lodz: bonfires, rabbis and Steven Spielberg’s sister
Bonfires, a visiting chief rabbi and a movie being made by Steven Spielberg’s sister: these are some of the activities that have been keeping the Jewish community of Lodz, Poland, busy in the last month. Shavei Israel’s emissaries to Lodz, Poland, Miriam and Rabbi Dawid Szychowski, have made sure there is Jewish programming almost every night of the week in this Polish town that was once home to the country’s second largest Jewish community after Warsaw.
Gan Matanel kids visit folk museum
First priority when the Szychowskis arrived in August 2015 was to reestablish Jewish education in Lodz. Gan Matanel, the kindergarten that Miriam now runs, is the first Jewish kindergarten in the city in decades. Gan Matanel has expanded from its original 8 students to 10 today. A Hanukah event for the Jewish community last year featuring pictures of the kids from Gan Matanel drew 300 guests. The kids also visited the open-air Museum of Folk Architecture in Skansen – we have a picture from their trip.
While Miriam keeps the kindergarten going, Rabbi Dawid makes sure the adults have plenty of meaningful Jewish classes and activities of which to take advantage. Fifteen people have joined a class in Jewish prayer (using the 10 siddurim – or prayer books – that Shavei Israel sent to the community). It has met twice now. Every Shabbat, a festive Kiddush attracts 30 people and Szychowskis host regular communal Shabbat meals and a Thursday night fabrengen with guitar, song and words of Torah.
Marking Yom Hazikaron in Lodz with Israeli songs
On Yom Hazikaron – Israel Memorial Day – 15 people joined an evening of songs and a screening of the movie “Beitar.” The following day, Yom Ha’atzmaut – Israel Independence Day – the numbers were even higher: 60 people participated in a day that included prayers, the singing of Hatikva (the Israeli national anthem), a talent competition, barbeque and a “fire dance” featuring live music.
Nancy Spielberg, sister of the famous Steven Spielberg, is an acclaimed documentary director in her own right. She is the executive producer of “Who Will Write Our History,” the story of Emanuel Ringelbum and the secret archives of the Warsaw Ghetto – thousands of documents on daily life written by journalists and ordinary Jews that were buried prior to the Ghetto’s liquidation and only rediscovered by the public recently. Rabbi Dawid was asked to participate in the making of the film as “prayer supervisor.” He also played a small role. He spoke to the community about his experience when Hollywood met Poland.
Chief Rabbi David Lau visits Lodz
Finally, Israel’s Chief Rabbi David Lau paid a visit to Lodz and met with community members. Icchak Shtiglitz, who is in charge of the spiritual department for the diaspora at the World Zionist Organization, also visited Lodz in May.
You can read more about Miriam and Rabbi Dawid here. And here’s a report on Lodz’s new Torah scroll – it’s first since World War II.