Poland-Israel Mission
Poland-Israel Report (8/8/09) by Hazzan Abraham Lubin
Poland was once a land of more than 3.3 million Jews. It was once the main locus and guiding star of all Jewish religious and secular movements. And it was there that so many of our own families emigrated, bringing to America the heart and soul of East European Yiddishkeit. As Poland’s Chief Rabbi, Michael Shudrich has noted “Where would Israel and American Jewry be without the Polish Jewish history.?”
We are all aware of the massacres of Jews carried out by Nazi Germany on Polish soil; we also know, too well, that so many Poles were complicit in these crimes. But to see Poland today and what developed there in the past 20 years, since Communism’s collapse, is a remarkable story which should give us all hope.
It was for these reasons and for the fact that the rich repertory of East European Hazzanut began in Poland; some of the greatest Hazzanim of the 19th and early 20th centuries lived and served in all its cities and Shtet’ls and some 1330 Hazzanim perished in Auschwitz, Birkenau and other concentration camps,that The Cantors Assembly’s leadership, of which I am proud to be a past president, had the vision more than two years ago to hold this year’s annual convention, in Poland and Israel.
Almost 100 cantors and some 300 congregants from the US., Canada, Israel and other countries, including a group of us from Beth El, were privileged to be part of this memorable and transformative Mission to Poland.
Let me share some of the highlights:
1) An opening evening Ma’ariv service at the Nozyk Synagogue, Warsaw’s only remaining pre-Holocaust congregation. The Service was led by cantors Lichterman, whose father was the last Hazzan at the Nozyk Synagogue, prior to World War II.
2) A memorial ceremony and musical program which I was honored to lead at the Warsaw Ghetto. This event coincided with the official groundbreaking for the new Museum of the History of Polish Jews. This museum will reflect the lasting legacy of Jewish life in Poland in the course of a 1000 years. It is projected to open in 2011.
3) A sell out concert of Jewish music sung for an audience primarily non-Jews at the National Opera House in Warsaw. The Opera House Orchestra and choruses of adults and children accompanied the members of the Cantors Assembly. The Polish prime minister, Warsaw’s mayor and Iserael’s Ambassador to Poland. The opera’s children’s chorus walked off the stage singing the Hatikvah and the concert concluded with all the cantors appearing on stage with Tallitot and singing the famous Lewandowski Halleluyah. The emotion was palpable as we all wiped our tears.
4) A performance of Yiddish Theater classics at the famous Ida Kaminska Yiddish State Theater.
5) A Shacharit (morning) Service at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp was held, the morning’s Torah reading was from a Torah saved from the Holocaust and brought to the site by the Cantors Assembly. At the conclusion the Torah was unwrapped and a number of survivors and their children who were present were enveloped with tallitot and the Torah. A most powerful moment of the day.
6) In Krakow, a beautiful city not destroyed by the Nazis, the Cantors performed a Fourth of July Americana concert at the Krakow Philharmonic Hall. Again a sold out audience primarily of non- Jewish Poles, made it a truly great event.
7) A remarkable event in Krakow is the annual Jewish Music Festival which has now been held for the past 20 years. It is a city wide event that draws both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences and attracts Klezmer musicians from all over the world who perform 10 days of concerts and other cultural programs. About 15,000 to 20,000 of Polish community members, mainly of the younger generation, were present for the closing night musical extravaganza, where members of the Cantors Assembly performed a traditional Saturday night Havdallah ceremony. It was truly an awesome and moving experience.
Mission Mishpacha - Family Mission to Israel
From July 24 - August 3, 2007, we visited the ancient and the modern; the famous and the off-the beaten path and enjoyed Israel with family and friends on this unique itinerary specifically designed for us.
* Kayak on the Jordan River and raft down the Banias
* Climb the Snake Path and experience sunrise atop Masada
* Visit the Ayalon Institute, a clandestine ammunitions factory built in 1945, that manufactured the bullets needed to help defend the pioneers and founders of the State of Israel in 1948
* Become an archaeologist for a day in Beit Guvrin
* Appreciate ancient know-how as we explore the underground tunnels in the Old City in Jerusalem
* Enjoy a special visit to Beit Shemesh, Washington's Partnership 2000 community, and strengthen Washington's connection with Israel
* Participate in a congregational Bnei Mitzah at Robinson's Arch adjacent to the Western Wall
2006 Interfaith Mission to Israel
Our congregational interfaith mission, July 4-14, 2006 was a wonderful opportunity to see the normal great sites of Israel as well as to learn about Christian origins with a group of our neighbors from Saint Mark Presbyterian Church. Rabbi Rudolph and Gail and Pastor Roy Howard and Claudia were our leaders, and there was a professional guide. This was a fascinating chance to experience our dual heritages first hand.
Israel Diary: The Conflict Unfolds
The speed with which events happened while the Beth El/St. Mark Interfaith Mission was in Israel was stupefying. When our group of 18 arrived in Israel, July 5, one Israeli soldier had been kidnapped by Hamas, and a settler who had been kidnapped in Jerusalem had been killed. A Hamas deadline had passed unnoticed. By the time we left 11 days later, Hezbollah had kidnapped two more soldiers and killed eight, and Israel had bombed Beirut airport.
But we didn’t need the front-row seat to history to make our trip memorable. We’d have sufficient memories from our shared reactions to watching B’nai Mitzvah at the Western Wall, walking in the garden of Gethesemane, learning history at Masada, weeping together at Yad Vashem, marveling at the site of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount by the Galilee, looking down on Lebanon and up to Syria from a Jeep in the Golan Heights, and discussing speakers who ranged from far right to far left, Reform Jewish to Arab Christian to Arab Muslim.
Our interfaith trip roster consisted of 11 congregants from St. Mark Presbyterian Church and their Pastor Roy Howard, an engaged couple from Rochester, New York (she was Jewish and a one-time volunteer in the Israeli army; he was Protestant), Rabbi Rudolph, Gail Fribush, Walter Arnheim, and Marsha Reins. The trip was the result of a two-year monthly dialogue between Beth El and St. Mark, initiated by Rabbi Rudolph and Pastor Howard.
Here’s a brief diary of the trip that tries to convey not so much what we saw but what we thought as we toured the Holy Land together.
July 5: Our first sight of Jerusalemis from the Mt. of Olives. We learn from our guide, Gershon, who is versed in the Old and New Testaments, the history of the city and the story of Jesus’ last days. At dinner we are told by Yossi Klein Halevi, columnist for the Jerusalem Post, New York Times, and Washington Post that in the 1990s between the Israelis and the Palestinians were “two competing narratives—a conflict of right vs. right” and that occupation of Gaza was untenable in a democracy. Now, however, the conflict is over the existence of Israel. Halevi says that the Palestinians’ single greatest loss in the past six years is the Israeli guilty conscience. The loss has led to the construction of the security fence, which is making Israel safer. He sees in the current hostilities the possibility of war with Iran and suggests that “peace will come by all of us standing before the abyss” and turning away. The group is moved and depressed by the remarks, which in one week will start to look prophetic.
July 6: Before the Western Wall, Rabbi Rudolph and Pastor Howard pray together. The power of Wall, the fervor of the worshippers, draw all of us in. Our meeting with Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is delayed a few minutes. Explaining the delay, Regev says the conference room was in use by a group discussing the kidnapped soldier. We are shaken by our closeness to the story. Regev asserts that Israel’s response to the kidnapping and Hamas aggression is justifiable. At dinner at Beit Shemesh, we hear explosions. We’re told they’re training exercises.
July 7: Some of us walk, some ride to the top of Masada. Our guide details the life of his favorite villains, Herod the Great and Herod Antipas, and their role in the life and death of Jesus. Pastor Howard underscores Herod’s involvement as opposed to the Jews’. That evening, before Shabbat dinner, we learn about interfaith relations in Israel from Rabbi Ron Kronish and Samuel Fanous, an Arab-Christian, who explains how difficult it is for people to understand that he is an Arab but not a Muslim. They tell us that interfaith visits to Israel such as ours are rare. Getting to know members of other faiths as people means “dehumanizing the other, which is against the grain in this part of the world,” Rabbi Kronish says.
July 8: With Pastor Howard and some of the Presbyterians, we attend Shabbat services at Shira Hadashah, “a modern orthodox congregation.” Congregants whisper explanations to their Christian guests.
July 9: We visit Yad Vashem on our way to the Galilee. After dinner in Nof Ginossar near Tiberias, we review the day and the week. The predominant feeling about Yad Vashem is incredulity:
“I felt I wasn’t becoming emotionally involved, and then I felt overwhelmed and I wept when I entered the sunlight [at the exit].”
“I didn’t understand the scope [of the Holocaust].”
“I hadn’t realized what the US didn’t do.”
Rabbi Rudolph mentions that none of the six million would have died if there had been an Israel. Pastor Howard replies, “Many don’t understand the idea of a homeland, and they see Israel as more of a spiritual community.” One of his congregants adds, “This is the first time I feel in my heart how important Israel is to the Jewish people.” “Israel is a reaction to powerlessness. Do Christians ever feel powerless?” asks Rabbi Rudolph. Pastor Howard thinks not. As we consider how we might have acted during the Holocaust, Pastor Howard cites Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Christian theologian, who was hanged by the Nazis for his defense of Jews. “Every day,” says Pastor Howard, “you have to decide whether to be righteous or not.”
July 12: We learn that Hezbollah has kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and Israel has bombed Lebanon. In Akko, touted as a model for Jewish-Arab cooperation, we meet with Sliman Washahi, an Arab who is a member of the city council, and Benjy Chalfon, a Jew who directs volunteer services for the city. “Arabs and Jews live together because of respect,” Washahi observes. “You have to separate the ‘political thing’ from daily life.” In Nazareth, near the Basilica of the Annuciation, we meet with Wadi Abunassar, an Arab Muslim, who feels that Israeli force after the Gaza kidnapping was “overreaction.” He sees little success in attempts to foster ecumenical dialogue in Israel. He believes Iran should be allowed to have some nuclear capability. Shopping in Safed, Rabbi Rudolph wonders if we might be the last tourists there for a while. As we sit on the roof of the house where we have eaten dinner, we can see lights in Lebanon. “I’m surprised Israel didn’t take out the lights there,” says our guide. In an evening discussion, Abunassar’s views are quickly dismissed, while the speakers in Akko evoke admiration. Phone calls home reveal no concerns about us--CNN is still reporting on the train bombings in Mumbai, India.
July 13: Our last day in Israel. Beirut airport has been bombed. When we visit Megiddo (Armagedon), our guide’s voice is constantly drowned out by the sound of jet planes overhead. CNN has turned from India to the Middle East, and folks at home are worried about us. We seem to have kept barely ahead of the crisis. Safed has been hit by a Katyusha rocket. The National Parks we visited two days ago are closed. The tour that our guide was to begin tomorrow is canceled. Ben Gurion airport is busy. Busier than usual? We cannot judge.