Warsaw: from Past to Present
May, 2016
Thousands of people are at the streets, mostly young looking, many ride their bicycles. Such a lively atmosphere, and so different from my last visit as a high-school student to the concentration camps in Poland. I land in Warsaw in the night of the museums. At this night all museums in Poland are free entrance and thousands of people go out.
I Came to Warsaw to learn about the present Jewish life, and chose to start with the past, visiting the Polin museum of the history of Polish Jews. When I arrive at the museum I’m struck by the fact that thousands of people are waiting in line. I’m wondering who are these people, and why did they choose to visit this museum from all 250 other museums and institutions in Warsaw? How do they perceive the Jewish history of their country?
I notice a food stand right next to the museum, I approach it and ask what do they have. “We have Phalaphel, hummus and chulent”. Such a nice welcoming to an Israeli and a Polish like me.
When I finally enter the museum and wonder through the its exhibitions, I’m surprised to learn that so much of its exhibitions are telling the story of Jewish life, culture and tradition, and not only the story of the Holocaust. The visitors are reading enthusiastically about 1000 years of Polish Jewish history. They learn about the Jewish community and history, about their occupations including printing, how do the Jewish books look like and what are their components, how does a Yeshiva looks like, and even how does the Jewish street used to look like. The whole museum is very technological and advanced and allows you to experience in many different ways.
We can all benefit from visiting in this museum. We often tend to think that this heritage and culture are kept by or even owned by a Jewish orthodox minority, but it’s also ours to keep, learn and cherish. Learning in such an approachable way, makes you appreciate our culture. I wish I could visit this museum on my last visit to Warsaw as a teenager.
In my last visit to Poland I didn’t know that Jewish life in Poland still exist. The following day I went to the new (two years old) Jewish community centre, the JCC. I joined the “Boker Tov” brunch that is taking place every Sunday. I found a very modern and beautiful space, right tin the centre of Warsaw. I tried to orient myself and approached two people, and I quickly learn that they both work there, and they kindly offer to show me the place. More than the place and the information about it fascinate me as much as their own personal stories. The first person, Pioter, is a photographer who found out only ten years ago he was Jewish. He actually found this out following his meeting with the JDC director in Warsaw and since than he is working with them (read his whole story here in my blog). The second person, is a young non-Jewish man, who is married to a Jewish woman. They are both involved in the centre and their young boy is studying in the Jewish kindergarten. Their stories reflect in the best way possible the extent of how this place succeeds to be welcoming and open to all parts of the community.
When I join one of the tables at the brunch I meet more and more people and faces from the Jewish community here. Each with his/her own story. I notice especially the fact that the majority of people are young. As written in their brochure: “JCC’s ambition is to be part of and to facilitate the creation of lively modern Jewish culture and the culture of the city they live in.” And they do create a space where it is cool to be Jewish. They hold artistic events inside and outside that are open to the public, and they dare and are not afraid to raise up for discussion hot topics like LGBT rights, modern slavery and also the topic of Kosher shhita that was on a public debate in Poland, all as part of a panel discussion recurrent event. They also offer a “studio photo” in which people are trained on how to hold an interview and take photos, which is an amazing idea that can be multiplied easily in so many Jewish communities where young people are interested in hearing and recording the older generation stories.
Also some of the families activities are very creative - like cooking together every Friday receipts from different Jewish cuisines in the world (the activity is called “Uga”), and collecting old Jewish Polish recipes (“Bepka”).
The centre is also home for new initiatives for youth movements. Sadly, Jewish Polish youth movements in recent years couldn’t find a home in other international youth movements, that maybe did not know how to contain them. These days new initiatives of youth activities are on the rise, holding fun activities that focus on doing good for your environment and the residents of the city.
The Jewish culture became so hip, that few people told me that they have mixed feelings toward the enthusiasm they recieve from people who are interested in their culture and history. It suddenly become cool to be Jewish, to be different. I found it very peculiar, I don’t remember any other time in history that people were interested, and it even considered to be cool to be Jewish. When I asked why do they think people want to be Jewish, the answer was that Polish people feel that there was a rich culture in Poland, and following world war two, a void was created that they are now trying to fill in. Whatever the reason is, the JCC offers a safe space to explore. There are many people who don’t know their roots, and even knowing that their grandmother was Jewish does not mean that they identify themselves as one, and that they know what it means.
Photo taken from the JCC's brochure
My next station was the synagogue. The thing that made the biggest impression on me in the synagogue was actually the outside street. In many places I visited, the synagogue was hidden, but here all the way to the synagogue is covered by posters explaining terms and information about the Jewish community, such as - what is a synagouge, what is a rabbi, who is the Jewish community today and who leads it and more. I learned that while in the past the Jewish community was chaired by older man, today young Jewish women are chairing the community and lead it to an optimistic direction. I also learned during my visit about the key role that the community's rabbi had in enabling this community be so open and inclusive.
In conclusion, I believe that visiting Warsaw today cannot only teach us about the past, but can also teach us about our future - how we can create current and vibrant Jewish life, one that is accessible for all.
