Friday was a day we saw the absolute worst of humanity; unspeakable barbarism and savagery on such a grand scale against innocent men, women and children. Their only crime was being Jewish. The numbers are staggering! Each time Kaddish was said, I would try to concentrate on the number ONE….each individual who perished, each family with no one left to say Kaddish for them and the shear terror they must have felt.
We all had difficulties processing what our eyes had seen. With the walls between us already broken down, we were free to share our emotions. One thought that emerged was that the gas chambers were the great equalizer because the Nazi’s didn’t care if you were Ashkenasic or Sephardic; chasidic, orthodox, conservative or reformed. Stories were told of Jews helping Jews just because that’s what we innately do.
Yet, on the way back to Cracow, a different feeling began to seep in. The Lubavitcher Rebbe is quoted as saying ‘The only remedy for such darkness is to bring light into the world.’ We started talking about the amazing Shabbat we would celebrate together with our new family; davening in the Isaak Shul with its amazing acoustics together Jews from all over the world, all walks of life and from different denominations. Shabbat Dinner in the original Beit Yaakov building; as the sign on the building says ‘the sparks of Yiddishkeit spread from this building in western Poland to light a flame that spreads Torah across the globe.’ We arrived back at our hotel somehow uplifted, now motivated to prepare ourselves for the Holy Shabbat.
Yet nothing could have prepared us as we celebrated one of the most inspirational and uplifting Shabbats of our lives. Walking together to shul in our finest clothes through the streets of Cracow, we couldn’t help but think to a time gone by when thousands of Jews in generations gone by would be making the same walk to shul.
With hundreds in attendance, Chazzan Spinner lead us in a beautiful Carlbach style Kabbalat Shabbat. In front of me Jews from Israel; behind me from Romania; to my right were Yeshiva boys from England and all were singing together with such emotion and passion that the music continued long after the prayer concluded.
Off to a beautiful Shabbat dinner filled with the finest foods, Divrei Torah and Zemirot. The Cracow Niggun felt like our call to arms, a way to connect the slow somber beginning meant to symbolize the Holocaust, with the upbeat melody to follow symbolizing our current lives WITH a state of Israel. Then we shared our feelings of the week in Poland, ‘The world that was.’ Words alone could not capture the essence of that discussion, but there was a sense of relief that we all shared the same difficulties, having similar confusing and dichotomous thoughts and impressions.
Shabbat day continued much the same with a certain inexplicable feeling that permeated the air. We went on to see Schindler’s factory and the names and faces of some of the 1200 Jews he helped to save. Yet we were in for a surprise after Shabbat Lunch as we met a very special woman, a true righteous amongst the gentiles, who risked her own life together with her entire family for hiding a young Jewish girl named Miri. Her story of self- sacrifice left us speechless and inspired. Put in the same situation, who amongst us would take that risk today?
Some found connections to their past destroyed by the Nazis which provided intimate moments, a chance to connect with ancestors they know or never had an opportunity to meet. One such example occurred on our way to Seudah Shlishit as we passed by Gail’s great grandparents home near the Cracow market, and she shared their story.
We ended with a special uplifting Havdalah, the sounds of which could probably be heard throughout the lobby, dancing together like family.
Hopefully, like Sarah Schnirer, the spark we brought to Poland will continue to fan out flames all over the globe as our nation continues to grow and the torch is passed on to future generations..לד
Journey to Poland 