Plaszow, Shabbat & Havdalah

Although we didn’t have a lot of time after finishing at Plaszow to change and get ready for Shabbat, by the time we walked from the hotel to the Tempel Synagogue, we had thoroughly shifted into Shabbat mode. We had arranged to use the Tempel for our own tefilot, and the davening was beautiful, complete with singing, dancing, and Yamit’s Senior Drashah. From there we walked to the JCC for a delicious Shabbat dinner and then an Oneg and subgroups back at the hotel.nnShabbat morning was a late wake up before we joined the local community for Shabbat tefilot at the Remuh Synagogue. The acoustics and physical setup were not ideal for everyone in our group, but the memory of Shabbat davening in a synagogue first built over 400 years ago will no doubt stay with them!nnFor the afternoon, we enjoyed Shabbat lunch again at the JCC, this time accompanied with senior words of Torah from Bailey, before being joined by Pani Christina, a Polish woman whose mother was recognized by Yad VaShem as Righteous Among the Nations. Pani Christina’s mom risked her life to save her childhood friend Halina by secreting her out of the Krakow Ghetto, and the talk ended to cheers and warm applause from our students. We then walked a short distance to the Galicia Museum to take in their photographic collection of the ‘Traces of Memory’ – evidence and artifacts of the Jewish life that was once so common in this corner of Poland.nnWe enjoyed rest time at the hotel for the rest of Shabbat afternoon, followed by Havdalah in the main square of Kazimierz, an hour at the nearby Galleria Kazimierz, and a hearty dinner before our preparations for Auschwitz tomorrow.nnn"}” data-sheets-root=”1″>Shabbat morning was a late wake up before we joined the local community for Shabbat tefilot at the Remuh Synagogue. The acoustics and physical setup were not ideal for everyone in our group, but the memory of Shabbat davening in a synagogue first built over 400 years ago will no doubt stay with them!

For the afternoon, we enjoyed Shabbat lunch again at the JCC, this time accompanied with senior words of Torah from Bailey, before being joined by Pani Christina, a Polish woman whose mother was recognized by Yad VaShem as Righteous Among the Nations. Pani Christina’s mom risked her life to save her childhood friend Halina by secreting her out of the Krakow Ghetto, and the talk ended to cheers and warm applause from our students. We then walked a short distance to the Galicia Museum to take in their photographic collection of the ‘Traces of Memory’ – evidence and artifacts of the Jewish life that was once so common in this corner of Poland.

We enjoyed rest time at the hotel for the rest of Shabbat afternoon, followed by Havdalah in the main square of Kazimierz, an hour at the nearby Galleria Kazimierz, and a hearty dinner before our preparations for Auschwitz tomorrow.