Pardes News
Students from the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem Dedicate Restored Synagogue in Poland
Student and Alumni Family Connections Intensify Significance of Visit to Zamosc
Jerusalem, Israel April 10, 2006 (12 Nissan) Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies students brought a Mezuzah from Jerusalem and affixed it at the dedication of a restored synagogue in Zamosc, Poland. The students were on a pre-Passover trip to Poland during a break from their Pardes program where they study Jewish texts in Jerusalem for 10 months.
The 16th century synagogue in Zamosc has special significance for Pardes students because a Pardes alumna who lives in Poland, Monika Krawczyk, Adv., Pardes Year Program 2005-2006, organized the restoration in her capacity as Director of the Warsaw-based Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland. The synagogue is the only surviving synagogue in Zamosc. The town was once a vibrant center of Jewish life, with traditional and more modern Jews living side-by-side, reflecting the mosaic of Jewish life in pre-war Poland.
Several of the Pardes students had family connections with Zamosc. "The shul represents the place where my family prayed for four generations of Jewish life in that town, said David Basior, a Pardes Year Program student from Seattle. "Restoring Judaism to Zamosc by affixing a Mezuzah on their one remaining synagogue was like restoring my family's presence to a city they were once forced out of to be killed, or chose to leave in order to save themselves and their future (me), he explained. Zamosc is also the birthplace of the sister of David I. Bernstein, Pardes Dean and co-leader of the trip.
On their trip, the students visited and learned about pre-war Jewish life and the Holocaust, and donated Jewish books and kosher for Passover food to the Jewish community in Poland. They met with young Polish Jews, and with non-Jewish Polish university students in the Jewish studies program at the Jagellonian University in Krakow.
"We go to Poland, not just to commemorate our murdered people, but to celebrate life in Poland before the Shoah and to meet our brothers and sisters living there today. Affixing the Mezuzah at Zamosc was a unique opportunity to integrate the different objectives of our trip," said Levi Cooper, Director of Advanced Programs at Pardes and the trip's primary leader.
The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem offers men and women of all backgrounds the authentic study of classic Jewish texts in the rigorous, challenging and open environment of dynamic Beit Midrash Havruta partner learning. Pardes, founded in 1972, offers a Year Program for university graduates as well as Educators, Summer and Advanced Scholars learning programs.
Press Contacts:
U.S.
Joshua Chadajo
Executive Director
American Pardes Foundation
212-447-4333
Israel
Nadine Wildmann
Director of Communications
Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
972-672-5210 ext.240