Piotr Kruszewski was born on 28 June 1907. He was a singer, recognised as a Just among the Nations in 1992. He lived in Kraków and as a member of the underground resistance during the German occupation in the Second World War he helped those Jews whom he managed to smuggle out of the ghetto. He considered saving the Jews as part of the resistance against the Germans and turned his flat in the outskirts of Kraków as a hiding place for many of them. He also sought hiding places, organised “Aryan” documents, defended them against blackmail and the Gestapo. He could arrange for financial help from Organisations such as the Żegota and the Bund for those Jews who were hiding and sometimes helped them with his…
BS”D I wish everyone had an easy fast. We now begin the Three Weeks and we should think about their meaning. This past week we were blessed with many visitors from all over the world, whom we gladly take to our table and give shabbes meals and discuss divrei torah while adhering to hygienic guidelines. R. Gadka during the week gave much advice and filled our hearts with song. Our Gabbai as custom organised an excellent meal and provided everyone with excellent wine from Eretz Israel. There is really only one centre for the Community in Kraków where Jews can meet in harmony and we are glad the Community has been providing it for hundreds of years. A new month will begin soon, heaven willing, and we…
Joachim Metallmann was born in Kraków on 24 june 1889, the son of Menasse and Regina (born Friedner. He was a philosopher and a professor at the Jagiellonian University (UJ). He studied philosophy and physics from 1907 to 1912 at the same university where he later taught. In 1912 he defended his thesis. He then taught in a few secondary schools and from 1931 at the State Pedagogic Institute in Kraków. In 1932 he was awarded a scholarship in France and in 1933 returned to Poland and started an assistant professor, teaching at the UJ and at the pedagogic institute in Katowice. On 6 November 1939, within the “Action against University Professors” (German: Aktion gegen Universitäts-Professoren), known also as the “Special Action of Kraków” (German: Sonderaktion Krakau),…
BS”D note: all photographs were taken with proper respect to Jewish Laws and only the Jewish Religious Community of Kraków is allowed to reproduce them This morning, bright and early, as it often happens, a large group of religious Jews came to pray Shacharit at the Remuh Synagogue. The prayers were very joyful and the walls of the Synagogue shook with the intensity of the faith of the visitors, whom we welcomed with open arms. As often said, we do not discriminate on minhag and do not impose ours on others. The sun shone onto those who were praying, as if to give witness of the harmony of Creation. After the beautiful daily prayers, our friends visited the Remuh Cemetery. Later, the Gabbai was kind enough to…
Jakub Stendig, son of Anschel, was born on 17 June 1891. He was an architect from Kraków (buildings at Wietora 7, Komorowskiego 5, Karłowicza 13 and Metalowców 3). He graduated from the Department of Construction in the Industrial School of Kraków in 1915. He also studied in the Department of Architecture in the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków becoming a fully authorised Construction Manager (koncesjonowany budowniczy) in 1931. Right after the beginning of the war the Community had him lead the building department. Jakub Stendig, out of his own will, tried to save the artefacts from the synagogues. He collected objects and documents and then he catalogued them, among which many liturgical implements, including 150 torah scrolls. Thanks to his efforts, he was allowed to take…
BS”D 6 Tamuz 5781 It was with great sadness that I see that the Chabad L. foundation in Kraków has set up a web-page in English and Hebrew suggesting that they are being evicted because of evil machinations of the Community after “400 years” of Jewish life in Kraków and ask for money. Have they not any shame? Have they lost sight of the basic tenets of Judaism? It is very sad to see that they twist the truth for mundane gain. Does the Jewish community ever publish a web page asking for money? It is sad that they publicly smear the Jewish Religious Community and its members, who went through the horrors of the Shoah, who had their family killed! Shame on these so-called “Rabbis” who…
BS”D 6 Tamuz 5781 Today we were blessed with the arrival of the Rabbi of Kraków, R. Boaz Gadka, coming directly from Eretz Israel. He had a good flight and could be heard praying bright and early. He blessed us with his presence at our daily lunch, where we have been serving meals to the Community for decades. Tamuz is a month in which Israel sinned and believed in false gods. The unaware tourist should beware that there are organisations which try to lead people of good heart into error. The only organisation which is the actual Jewish Religious Community of Kraków is this one. The only “Rabbi of Kraków” is R. Boaz Gadka. Nobody else. Others that claim the title and self-style themselves as the “Community”…
We are now publishing a chapter by chapter summary of Majer Bałaban’s Historia Żydow w Krakowie i na Kazimierzu 1304-1868 (Kraków, “Nadzieja”, 1931) – History of the Jews in Kraków and in Kazimierz – which will be able to be found under the category “Bałaban” and “History”. We express our hopes that it might be useful. This is chapter three, tome one, pages twenty-nine to thirty-eight, titled “Beginning of the intolerance against the Jews in the reign of Wladyslaw Jagielly (14th-15th centuries)”. The reign of Wladyslaw Jagielly was not good for the Jews of Krakow. The king, a recent convert to Christianity, was under great influence of the church. Right at the beginning, he did not renew the Privileges that had been granted by his predecessor. Already…
BS”D 5 Tamuz 5781 We have reached today paragraph 7 of chapter 2 of Mesillas Yesharim, in which R. Luzzatto concludes the second chapter. R Luzzatto reminds the reader that even if one takes the proper time for reflection and guards his actions, this alone will not be sufficient for salvation. One, without the assistance of the Holy One, blessed is He, will not be able to achieve salvation. “If one oversees himself” – states further Rabbi Luzzatto – he will be saved from the evil inclination. However, it is essential to observe one’s behaviour. If one does not do that, then the Holy One, blessed is He, will not watch over him. If one is not compassionate towards himself then who will show him compassion? In…
Last Friday, 11 June 2021, Counsellor Tal Ben-Ari Yaalon, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., of the Embassy of Israel in Poland visited Mr Tadeusz Jakubowicz, Chairman of the Board of the Jewish Religious Community in Kraków, in his office. Counsellor Ben-Air Yaalon was warmly received and had an interesting discussion with our Chairman of the Board, touching on future projects for the Jews in Kraków. The Chairman of the Board expressed his wishes for the political stabilisation of Israel and for peace in the region as well as the personal and professional success of Counsellor Ben-Ari Yaalon. The meeting was fruitful and we look forward to more similar opportunities for sharing our views with the Israeli Embassy. opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not…