Articles in category: “Eastern European Blog”
The Ark Project - Live in Lublin, Poland
Catch some YouTube action of the JMF’s very own Ark Project on tour in Eastern Europe this summer. The group began as the JMF’s first artist residency two years ago and has now blossomed into an international powerhouse. The Ark Project consists of nine of the best artists in Jewish music.
Opening Meeting: Love-the Alchemy of Reconciliation - Monday, June 29, 2009
Today the Festival begins in earnest. I first go to an Open Meeting titled: Love-the Alchemy of Reconciliation. Run by two psychologists, this workshop has been an integral part of the Festival for nine years. It provides a space for people to process their feelings about Jewish culture in Poland, an emotional topic, to say the least.
3rd Day in Krakow - Sunday, June 28, 2009
The day begins at 8 am with a two hour drive through the rolling hills of Galicia to the village of Lelow, where the tsadik that began the Lelover Hasidim is buried. Before the war Jews made up more than a third of the village. Out of eight hundred Jews, very few survived after they were all sent to Treblinka. What stands out about the non-descript farming community is how totally absent any Jewish presence was before Lelover Hasidim began to return on pilgrimage after the Communist era. Most Jewish homes had been around the marketplace, which was one of the first places the Nazis destroyed, along with the town church. What had been the Jewish cemetery is covered by a plain building that had been a store. The tombstones had long since been removed. The Hasidim, mostly living in Bnei Brak, Israel, and Borough Park, Brooklyn, have since bought the building. A few former Jewish residents recalled where the spot of the original tsadik’s grave must have been, and a very simple monument has been established in part of the acquired building. A very simple shitbl, little shul, has been made out of another building bought for the purpose across the street. No adornment, pure function; it’s claim to fame being that it includes one of three mikvehs in Poland for the Hasidim who visit, especially at the time of the tsadik’s yahrzeit in February. While our little group is milling about the street, a local resident waves from his bicycle, greeting us with a boisterous sholom aleichem.
2nd Day in Krakow - Saturday, June 27, 2009
I wake up and head back to the Tempel Synagogue for Shabbat morning services, about a five minute walk across Szeroka Square, where a week from today, the free outdoor finale will take place. As this is my fourth time here, my path spurs recollections. . As I cut across the empty lot smelling of freshly cut grass, beside the synagogue, I picture Josh Dolgin frantically trying to get his sampling machine to work, several years ago, as precious seconds ticked away. In the end, other Festival musicians filled in live for the machine, and saved the show.
1st Day in Krakow - Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday night—first stop, Vincent’s for pierogi. Then stocking up on food at a small grocery store and crashing.
Friday: moving into my apartment for the next 12 days—there is no color—so I buy a small bouquet of flowers to brighten things up, an artsy postcard of the patterned red bricks the older buildings, and a little Jew, plastic, for 5 zlotys (about $2.50). He’s holding a coin. I ask the saleslady what the doll is supposed to be, she says it’s supposed to bring the owner prosperity.