About Us 4000 years ago Gallery

About Us The Jewish Community in Lodz consists of over 300 members. The Jewish life in Lodz is mostly created by the middle-aged, who gained the Jewish tradition at home as well as the youth, who have recently found out their Jewish roots and joined the Community in the recent years. The elder members of the Community are often those who survived the Holocaust and now are in the medical and financial assistance of the Community. Education activities are often organized within the wide statutory range of the Community. There are lectures in our Shomrey HaDat Yeshiva on Judaism, the history and tradition of Jews. The lectures are conducted by the Lodz rabbi Simcha Keller, rabbi Jona Simons, rabbi Nechemia Segal and by visting lecturers from Israel, such as: Abraham Krieger and Eliahu Kopel, and by our Community’s member – Mati Nowakowski. There are also other classes in the Community, for example: Yiddish language course taught by Mrs Lilian Mitelman and Hebrew language course taught by Mr Darek Dekiert. The Jewish Culture and History Center, existing by the Community, carries out the educational programs for students from schools in Lodz. Apart from this, there is also the Jewish Culture and Heritage Prevention Foundation “Common Roots” in the Community. The Foundation, which was established in 2005, supports the educational programs and organizes the Yiddish Film Festival. On the account of the much interest in our Community by Pomorska Street no 18, we opened the Guest House “Linat Orchim”. The Guest House has 107 accommodation places: single and twin-bedded rooms as well as family ones. There is also the ritual bathhouse – the Mikvah in our Community. The Mikvah, which was opened in 2008, is situated in the new building. The Mikvah meets the world Halachah standars. Our Mikvah is the first building in Lodz earmarked for ritual purposes after the second world war. There is also the Jewish cemetery Archive in the Community. In the archive you may find the original documents concerning burials and tombstones in the cemetery. The funeral society “Chevra Kadisha” takes care of burials in our Community. At the moment, the Community takes care not only of the cemetery in Bracka Street but also of other ones which are in Lodz Voivodeship, for example in: Pabianice, Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Zdunska Wola, Lask, Tuszyn, Wolborz, Zloczowo and Radomsko. The Community also takes care of the Reichert Synagogue at Rewolucja 1905 Street no 28. The Reichert Synagogue is the only synagogue left in Lodz after the second world war. We also try to look after the elder members of our Community. There is the Day Care Center that offers assistance of professional therapists and physiotherapists. Thee is also the “Bikur Cholim” Commission that takes care of the purchase of medicines for their charge and offers them financial assistance if needed. There is also the charitable kosher canteen where you can eat a meal prepared in accordance with the highest requirements of Orthodox cuisine (glatt kosher).                       The most important recent events In 2006 we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Jewish Community in Lodz. According to this, there were music concerts of Shlomo Bar with his “Habrera HaTivit” and Hassidic Achay Rubin in the Old Town, the place where first Jews in Lodz had used to live. There was also the exhibition “200 years of Jews in Lodz” and the European Rabbinical Congress. 2007 was remembered by Lodz residents due to the wonderful concert of Eretz Hatzi and Leara band in Manufaktura. The Community “birthday” from 2008 was honoured by the ceremonial opening of the Mikvah, which was built under the supervision of rabbi Gedalya Olshtayn from Israel. The Mikvah obtained the kosher certificate from rabbi Minzberg from Jerusalem and rabbi Benzion Wosner from Monsey in the USA. The celebration was graced with the appearance of guest all over Poland, such as: the Chief Rabbi of Galicia Chaim Glock, the Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich and rabbi Moshe Dancinger, the son of the Alexander Tzaddik from Bnei-Brak in Israel. Not only the members of the Community use the Mikvah but also numerous guests staying in the “Linat Orchim” Guest House. Notwithstanding all difficulties we try all the time to prove that in spite we are the rather small Community, we are still here and we cultivate our tradition in the city, which was once the “promised land” fro thousands of Jewish families.