jews in the d
STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Y
Rabbi Schudrich
visited Yad Ezra
this summer.
Bringing
a Light
to Poland
MARCHIN CHUMIEKI
Yad Ezra works with Chief Rabbi of
Poland to help establish a
kosher food pantry in Warsaw.
16
The Yad
Ezta staff
December 6 • 2018
jn
viewed Poles who only recently discovered they
ad Ezra Executive Director Leah Luger
were Jewish by being told by older relatives in
believes in no coincidences. All personal
their final days of life.
connections happen for a reason.
At the time, Schudrich was a Conservative
It is this serendipity of relationships and con-
nections — particularly her working relationship rabbi from New York who had newly arrived
in Poland on behalf of the Lauder Foundation.
and friendship with local filmmaker and pro-
ducer Roz Lullove Cooperman — that paved the He was rabbi of Warsaw and then Lodz before
becoming the Chief Rabbi of Poland in 2004.
way for the Berkeley food distribution center to
The years went on, but Cooperman
receive a visit from Poland’s Chief Rabbi
never forgot her experiences in Poland or
Michael Schudrich this summer, who is
the people she interviewed who were redis-
eager to learn best practices to establish
covering their Jewish roots. So, this year,
his country’s first kosher food pantry.
Cooperman reconnected with Schudrich
Located within Warsaw’s historic
and they met in New York in May. When
Nozyk Synagogue — the food pantry
he told her of the need of the hungry
will serve elderly Holocaust survivors,
Jewish population in Warsaw, she told him
the remaining Righteous Gentiles along
Leah Luger
of the promotional videos she was making
with other members of the Jewish pop-
for Yad Ezra and that it was worth it for
ulation and may even evolve into an
him to make the trip to Detroit to tour the
educational resource to Poles who are
facility.
only now discovering they are Jewish.
Cooperman arranged for Schudrich
For Luger, a second-generation
to visit Yad Ezra in July. She orchestrated
Holocaust survivor who grew up lis-
the special day where about 70 Yad Ezra
tening to the stories of how her mother
supporters and a camera crew joined
survived Nazi-occupied Romania, this
Roz Lullove
Schudrich on a tour of the facility and sat in
mission is a personal one.
Cooperman
the warehouse to listen to his stories and the
“When I think of Poland, what
needs of Warsaw’s Jewish community.
comes to mind is darkness and death,”
During his visit, Schudrich explained
Luger said. “Now, Yad Ezra has the
that the journey back to Judaism comes
opportunity to bring light and some-
gradually. It is not linear, and years may go
thing life-affirming to this reemerging
by before a person discovers he is Jewish
Jewish community in Poland. We have
and then actually actively pursues this
an opportunity to help them, just as
fact about his family history into an actual
we help our hungry clients here in
Rabbi Michael
Jewish
practice or observance.
Southeast Michigan. I don’t believe in
Schudrich
Often, a sign that someone in the family
coincidence. What has been brought to
may have been Jewish is if they had a separate
our attention through the connection (between
pot or pan to prepare dairy dishes. Food, he
Cooperman and Schudrich) is the opportunity
said, is a very important component in teaching
to listen to a story and participate, and not one
Judaism to this emerging population.
less can of food or one less box of matzah will
As far as numbers go, when taking a current
be distributed to our local clients. It is truly a
census of Polish Jewry, Schudrich in an August
win-win proposition.
2017 interview with Polish Culture.PL magazine
“If not for Roz, I would have never known
that there was the start of a kosher food pantry
said it is tough to say. This is because only after
the fall of Communism in 1989 did people find
in Warsaw,” Luger continued. “Rabbi Schudrich
out they had a Jewish parent or grandparent.
knew nothing about me and just a little bit
about Yad Ezra. He just knew I was Roz’s friend. Now, as they come to their Judaism in fits and
starts, Schudrich said his goal is to nurture
Sometimes, conditions have to be just right
them on their journey and much of that journey
to make something happen, and that is why I
is through education.
believe in the power of connections. There are
“Some people say 20,000, some say 50,000. I
no coincidences.”
say, ‘Who cares?’,” he said. “What’s more import-
ant is to create engaging educational, social,
A PERFECT PAIRING
intellectual and religious programming to give
The story of this perfect pairing between Yad
them a chance to become connected to the
Ezra and the Jewish population of Warsaw
Jewish people.”
goes back 25 years, when Cooperman first met
One thing he knows is there are elderly
Schudrich as she and her camera crew were in
Holocaust survivors and Righteous Gentiles
Poland researching for her yet-to-be-released
who need food assistance and an emerging pop-
independent documentary called Faith of
ulation of Jews who are interested in learning
Our Ancestors. There, she not only met with
about kashrut.
Holocaust survivors; but, at the invitation of
Schudrich, also visited a Jewish summer camp
LEARNING FROM YAD EZRA
for children and their families funded by the
For years, Schudrich has been distributing
Ronald S. Lauder Foundation. There she inter-