The Beit Warszawa Synagogue (Polish : Synagoga „Beit Warszawa”) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 113 Wiertnicza Street, in the district of Wilanów, Warsaw, in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. Designed in the Modernist style and completed in 2003, the synagogue has regular events, including Friday night and Saturday morning prayers. Beit Warszawa is a member of Beit Polska, the umbrella organization for the Progressive and Reform Jewish community in Poland.
Beit Warszawa started in 1999 when Jonathan Mills and others individuals gathered a group of friends to explore the possibility of creating a Reform synagogue. [2] [3] Previously, the only choice had been the Orthodox Nożyk Synagogue [4] in the centre of Warsaw. Initially, Oneg Shabbat were held once a month in the house of one of the congregants. However, as time passed and the community grew, Shabbat started to be held every Friday night. Increasingly various events were held during the week as well.
In 2000 Cynthia Culpeper became the first female rabbi to lead religious services in Poland when she conducted High Holy Day services at Beit Warszawa. [5]
The congregation moved from a rented flat into dedicated premises at ul. Wiertnicza in Warsaw in 2003. A series of rabbis visited Beit Warszawa but the first distinctive and ongoing presence was that of Rabbi Burt Schuman from 2006 to 2011.
In June 2012, Beit Warszawa announced the appointment of Rabbi Gil Nativ as rabbi. Nativ was previously in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and Israel. After a long illness, Schuman resigned. Rabbi Daniel Alter served on an interim basis during the initial period of Schuman’s illness. During Autumn 2011 and Spring 2012, Rabbis Reich, Bruce Kadden, and Beliak filled in. Barbara Kadden was an influential presence during the months that the couple visited Warsaw.[ citation needed ]
Beit Warszawa Synagogue has an attendance of around forty to eighty people on most Friday nights. Attendance on Saturday mornings is well above the minyan. On occasions such as Passover or Rosh Hashana, the synagogue is full. There are regular courses in Hebrew and Judaism as well as cultural events such as lectures and films. The people who belong to this synagogue are often people of Jewish descent who were raised as Christians and did not know that they were Jewish, as well as American Jews living in or visiting Poland and growing numbers of Israelis with Polish roots. Increasingly the five medical schools teaching in English at Polish universities have attracted Jewish students, who have attend services at Beit Warszawa. There are also converts without known “Jewish roots” and Israeli families who have joined the community.
Sunday School, Day Camp and Summer Camp, the youth of Polish Jewry have a growing system of formal and informal education. During the summer there is a day camp that celebrates Jewish holidays especially the weekly Shabbat with the baking of Hallah. Naturally, there are the visits to the swimming pools and museums. This summer,[ clarification needed ] the youth movements of Progressive Judaism in Poland and Germany, Beit Polska and Netzer, joined for a two-week overnight camp. This was the first meeting of Jewish young people from the Reform movement since 1927.
Under the leadership of Rabbi Burt Schuman and Mimi Sheffer, a lay cantors' program was established in Fall 2010. The program produced talented Polish-speaking prayer leaders in a unique course. Great effort was invested in translating into Polish key essays concerning Jewish prayer and prayer leadership. The curriculum and training of this course will prepare a new generation of prayer leaders; some of its members are pursuing further Jewish education. The contributions of Rabbi Bruce Kadden and Barbara Kadden in this effort were crucial in providing a basis for the curriculum. In its first year, the program graduated six leaders who are competent to lead Shabbat services. Four members of that class are studying to become High Holiday and Festival, service leaders. The second class has eight members and will graduate in October 2012. Graduates of the lay cantors' program include Rabbi Gosia Korwdowicz (JTS 2018), Cantor Anna Silverman (JTS Davidson Cantorial School 2019), Anna Rivero, Dr. Menachem Mirski (fourth-year student, Zeigler School of American Jewish University), Miriam Klimowa (third-year rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College-Jerusalem campus), Henryk Kowalski (Warsaw), Rivka Foremniak (Warsaw), and Alina Antoszewska (Warsaw). Currently on three Cantorial soloist remain active in leading on a regular basis in Poland - Kowalski, Foremniak, and Antoszewska.
Monthly services are held in communities throughout Poland sponsored by Beit Polska and led by graduates of the lay cantors’ program.
Under the leadership of Rabbi Burt Schuman a siddur, which addressed modern Jews in Polish, their native language, together with a transliteration of Hebrew was completed. In May 2012 the “test drive” of this prayer book began. The plan calls for a year of experimentation and study that will lead to a definitive printing of the prayer book that will also contain passages of Jewish wisdom. In 2015 Sidur Beit Polin for weekdays, sabbaths, and festivals appeared. Rabbi Gil Nativ and Zivah Nativ were responsible for the Hebrew text. Marek Jezowski, Joanna Czopnik, Marzen Szymanska-Bltnicki and Joanna Auron-Gorska translated numerous readings from English and provided a clear and elegant Polish translation. The prayerbook while admitting much of the concerns of feminism and modern Progressive Judaism provided traditional options for all prayers. Contemporary poetry and a rich introductory essay by Rabbi Nativ placed the Siddur in its modern context. The extensive transliterations were controversial in some circles as was the retention of an abbreviated Musaf service.
There are plans for Step by Step classes in six key cities outside of Warsaw. Step by Step is a popular and successful program that provides a path to learning and in many instances to conversion. Dozens of graduates of the Step by Step program are members of Beit Warszawa and other Jewish groups. The Beit Warszawa synagogue fostered the development of the umbrella organization called Beit Polska. Beit Polska is active in Gdansk, Lodz, Lublin, Wroclaw, Katowice, Czestochowa and other Polish cities.
Beit Polska Union of Progressive Jewish Congregations is recognized as a separate religious entity registered under number 171 of the Church Registry held by the Ministry of Interior. With the Polish Interior Ministry’s recognition the right of Progressive Jews to organize and pray in their own egalitarian fashion is formally recognized.
The decision of the Ministry was upheld in administrative courts despite challenges by the "Orthodox" establishment called “Twarda.” “Twarda” claimed that Polish law granted it a monopoly over all things Jewish. The recent interference of German and Russian trained rabbis only supports the strong suspicion of intolerance from “Twarda.” The attempt by "Twarda" to limit religious expression is being vigorously challenged by associations of Human Rights Lawyers and by Beit Polska.
Twarda’s hiring of one Reform Rabbi who is under the supervision of the Orthodox rabbi was met with skepticism in the entire Jewish world. The hiring of one Reform Rabbi after twenty years of fifteen or so Orthodox rabbis suggested not change, but a calculated attempt to pursue policies that served the Orthodox establishment and not the needs of Polish Jews. This has resulted in thousands of dollars expended on lawyers.
In an interview with Beit Polska’s Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak he stated that “unsuspecting American philanthropists have often given vast sums to this the pseudo-Orthodox establishment that prefers memorial projects over building Jewish Polish life.”
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous revelation which is closely intertwined with human reason and not limited to the Theophany at Mount Sinai. A highly liberal strand of Judaism, it is characterized by little stress on ritual and personal observance, regarding Jewish law as non-binding and the individual Jew as autonomous, and by a great openness to external influences and progressive values.
Women in Judaism have affected the course of Judaism over millennia. Their role is reflected in the Hebrew Bible, the Oral Law, by custom, and by cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature present various female role models, religious law treats women in specific ways. According to a 2017 study by the Pew Research Center, women account for 52% of the worldwide Jewish population.
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word siddur comes from the Hebrew root ס־ד־ר, meaning 'order.'
A bar mitzvah (masc.), or bat mitzvah (fem.) is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" b'nai mitzvah, at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. Traditionally, the father of a bar or bat mitzvah offers thanks to God that he is no longer punished for his child's sins.
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term also used in Christianity.
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established by Rabbi Wise are the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The current president of the URJ is Rabbi Rick Jacobs.
Zeved habat or Simchat Bat is the Jewish naming ceremony for newborn girls. The details of the celebration varies somewhat by Jewish community and will typically feature the recitation of specific biblical verses and a prayer to announce the name of the newborn child.
Louis Lewandowski was a Polish-Jewish and German-Jewish composer of synagogal music.
Lekha Dodi is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome the Sabbath prior to the evening services. It is part of Kabbalat Shabbat.
Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005, is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively traditional in comparison with its smaller counterpart, Liberal Judaism, though it does not regard Jewish law as binding. As of 2010, it was the second-largest Jewish religious group in the United Kingdom, with 19.4% of synagogue-member households. On 17 April 2023, Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism announced their intention to merge as one single unified progressive Jewish movement. The new movement, which may be called Progressive Judaism, will represent about 30% of British Jewry who are affiliated to synagogues.
The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (UOR), often called by its Hebrew name, Agudath Harabonim or (in Ashkenazi Hebrew) Agudas Harabonim ("union of rabbis"), was established in 1901 in the United States and is the oldest organization of Orthodox rabbis in the United States. It had been for many years the principal group for such rabbis, though in recent years it has lost much of its former membership and influence.
The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism is the organizational branch of Progressive Judaism in Israel, and a member organization of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. It currently has 40 communities and congregations around the state of Israel, 13 of which are new congregations – referred to as U'faratztah communities – and two kibbutzim, Yahel and Lotan.
The Great Synagogue of Warsaw was a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, that was located on Tłomackie street, in Warsaw, in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. Designed by Leandro Marconi and completed in the Neoclassical style in 1878, at the time of its opening, it was the largest Jewish house of worship in the world. The grand synagogue served as a house of prayer until World War II when it was destroyed by Nazis on May 16, 1943.
The Nożyk Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 6 Twarda Street, in the Śródmieście district of Warsaw, in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland.
Siddur Sim Shalom refers to any siddur in a family of siddurim, Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Temple Beth Israel was a Jewish synagogue located at 840 Highland Road in Sharon, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Originally called House of Israel Congregation, it was founded in 1888 as an Orthodox congregation by Eastern European Jews. The congregation merged with Congregation Rodef Sholom of Youngstown, Ohio in July, 2013; and the former synagogue building was sold to a Christian church in 2014.
The Cytron Synagogue, also known as the Beit Midrash Cytron, is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 24a Ludwika Waryńskiego Street in Białystok, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. Completed in 1936 in the Modernist style, the construction was funded by Shmuel Cytron, it served as a house of prayer until World War II; subsequently used for profane purposes, and as the Sleńdzińscy Gallery, an art gallery.
The Temple Israel is a Progressive Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Hillbrow, a suburb of Johannesburg, in the district of Gauteng, South Africa. Designed by Hermann Kallenbach in the Art Deco style, the synagogue was completed in 1936 and is the oldest of eleven Progressive synagogues in South Africa. The synagogue is classified as a provincial heritage site. The congregation is affiliated with the South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ), which is part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ).
Beit Emanuel, formally the Temple Emamuel, is a Progressive Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Parktown, a suburb of Johannesburg, in the district of Gauteng, South Africa. The synagogue was established in 1954 and is one of the largest Progressive Jewish congregations in South Africa. It is an affiliate of the South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ), which is part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ).
The South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) is an affiliate of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and supports 11 progressive congregations. Rabbi Moses Cyrus Weiler, a founder of Reform Judaism in the country, led the country's first Reform synagogue, Temple Israel in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Weiler is credited with growing the movement, to represent 15-17% of South African Jewry and establishing 25 congregations in the country. A 2020 joint study by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research and the University of Cape Town showed that 12% of Jews identified as Progressive and that in relative terms the progressive strands are increasing after falling to 7% in 1998 and 2005 studies. In Johannesburg, the community accounts for 7% of the city's Jewry, rising to 18% in Cape Town and 25% in Durban.