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Mass at the Dead Sea. A Project by the Museum, the Lublin Archdiocesan Seminary, and Yad Vashem
For the second time, Yad Vashem (The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) in Jerusalem hosted a seminar for Roman Catholic priests from Poland. This year, the group consisted above all of the rectors, vice rectors, and prefects of seminaries from all over the country.
Father Tomasz Adamczyk, prefect of the Lublin Archdiocesan Seminary, and Dr. Jacek Lachendro of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum were in charge of organization. Alex Dancyg and Orit Margaliot were the host coordinators. A previous seminar of this type, in 2007, was organized by the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate, together with the Auschwitz Museum and Yad Vashem.
Aside from workshops and lectures on the Holocaust and antisemitism, the agenda prepared by the Yad Vashem International Center for Holocaust Studies also included subjects connected with Judaism. Rabbi Pessach Schindler lectured on “What is Judaism?” and discussed the lives and teachings of two rabbis, Kelman Kalonimus Szapiro of Piaseczno and Yissacher Teichtal of Budapest. Rabbi Irmy Stavitzky spoke about the problems of faith during the time of the Holocaust.
“These meetings are needful both for the Polish priests and the Yad Vashem staff. When we were organizing the trip last year, I heard them voicing doubts over inviting priests. This year, they were pressuring me to bring clergy,” Father Adamczyk told the Catholic Press Agency. “The Israelis need these meetings with them, because they get to see a completely different face of the priesthood. The priests themselves, by the same token, need to learn more not only about the Holocaust, but also about life in Israel. We get to know each other better through these two-way encounters and discussions. We draw closer to each other,” he added.
A visit to the new Yad Vashem historical museum made a big impression on the priests, as did the meeting with Holocaust survivors Ehud Levy, Marta Goren, and Ephraim Mole, who talked about their own experiences at a panel on “Lost Identity.” Guests a the seminar included Professor Israel Gutman, who spoke about Polish-Jewish relations, Marek Skulimowski of the Polish embassy, and the Israeli journalist Dani Rubinstein, who specializes in Israel-Palestine relations. The priests also visited the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv.
Trips to places connected with the Christian tradition and religion supplemented the seminar. The priests celebrated mass at the most important sites: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, and the Church of the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor. They also said mass in the desert at the Dead Sea.
On Friday evening, the priests went to the synagogue to join in ushering in the Shabbat. They also planned to visit a yeshiva, but the plan had to be abandoned when snow began falling in Jerusalem. As always, this brought the city to a complete standstill.
