This week, Chabad of Poland is hosting its third annual Welcome Tent for the thousands of March of the Living participants. The Tent is located adjacent to the award-winning POLIN Museum, in the historic Warsaw Ghetto area.
This experience is an impactful one and participants need a place to process and decompress. The Tent boasts an air-conditioned, WIFI equipped lounge, drinks, snacks and discussion pods to interact with delegations from the local community. The Tent serves an essential purpose because it also provides a glimpse into an active Jewish life awakening in Poland today.
Filmmaker and public speaker, Meir Kay, is one of the notable personalities greeting visitors at The Tent this year. He talked about “helping teens internalize the experience so it can truly be a transformative one.”
Also inspiring visitors following the heart-wrenching silent march from Auschwitz to Birkenau are a delegation of Shluchim, including Rabbis Mendel Duchman of Los Angeles, CA, Moshe Rappaport of Mequon, WI, Pinny Andrusier of Cooper City, FL, Yossi Lew of Peachtree City, GA, and Pinny Gniwisch of Montreal, Canada.
For brothers and Rabbis Mayer Stambler and Shalom Ber Stambler, directors of Chabad of Poland, this year’s event is especially personal. Their colleague, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, director of Chabad of Poway in San Diego, CA, lost one of his congregants, Lori Kaye, brutally murdered during the deadly shooting attack on his synagogue last weekend.
The rabbi himself was injured on both his hands during the attack, losing his index finger in the process. Could it be any more fitting that while young Jews at March of the Living come face to face with the darkest moments of our past, Chabad is providing a space to craft a message of hope for our future?
Wow nice job Rabbi Duchman keep up the good work
Wow, truly awesome tefillin wrappers!!