Today was our last day in Warsaw and I learned a lot of valuable information about the Jewish community. In the morning we got to speak to a Rabbi of an orthodox synagogue which happened to be the only synagogue that survived the destruction of Warsaw in WWII. The Rabbi was very insightful and had a an extremely level-headed perspective on life in general. One of us asked him if he thinks there is still animosity toward Germany on the part of Polish Jews and he basically answered that the past is in the past and it would do no good to the Jewish community to hold a grudge. I really liked his opinion on the matter. He was also just genuinely interested in helping the Jewish community in Warsaw to grow. It happens to be the only Jewish community in Europe that is growing as opposed to declining.
I was lucky enough to be invited by Malgosia, our TA, to attend a Shabbat service and dinner at a small synagogue in Warsaw. A few of our group went, both Jews and people who practice other religions, and we were all a little unsure of what to expect. The synagogue was hidden in what seemed like an apartment building and was meant for a very small congregation. It turns out that they don't have their own Rabbi and call in different ones each week...today the Rabbi of the week was a no show. One of the congregation members had to lead the services and I have to give him credit because he did a very good job. After the service we had an extremely delicious meal prepared by some congregation members (it was nice to have something home cooked). Everyone was extremely welcoming to us and enjoyed engaging us in conversation. We were even invited back for the reading of the Torah tomorrow morning but we had to decline because of our train to Kraków. It was probably one of my favorite nights of this trip so far and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to experience the Jewish community in Warsaw.