Torah Portion:	Shemini
Synagogue:	Chabad of Krakow
Walking time from hotel:	5 minutes
Reason for going:	Main shule in town
Kiddush:	Sit down kiddush with hot kugel

KRAKOW, POLAND: In the old Jewish quarter in Krakow where I am staying, there are probably at least 12 old synagogues, maybe more. But most of them have opening hours during the day and are more like museum pieces than functioning houses of prayer. There are one or two that operate as shules as well as museums, but generally only for certain services. One of those is the Synagogu Remu, which is right in the middle of the Jewish square and is a very Charedi shule. That is where I went Friday night, followed by a communal dinner at the JCC, which organises dinners for tourists and locals every Shabbat.

But even at the JCC they said that locals and tourists alike don’t go to any of the shules in the square for Shabbat morning; instead anyone who actually wants to go to a service in Krakow goes to Chabad, about a 5 minute walk away. So I followed that advice and went to Chabad of Krakow.

Unlike all the historical shules, Chabad is housed on the ground floor of a corner building on a prominent block just outside the Jewish quarter. Apparently it began in one of the old shules, but there was a dispute or a disagreement some time ago and it has operated out of this site for many years. As was the case in Berlin, the senior rabbi is an import, this time from Israel, but speaks Polish, Hebrew and English. In keeping with the eclectic nature of the rabbi and the surroundings, the shule this particular week also attracted a wide assortment of characters. There was myself, an Israeli couple and some Italians who are here for the March of the Living; there were half a dozen Chabad men from America and Israel; there was a smattering of locals from the community of about 500 or so, including some converts; there were some other Israelis and Russians who live here; and there was a group of ultra-orthodox boys and men, some from Belgium and some from Israel as well as one local. They had the long Payot and long black overcoats typical of such sects, but even in a Chabad shule, seemed slightly out of place, especially given the surroundings.

I was made to feel welcome as soon as I walked in because someone pointed me to the kitchen and said that I could make myself a coffee if I liked. The service then began and it was no nonsense, run by the rabbi and his cronies, and though there was no prayer for Israel or for the government, there was a short sermon in English about kosher insects – which are mentioned in this week’s portion – and the need to keep laws even if one doesn’t understand them. At the end of the service, the rabbi invited everyone to the adjoining room for a small sit-down kiddush, and then almost immediately everyone somehow disappeared. Where they all went almost at once, I’m not sure, but soon enough I left as well, with an Israeli couple I had met the previous evening at Shabbat dinner.

As we walked out, we marvelled at the cast of characters we had just encountered and the fact that they had all come to Krakow. In fact, two of the Israelis live just streets away from each other but had never met before. Moreover, though most of the non-locals were in town either for the official March of the Living or simply to visit Auschwitz on their own, it was amazing to see a city that seems so accepting of Jews. There was barely any security outside any of the shules (unlike in Berlin, where every shule had a security booth you had to walk through and police officer stationed outside). Krakow seems more welcoming and less dangerous for Jews, but at the same time, the old shules and the Jewish style restaurants and bookshops all around are not really for Jews; they are relics of a by-gone era and a celebration of the past, but without much of an acknowledgement that the Jews of old are still thriving today. At least that has been my impression so far. Maybe March of the Living will change that. Either way, it promises to be an exciting week in Poland.