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Each year, the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary’s Straus-Amiel Practical Rabbinics Program places more and more rabbis in communities across the globe. Trained specifically to meet the diverse needs of Diaspora congregations, Straus-Amiel graduates are rejuvenating and invigorating Jewis

Drawing them back to their roots: Rabbi Pinchas and Rebecca Zarczynski

Poland native Pinchas Zarczynski’s grandfather was an anti-Zionist communist, but he was also a realist who was concerned for the future of his family. “I will die here,” he told the family, “but you must all emigrate to Israel.” Heeding his words, Pinchas’s family made aliya when he was just four years old.

Once in Israel, Zarczynski became attracted to religion, studied in yeshivot, attained rabbinical ordination and eventually joined the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary’s Straus-Amiel Practical Rabbinics Program. Six months ago, he returned to the country of his birth to serve as the deputy rabbi of the Nozyk Synagogue in Warsaw, the only shul remaining in the city after World War II.

Currently, there are 550 community members, but Zarczynski estimates there are at least another 4,000 Jews who are not yet identifying with the community. He works one by one to draw them back to their roots.

“The aftershocks of the Holocaust continue to traumatize,” explains the rabbi. “It’s not just that our numbers are so much smaller, it’s also that as a result of the Shoah, many of the Jews who survived continue to conceal their Jewish identity. They are terrified that if their names are found on communal lists, history could repeat itself.”

A few months ago, for example, he visited a tiny hamlet with the intention of erecting a memorial to the synagogue which once stood there. “I asked the groundskeepers whether they knew of any Jews left in the area,” relates Zarczynski, “but they were reluctant to answer.” After much persistence, he discovered the couple’s closely-guarded secret: they and their three daughters were Jews. Zarczynski now maintains contact with the family, which he is gradually engaging in community life.

“This is Why I’m Here”

Because anti-Semitism remains a real concern to the community, the rabbi maintains a dialogue with the church, regularly meeting with the local priest and addressing non-Jewish groups. After delivering a recent lecture to a Christian audience, Zarczynski was approached by a young man of about 30. “I am not Jewish,” he said, “but my maternal grandmother was. I remember how she used to sing ’Shalom Aleichem’ on Friday nights.” The young man explained that his mother was forced to watch both her sisters murdered by Ukrainians. “At that moment, she decided that if she survived the war, she would bring up her children as Christians so that they would never suffer as she did.”

The man was brought up without any knowledge of his Jewish heritage, and yet, he said, “I’ve always felt a tremendous urge to explore Judaism.” Zarczynski made a few inquiries and began to uncover the secrets of the past. “One of the most emotional and shocking discoveries was his grandmother’s identity card, which revealed her father’s name to be Shlomo Cohen,” Zarczynski recounts. “This young ’Christian’ man was Jewish!” he says. “I immediately invited him to be part of our community and a guest in our home. It is precisely for people like this I am here.”

Rabbi Zarczynski admits that his work is challenging. He credits the Straus-Amiel staff not only for preparing him for the task at hand, but also for their constant support and advice. And the investment is paying off: when he first arrived, only a handful of elderly Jews attended synagogue. “Now,” he says, “we have a daily minyan, services every Shabbat and an increasing number of young families joining the community. It’s very exciting.”

No Jewish Weddings

While Rabbi Zarczynski is cultivating the return of Jews scarred by the Holocaust, Rabbi Amir Dadon and his wife, Orit, are engaging a Jewish population that is shrinking despite a marked absence of anti-Semitism or tragic past. Finland – the Dadon’s adoptive country – is home to approximately 1,300 Jews and the community is nominally Orthodox, but less than one per cent is religiously observant and the intermarriage rate is close to 100%.

Rabbi Dadon confides that with such a high rate of assimilation, it is sometimes hard to envision a future for the community. “There are no Jewish weddings here at all,” he says. And yet the rabbi remains optimistic: “The Board is very supportive and determined. And of course my Straus-Amiel training prepared me for exactly what challenges to expect as the first and only emissary in the community,” he says.

The Youth are the Future

Rabbi Amir and Orit Dadon with Helsinki Jewish youth

It is clear to the young rabbi and his wife that if they can inspire the youth, the future of the community will be more secure. Therefore, in addition to their teaching in the local Jewish school, they have also introduced numerous informal educational projects including bar and bat mitzvah programs and special holiday happenings. Their warm home is open at all times for drop-in visitors and youth events. And they are working closely with Bnei Akiva of Scandinavia, to ensure exciting and meaningful activities for the Jewish teenagers of Helsinki.

While the youth remain a priority, the rabbi has also managed to attract a considerable number of adults to his ongoing classes in the weekly Torah portion and Jewish law. In addition, the Dadon’s mark the holidays with special communal activities which have been drawing large crowds of local Jews, enthusiastic about celebrating their heritage.

The couple is making an impact on the community by virtue of their unflaggingly positive outlook, amiable personalities and innovative programming. “Helsinki is fortunate to have such a dynamic rabbinical couple at their helm,” declares Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum, director of the Straus-Amiel Program. “Watching Rabbi Dadon in the pulpit on my recent visit, I could see that he is consummate professional and charismatic leader. He and Orit will make a profound difference to the future of this community,” he asserts.

Down Under

Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence’s guest list at the Great Synagogue in Sydney is long and impressive, including Queen Elizabeth II, the Pope and the Dalai Lama. “As one of the first major synagogues in Australia, the Great Synagogue was responsible for establishing the infrastructure of the community,” explains the Oxford University graduate. Today the synagogue boasts over 1,000 members, and as Lawrence points out, “people are attracted to our community not only because of its fabulous architecture and historical traditions, but because of the modern Orthodox Torah that flows from its pulpit.”

Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence (r) with Governor General of Australia, Michael Jeffrey

Rabbi Lawrence is busy ensuring that the flow continues and even grows, inspiring his community with a true synthesis of modernity and Orthodoxy. Recently, he held a series of debates in the synagogue inviting leading members of the Jewish Community to share their opinions on major issues of Jewish theology and contemporary Jewry. “It was exciting to have a packed hall of people exploring their Judaism and engaging with important issues,” he says.

A Shining Example

Rabbi Lawrence’s latest initiative also melds the traditions of Judaism with the secular world; the Jewish Arbitration and Mediation Service is a shared project of the Sydney Beth Din and the Association of Jewish Jurists of New South Wales. “Many people are nervous about bringing their cases before the Beth Din,” he reports. “Our service allows for a rabbinical court trial which is at the same time compliant with the laws and procedures of New South Wales.”

“It was gratifying to witness what Rabbi Lawrence is accomplishing in Sydney,” says Rabbi Shlomo Riskni, who visited Sydney in May. “He is a shining example of the type of leader that the Straus Seminary set out to train: warm, modern and dynamic rabbis who are energizing communities and engaging congregations in all the richness Judaism has to offer.”

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