sustaining progressive judaism in poland
AN OVERVIEW OF WHO WE ARE
What is Beit Polska?
Beit Polska was founded in 1995 to provide opportunities throughout Poland for Poles in their quest to learn about Judaism.
The flagship congregation, Beit Warszawa, was a response to both curiosity and hunger for Jewish experience. The World/European Union for Progressive Judaism and Friends of Jewish Renewal in Poland partnered to create a vibrant and increasingly growing country-wide movement.
Why Beit Polska?
Today, individuals and families from all corners of Poland are discovering or acknowledging their Jewish roots:
- The father who hid his origins in the hostile threat of Nazism
and later Communist antisemitism; - The mother who raised her children as Christians hoping to
spare them from hatred and intolerance; - The children who as adults are seeking answers to the
mysteries of their family history.
In addition, many Polish non-Jews want to explore Judaism and its culture because of a growing respect in many quarters for Poland’s past.
Working Together to Renew Judaism in Poland
The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), established in London in 1926, is the international umbrella organization of the Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist movements, serving 1,200 congregations with 1.8 million members in more than 50 countries.
The EUPJ works to foster and stimulate the growth of Progressive Judaism throughout Europe because we believe that Progressive Judaism, with its combination of respect for Jewish tradition and openness to modernity, provides the blueprint for Jewish continuity in the 21st century.
