To remember and to live fully for those who are not here

Today while at the krakow Jcc , I heard a beautiful offering that Jewish life is about life and not death .

It is so true and is very powerful to feel at krakow , where we are so close to Auschwitz , to a place where unimaginable things happen , and at the same time see the reviving of the Jewish life here .

Today we walked the streets of krakow and I could see the beauty of this place but at the same time I could feel myself wanting to go , to move on , to remember but not suffer anymore .

I could feel myself escorted my ancestors helping me feel more gratitude for the life I have . So many of them died in the Holocaust, but my grandparents survived as they flee through the war . I would not be here if they were not as resourceful as they were .

I bless my life today more than ever , feeling so grateful for my good karma , for having my life in a free country where I can be free to practice my faith .

With deepest gratitude today , and lots of joy to be alive today , Relli

Preparing for my visit to Auschwitz

As I have been preparing for my visit to Auschwitz, I once again listen to the powerful speech by

Eli Weissel as he accepted the Nobel prize .

Every word is important but those struck a deep cord in me –

“This is what I say to the young Jewish boy wondering what I have done with his years. It is in his name that I speak to you and that I express to you my deepest gratitude. No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night. We know that every moment is a moment of grace, every hour an offering; not to share them would mean to betray them. Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately”

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1986/wiesel/acceptance-speech/

I will carry those words with me as I bless this new day of life . Feeling so grateful to Be alive and happy !!

Love relli

My inner Journey to Poland

In the next few weeks I will be writing to share the journey of a lifetime back to the place where my family came from. I want to share my own experience through the lens of my own journey as woman looking for her own identity in this lifetime.

Please check my blog as I write as time progress and the journey unfold.

 

My First walk through the town of krakow Poland

It is strange to be in a city that looks similar to any other Europian city , but to feel my family connection to Poland . It is strange to see sighs in Hebrew as if they are old , but you know they are new. To walk the streets and see Orthodox Jews passing by in groups and then to go to the Jcc where so much is happening , culturally and spirituality . Very interesting mix.

I am not quite sure how to hold this all, so right now I am allowing myself to explore and feel the contrasts of the town , the livelihood on one end , and the heritage of polish history on the other .

It was a fully busy day , time to rest now .

All my love until next time , Relli

Poland journey , first day

Tue , first day.

Today I am starting on a journey to Poland as a part of a 2 weeks trip with a women group I have been a part since January.

The group name is Kol Isha, it is in Hebrew – Woman Voice.

It is a first cohort of this Oshman Jcc initiative , where a group of women studying Judaism in a secular way, about women with women.

it is very exciting and I am enjoying it so much! 

We will be meeting 2 other groups  that are part of the program – one in Poland and One in Israel. 

This is my very first ever trip with a group beside my family so it’s all very new, exciting and also many thoughts and feeling with starting in Poland and specifically in Auschwitz.   

As part of our journey, we had a preparation session for our visit to Auschwitz and I could feel the dread coming up in me as I think of my heritage and my family connection to the holocaust.  

My maternal grandparents , Etel and Yosef left Poland at the beginning of the war. Years ago , my brother gifted us with a detailed presentation that tell the stores or the path of our family and where they were during the Second World War.

I am holding it with me , looking at it , knowing I am coming back to the place they left because of anti semitism.

As I was listening to the wonderful female Rabbi who led the discussion , what I felt strongly is how much I was feeling and how much will come up during the visit, but also how much I am learning to be in my own reality , my life today , where there is a lot to be joyful and grateful for 🙂

I know that what I can do for those who are not here anymore, is to LIVE and to LOVE and to be Joyful , something that was taken away from them and that is what we are commended to do remember them and who they were. 

Another part that was coning up for me was to arrive onw this trip with open mind to meet the people from Poland not as a rep of my family history, but as myself wanting to learn more about their experiences and their lives. like myself, they grew up on the stories of what happen that are based in one’s reality, and I want to offer us the gift of being present , if I can say that, put the past on the side ( not to forget , but to have an open mind ) and see what is happening today. 

As a group, I could feel this is something that is there for each of us and it will be a journey to support one another as we move between feelings and reflection, and jet lag:)

So …..

I am not sure how it will all unfold , but I feel how much this trip is a huge step in my healing process as a woman .

Being on this journey with wonderful amazing women is allowing me to really explore what it means for me, in my own life, to be a woman, to feel deeply, to be supported by women, to support women, to hold the space of love as women. 

I am super excited and a bit scared of this trip, but I know this is all coming as another layer of my journey !!!

All my Love and Joy on this amazing trip , Relli