JCC Krakow

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Our Word and Idea Project

What is the JCC? It's written all over our fence!

As we shared in our most recent post "For Zosia, JCC Krakow is Home", many of our members and volunteers identify the JCC with specific words and ideas. We'll be sharing more videos of our members and volunteers and these ideas in the coming weeks!

For more photos of the words on our fence, click here.

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For Zosia, JCC Krakow is Home

This is Zosia Radzikowska - or as you probably know her by now, Pani Zosia.

She shares her knowledge of the Torah each week at our Shabbat dinner and on YouTube; she serves as Editor in Chief of our monthly magazine; she comes to the Senior Club every day; she studies Hebrew at the JCC; she sings in the JCC Choir; she is a prominent and respected member of the Krakow Jewish community; she spent her whole life here in Krakow; she's a Holocaust survivor who represents the strength and resiliency of the Jewish people.

She is a member of JCC Krakow.

We asked her what the JCC means to her. Click below and see what she had to say.

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An American in Krakow

Note: This is the English version of our profile on Justin Kadis featured in the second issue of our monthly magazine, Jesteśmy. To read the rest of this issue (in Polish), click here.

You may have seen an American roaming the halls of JCC Krakow and wondered who he is and what he’s doing here. Contrary to your initial suspicion, he is not JCC Krakow Executive Director Jonathan Ornstein’s younger brother. Justin Kadis is working at JCC Krakow for one year through a program run by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee called the JDC Entwine Global Jewish Service Corps. Here is a little more information on Justin, the JDC, and what he’s doing in Krakow.

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and although I had a Bar Mitzvah, Confirmation, and attended Hebrew School, Sabbath School, and Sunday School, I was always more attracted to Jewish philanthropy than religious traditions. My parents instilled a sense of Tikkun Olam in me from an early age and I felt it was always my duty to give back to the community in any way possible. Over the years this sense of giving back and helping communities locally and abroad, took on different meanings and forms. For my Bar Mitzvah I asked guests to consider making a donation to support a book drive instead of buying a gift for me. I used the donations at a local bookstore where I purchased hundreds of books in English that were then sent to a school in Beit She’an, Israel. Years later my family and I visited the school and saw the books I had purchased in the school library. It was such a gratifying feeling to see young people learning because of something I helped organize.

Fast-forward and I’m in New York City. Upon graduating from Boston University with a degree in Marketing I worked in sports marketing. After five years in corporate consulting in sports, I wanted a job in the fast-paced world of technology. I found a company that was in the email and social media business with a focus on music. I was hired to start and run their sports division. While at this company, I used my free time to volunteer for two organizations: PresenTense, a Jewish social entrepreneurship organization, and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

I learned about another organization through my brother Alex. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization, impacting millions of lives in more than 70 countries today. When my brother suggested that we apply to participate in a JDC young professional trip to Cuba, I thought it was a great idea! It was an opportunity to build a stronger bond with my brother, while discovering a country that is mostly unknown to Americans (because of an embargo), all the while learning about the Cuban Jewish community. It turned out to be everything I had hoped for and more. Though the trip was short, the schedule was packed with unique places and wonderful people. I could see firsthand the impact the JDC was making with the Shabbat chicken dinner program and the community pharmacy to serve the needs not just of the Jewish people, but the whole community in Havana.

When I returned, I co-chaired an event in New York for the JDC about my trip to Cuba. I didn't hesitate to spend my time and energy on a cause I believed in because I wanted to share the great experience I had with a wider audience. I became more involved with the humanitarian work of the JDC in New York and learned about the Jewish Service Corps.

The JDC Entwine Global Jewish Service Corps, involving a year abroad to work and embed oneself within a community with the goal of building something meaningful, was something I decided I was really looking for at this point in my life. I applied for the fellowship and went through many stages of the application and interview process. After visiting China with the JDC on another young professional trip, and meeting the JDC Ralph I. Goldman fellow who was in Ethiopia last year, I was convinced that the JDC fellowship offered an incredible opportunity for me. The JDC asked me to speak to two individuals in Poland. Karina Sokolowska, the Country Director for JDC in Warsaw, and Jonathan Ornstein, the Director of JCC Krakow, convinced me that Krakow would be a perfect fit. They said, “Imagine that there is a place in the world where it is safer, easier and better every day to be a Jew, and that place is just down the road from Auschwitz.” The ability to combine my business background while working in a community that is rebuilding from the Holocaust and communism was a once in a lifetime opportunity I couldn't pass up.

I arrived in Krakow on September 1 not knowing one person in the country and having never visited before. I was a little nervous that first week. I wondered what my co-workers would be like, what the food would be like, what the work would be like, and how I would like the city. In every aspect, my expectations have been exceeded! My co-workers are amazing people - they are friendly, helpful, motivated, and committed to making the JCC a welcoming place for members and guests. Work has taken on all sorts of shapes and forms. My primary focus is external relations. I spend a lot of time working closely with the director of fundraising. Individuals and organizations overseas support the majority of our operating budget and it is critical for us to build sustainable relationships with them. I'm also helping with marketing, social media, producing English content for the JCC website and blog, editing content that has been translated into English, and meeting with English speaking groups. There is also other work that pops up. I helped the team build our sukkah for Sukkot, I managed the planting of daffodils in our garden symbolizing the survivors of the Holocaust, their children, and grandchildren, and I've consumed more challah in the last 60 days than in the previous 20 years of my life. That last bit might not sound like work, but I participate in every Shabbat meal at the JCC. It’s amazing to see 60-80 JCC Krakow Jewish members from the local community come together every week to eat a delicious kosher meal, hear the D'var Torah about this week’s parsha, and meet visitors and guests from all over the world who join us. I’ve even started learning Polish so I can communicate with some of the senior members of the JCC!

I've been very impressed by my first four months in Krakow and I'm really looking forward to the next eight. Or as Jonathan says “at least the next eight!"

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Member Birthday Announcement // Pani Zosia!

JCC Krakow Executive Director, Jonathan Ornstein, and Pani Zosia

Pani Zosia, one of our most active members at JCC Krakow celebrated her 78th birthday on Monday!

Zosia Radzikowska is a Holocaust survivor, JCC member, and our weekly JCC Shabbat dinner Dvar Torah deliverer. She’s also the star of our weekly YouTube series: "What's the Parsha, Pani Zosia?” found here.

Sto lat Pani Zosia!

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Weekend Recap // October 18-20, 2013

What a busy weekend we've just had, but you've come to know us by now, we like it that way! Here's a short recap of the events:

On Friday, we had a great Shabbat despite difficult circumstances. We were unable to pray in Tempel Synagogue and thus used the children's floor. Dinner was cooked by the lovely Leonardi sisters - a delicious cholent, veggies, salads, rice, plum cake, and more. Our guests included American students studying abroad in Prague, and a group from Germany.

On Saturday, we had lunch with a UJIA group of high school students from Glasgow, Scotland. After eating, Jonathan, Pani Zofia, Jędrek, and Justin spoke to the group.

On Sunday, we had a full day. In the morning we had a German film crew stop by and visit the kids in our Sunday School. At 11am, the JCC Running Club ran 13km (for our American readers, that's 8 miles)! A group of volunteers from the JCC, the Jewish Studies department of the Jagiellonian University, and the Jewish Culture Festival cleaned the New Jewish Cemetery on Miodowa. Rabbi Avi participated with this group and had this to say:

Today a group of non-Jewish volunteers and I cleaned up part of the Jewish cemetery in Krakow. Most of us were youngish except for Andrei Wsoleg, a 68 year old Pole who came to help. Why I asked? Because I feel ashamed. Not for himself, but for the Polish people. Andrei's father actually saved a Jew, Leon Kurtzer's life, together with several colleagues. They were all judges and when the Nazis attempted to deport Leon they hid him in a room in an apt for two and a half years! And fed him every day at great risk to their lives. Leon returned to the court after the war and rose in the ranks of the legal system. He died in 1968 with no family. Nobody though knew his story except a few who kept it quiet. How many more stories of heroism will I learn about?

Andrei Wsoleg cleaning the cemetery with Rabbi Avi

Rabbi Avi and JCC volunteer, Agnieszka Giś

Sunday night, we were proud to again be one of the venues hosting the documentary human rights film festival, Watch Docs.

These are the types of weekends we live for! They make our center THE center of the Jewish community in Krakow. We're already looking forward to the coming Shabbat and the opening of JCC Warsaw!

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Hanging new banners at the JCC!

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Shabbat Recap // October 11, 2013

This past Shabbat was unlike any we've had in recent memory! Thankfully, this was the final Shabbat before our fearless rabbi returned. Note: he's back and has a full schedule this week at the JCC!

What started out as an ordinary meal ended with a performance from the famous Bau sisters, daughters of artist Joseph Bau.

If you've seen Schindler's List, you've seen Mr. Bau's wedding. He was married to his wife Rebecca in the Plaszow concentration camp and the wedding was depicted in the film.

Hadasa and her sister Clila travel the world singing and raising funds to help preserve their late father's art studio.

Since it was Shabbat, we couldn't record their performance, but here's a look back at one of their performances from the past:

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Member Birthday Announcement // Pani Fredzia!

Pani Fredzia and JCC Krakow Student Club Coordinator, Sławek Pastuszka

This past Friday we celebrated a very important birthday at the JCC. Pani Fredzia turned 77!

The birthday party in the Senior Club was rocking and featured a cherry and chocolate birthday cake, Pani Fredzia's favorite.

Sto lat Pani Fredziu! And many more!

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JCC Basketball / Week 1 // JCC Koszykówka / Tydzień 1

Team Ameryka, from left, "Jewish Thunder", "The Rabbinator", and "Dr. J"

Another season of rec basketball officially tipped-off on Tuesday night at Szkoła Podstawowa, an elementary school within a stone's throw of the JCC. The game featured an intense match-up between Team Ameryka and Team Polska. Starting for the Americans was Avi "The Rabbinator" Baumol, Dr. J (Jonathan Ornstein), and Jewish Thunder (Justin Kadis).

The game featured a few quirks for the Americans (at least those new to the Polish style of play). The match-up was 3-on-4 basketball with the Americans a man down for the full game. Every basket, dunk (of which there were none) or 3-pointer (of which there were plenty that flew and connected for the American Eagles) counted as two points. Rather than the game being 10-8 after five minutes, it was "dwa" (two) for the Americans, and 14-18 a few minutes later was "cztery" (four) for the Poles. The game continued like this with a few breaks for the Americans to refill their depleted tanks with H2O and PowerAde of which the flavors for the latter are rather interesting over here. Red, fruit punch in the States, is cherry; yellow, which is lemon-lime in the States, is just lemon; orange is orange; and blue is Mountain Blast. Players don't check the ball in Poland. They inbound the ball to themselves by tossing it off of the wall.

The Poles played the part of a formidable opponent. The team featured "red shorts" who may have picked up the ball and traveled on every possession, but he knew how to finish at the hole; "tall man" who knew how to play the game, but should have just stood under the basket for the entire game and put the ball in the basket or he should sign up for Hakeem Olajuwon's school of post games and get one; "the rebound machine", he attempted perhaps two shots the entire game, but knows how to pull down a board; and "The Rock" who didn't do anything great, but did most things good enough.

"The Rabbinator" debuted his patented runner, hook shot, and left-handed finger roll. Dr. J proved to be adept at hitting the long-range J and getting to the basket at will. "Jewish Thunder" didn't have his best debut, but on one play he did get "tall man" to bite on a fake and easily put the ball in the bucket (despite "tall man" landing on JT's ankle in the process).

As time ticked away with no final score or amount of time set as the conclusion of the game, the score bounced back and forth: osiem for the Poles, cero, dwa for the Americans, sześć for the Poles. Finally, the game ended with the Poles on top.

The game may not have ended as Team Ameryka had hoped, but they held their heads high and promised revenge in tydzień dwa!