‘Hidden Jews’ from Poland uniting for Talmud seminar

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More than 40 “hidden Jews” are expected to participate in a seminar in Poland dedicated to the study of Talmud.

The gathering being held this week at the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva coincides with the completion of the Daf Yomi, the 7 1/2-year cycle of page-a-day Talmud study that was launched by the yeshiva’s founder, Rabbi Meir Shapiro, more than 80 years ago.

Hidden Jews refers to Jews whose families lost all contact with Judaism after the Holocaust and now are returning to the religion and the Jewish people.

Shavei Israel, a group that tries to help descendants of Jews connect with Israel and the Jewish people, is organizing the event.

“The symbolism of this seminar and its location are especially poignant,” Shavei Israel chairman Michael Freund said in a statement. “The Germans and their collaborators sought to snuff out Jewish life and learning. But nearly seven decades after the Holocaust, Jews are once again studying the Talmud at Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin.”

In 2005, a similar event was held in Lublin to celebrate the completion of the Daf Yomi Cycle, marking the first time since 1938 that the area had such a gathering.  The brainchild of Brooklyn’s Rabbi David Singer, it saw 200 people crowd into the main study hall at the Yeshiva Hachmei Lublin.

JTA


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