Jewish Kids in Poland Connect with Jewish Family Life of the Past

In a special project in Poland, children from the Lauder-Morasha Kindergarten, the Lauder-e-Learning School, the Jewish Community Center of Warsaw and Kindergartens Number 11 and U Smoka co Buja w Obłokach, participated in a hands-on creative connecting Jewish family life of the past with the present.

The project , entitled “Ohaley Ya’akov,” spanned three months, in which children built detailed models of five pre-war Jewish homes, including the home’s walls, roofs, furniture, stoves, Shabbat candlesticks, Hanukah lights, and other timeless Jewish ornaments. The final moment of each home’s construction was the affixing of a Mezuzah on each model’s door frame.

The pupils participated in workshops on Jewish culture and life in Warsaw prior to World War II.

Ohaley Ya’akov featured a photography exhibit at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The photos were compiled in  a competition, in which each child received an old picture of a place or a house connected with Poland’s historic Jewish life. Thereafter each child and his/her parents were challenged to locate the actual place, and photograph its present form.

The project allowed the young artists to feel the joy of creating something with their own hands and at the same time, connect with their past, as they learned about the character of pre-war Warsaw, in which Jews played a major role in Warsaw’s political, cultural and social development.

The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation wholeheartedly thanks the partners and sponsors of this successful project — Lauder-Morasha Kindergarten, Lauder e-Learning Schools, Fundacja Świat na Wyciągnięcie Ręki, Museum of the History of Polish Jews and Jewish Community Center JCC Warsaw.