Żydzi wschodniej Polski. Seria V: W kręgu judaizmu

Abstract

In 2016 the 5th International Conference ‘Jews of Eastern Poland’ was dedicated to ‘Judaism in Central and Eastern Europe’ (Białystok 20–21 June). It was a jubilee event, and the participants had an opportunity to review a five-year long research program, the fruits of which were five volumes of papers. In 2011, Barbara Olech, Lucy Lisowska, and Jarosław Ławski had the idea to organize an annual conference, which would accompany the Festival of Jewish Culture ‘Zachor – Colour and Sound’ (held regularly in Białystok since 2008). Ławski proposed the formula ‘Jews of Eastern Europe’ and offered to engage his Research Unit in Interdisciplinary and Comparative Studies ‘East–West’ (UwB) in the organizational work, thereby creating a circle of scholars who have been cooperating with each other ever since. The following units and institutions have been taking part in the project: Chair in Philological Studies ‘East–West’, the University of Białystok; Centre of Civil Education ‘Israel – Poland’; and Książnica Podlaska Library in Białystok. Occasionally, they were supported by the Learned Society ‘Oikoumene’; Faculty of Philology, the University of Białystok; and the Śleńdzińscy Gallery in Białystok. The conference organizers were sponsored by the Marshal Office of Podlasie Region, the President of Białystok, the Embassy of Israel, and the US Embassy. The five conferences organized so far have resulted in five volumes of papers, published by Chair in Philological Studies ‘East–West’ and Książnica Podlaska Library, in the Scholarly Publishing Series ‘Colloquia Orientalia Bialostocensia’. Specifically, these were: – The 1st International Conference ‘Jews of Eastern Poland: Culture – Tradition – Writings’, Białystok 19 June 2012. Publication: Jews of Eastern Poland, Series I, Testimonies and Interpretations. Barbara Olech and Jarosław Ławski (eds). Białystok 2013, pp. 531. The volume reviewed by Professor Alina Kowalczykowa (IBL PAN). – The 2nd International Conference ‘Jews of Eastern Poland’, Edition II: ‘The Good Sides and the Bad Sides of History’, Białystok 17-18 June 2013. Publication: Jews of Eastern Poland, Series II, The Good Sides and the Bad Sides of History. Jarosław Ławski and Barbara Olech (eds). Białystok 2014, pp. 687. The volume reviewed by Professor Sławomir Buryła (UWM, Olsztyn). – The 3rd International Conference ‘Jews of Eastern Poland’, Edition III: ‘The Jewish Woman’, Białystok 13-14 June 2014. Publication: Jews of Eastern Poland, Series III: The Jewish Woman. Anna Janicka, Jarosław Ławski, Barbara Olech (eds). Białystok 2015, pp. 610. The volume reviewed by Professor Grażyna Borkowska (IBL PAN). – The 4th International Conference ‘Jews of Eastern Poland’, Edition IV: ‘The Jewish Scholars’, Białystok 15-16 June 2015. Publication: Jews of Eastern Poland, Series IV: The Jewish Scholars. Grzegorz Czerwiński and Jarosław Ławski (eds). Białystok 2016, pp. 405. The volume reviewed by Professor Rościsław Radyszewski (Chair in Polish Studies, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine). – The 5th International Conference ‘Jews of Eastern Poland’, Edition V: ‘Judaism in Central and Eastern Europe’, Białystok 20-21 June 2016. Publication: Jews of Eastern Poland, Series V: Judaism in Eastern Europe. Jarosław Ławski and Iwona E. Rusek, Białystok 2017. The annual conferences, invariably accompanying the Festival of Jewish Culture ‘Zachor – Colour and Sound’, were not merely scholarly meetings but have assumed the character of cultural and social events with concerts and performances by David Krakauner (2012), Yale Strom and Peter Stan, cantor Jacob Dvilianski (2013), Yaron Gershovsky (2014), cantor Zeev Shulman, Beata Czarnecka (2015), and the artists from the Warsaw Jewish Theatre (2016). Each conference had its patron – a person of importance originating from Białystok, who has fallen into oblivion, but who is still part of Jewish memory and ought to be re-introduced to public awareness at the beginning of the 21st century: – Edition I: dr Józef Chazanowicz (1844–1914), a physician and bibliophile, – Edition II: dr Dora Kacnelson (1921–2003), a historian of literature, – Edition III: Chasia Bornstein-Bielicka (1921–2012), an activist and writer, – Edition IV: Leo Wiener (1862–1939), the first professor of Slavic studies in the USA, – Edition V: Samuel Mohylewer (1824–1898), an exponent of Zionism, the Chief Rabbi of Białystok. The conferences abounded in accompanying events of yet another kind. In 2012, in the Chocolate Café ‘Wedel’ there was a meeting entitled ‘Jews of Eastern Europe: Their Past, Present, and Some Perspectives for Research’ with the participation of Professor Jacek Leociak, Professor Bogdan Burdziej, Professor Sławomir Buryła, and the Archbishop Professor Edward Ozorowski, who gave an opening speech. The lecture of the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich, ‘The Jewish Approach to God’ (19 June) is still vividly remembered by the conference organizers and participants. In 2013, the Museum of History in Białystok (37 Warszawska Street) organized “Remembering Dora Kacnelson”, with the talks given by Professor Wiktoria Śliwowska and the late Professor Elżbieta Felikisak. And in 2014, the Gallery ‘Telimena’ (2 Legionowa Street) organized “Remembering Chasia Bielicka” with the participation of Lucy Lisowska, Barbara Olech and Grażyna Dawidowicz. In 2015, during one of the conference sessions, Halina Krukowska was honoured with the tile Professor Emeritus of the University of Białystok. Finally, in 2016, the conference organizers hosted Tomasz Krakowski, a representative of the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michel Schudrich. The 5th conference was dedicated to the history and literary representations of Judaism in central and eastern Europe. The presentations addressed the following issues: – Judaism in eastern parts of Poland, as well as in central and eastern Europe; – Renunciations of Judaism and returns to Judaism as elements of the life of European Jews; – Distinguished representatives of Jewish religion: their lives and achievements; – Representations of Judaism, synagogues and religious life in literature and visual arts; – Jewish literature and religious art; Jewish architecture; – Perception of the Jewish life in eastern Europe; – Relations between language and religion in Judaism; – Judaism as compared with other religions, nations and identities in eastern Europe; – History of Judaism; – Movements and sects in the development of Judaism in central and eastern Europe. The present volume brings together twenty two articles by scholars from Poland, the USA, Russia, and Ukraine, grouped in four parts: I. Testimonies, II. Religion: Symbols and Representations, III. History – Social Life, IV. Literary Representations of Judaism. The whole was edited by Professor Jarosław Ławski, the main conference organizer and Head of Chair in Philological Studies ‘East– West’, and Iwona E. Rusek, PhD, an independent researcher cooperating with the University of Białystok. From 2017 onwards, the conference formula ‘Jews of Eastern Poland’ will be broadened thematically into ‘Jews of Central and Eastern Europe’. The next conference session will be dedicated to ‘Jews of Białystok: From the Very Beginnings to 1939. A Central and Eastern European Context’ (12-13 June 2017).