We, at JCC Krakow, would like to extend a warm welcome to Rabbi George Schlesinger, who is a Taube Visiting Fellow serving the Krakow community for the month of May, hosted by the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland Foundation and sponsored by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture. Rabbi Schlesinger’s visit to Krakow started with a Shabbat dinner at the JCC last week, where he met with the local Jewish community. We are happy and honored to host Rabbi Schlesinger and we believe that the time he’ll spend in Krakow will be of great value and benefit to our community.
Previously, Rabbi Schlesinger visited Poland with the North California Board of Rabbis Mission with Taube Jewish Heritage Tours. This time, Rabbi Schlesinger will be working closely with the JCC, Galicia Jewish Museum, Jewish Culture Festival and the Institute of Jewish Studies at Jagiellonian University for a month. Rabbi Schlesinger’s presence will have a profound impact on locals by educating them about Judaism and its culture and traditions. He will be delivering lectures, hosting meetings, leading services, and helping with Jewish knowledge and advice.
Rabbi Schlesinger was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He has served as a Conservative congregational rabbi for the last 40 years. Throughout his career, he has created numerous programs and classes, providing for the educational, spiritual, and ritual needs of the members of his congregation. Now retired, Rabbi Schlesinger continues to serve the Jewish community by teaching students, officiating at weddings and funerals, and volunteering at his synagogue as a Torah and Megillah reader, Ba’al Tefillah, and lecturer.
Rabbi Schlesinger also loves music and plays piano, harp, and guitar. He is also an avid long-distance cyclist: he has bicycled across the United States both west to east and south to north!
We wish Rabbi Schlesinger a pleasant and productive time in Krakow, and we are excited to support him here in all his endeavors.
About the Taube Visiting Fellows Program
In October 2016, a delegation from the North California Board of Rabbis came on a mission to Poland with Taube Jewish Heritage Tours. Following that trip, in response to the rabbis’ mounting interest in returning to Poland, the Taube Visiting Fellows program was launched with the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland. The Taube Visiting Fellows program brings San Francisco Bay Area rabbis, educators, and community organizers to different cities in Poland (1-3 per year) for a 4-week residency. During their residency, each fellow works with the local Jewish communities seeking to strengthen their infrastructures and effectiveness, to expand their knowledge of Jewish traditions, and to encourage their engagement in Jewish life. The Fellowship program is supported by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture, the Jewish Community Federation of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Northern California Board of Rabbis.
