Torah for the Masorti Centrum Ki Tov synagogue

The following article appeared in the Polish press www.Jewish.pl. https://jewish.pl/pl/2019/10/12/tora-dla-synagogi-masorti-centrum-ki-tov

The Warsaw conservative community welcomed Shabbat with the new Torah. Its introduction took place on Friday, October 11, 2019.

The honor of bringing Torah went to Israeli ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi. About 40 people attended the ceremony, including rabbis Gil Nativ and Małgorzata Kordowicz. Just before the ceremony, the synagogue was visited by the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich.

Ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi recalled memories of his visit to Poland in 1986, when only the Nożyk synagogue was operating in Warsaw. He only met older people there.

“Today there are several synagogues, I visit them and see many young people in them. That means we have a continuation, “said Ambassador Ben Zvi. “Today’s bringing of the Torah to the synagogue confirms the renewal of Jewish life. I’m glad to be part of it. ”

Masorti Centrum Ki Tov is located in the center of Warsaw, on the first floor of a tenement house at ul. Nowogrodzka 12.

This is one of the youngest synagogues in Warsaw. Established in 2016 on the initiative of Joe and Avigail Smoczyński, initially as the Beit Centrum Ki Tov as part of the Association of Progressive Jewish Communities “Beit Polska”. Last year, they separated from the Association and began to function as a conservative synagogue under the name Masorti Centrum Ki Tov.

“This congregation has chosen an indirect path in modern Jewish life: neither a secular ideology that denies our rootedness in tradition, nor the ultra-orthodox Haredi ideology that denies democracy and equality, i.e. the values of Western civilization,” said Rabbi Gil Nativ. “We believe in seeking a balance between teaching from the right and from the left, between old and new, between tradition and modernity. This is how the Ki Tov Centre developed.”

During the ceremony, the conversion program was announced. The first Ki Tov bat mitzvah using this Torah will take place today (Shabbat) at the Masorti Centrum synagogue. Ahava will read from it and comment.

Krzysztof Bielawski