Poland's Reform Jewish community launches nationwide union

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Reform Jewish leaders in Poland said Thursday they were launching a nationwide union of Reform Judaism. More than 100 members of Poland's Reform community voted to create a union called Beit Polska, which will submit registration papers to the Interior Ministry next week, group president Pawel Szapiro said. Rabbi Burt Schuman, who leads Beit Warszawa, the union's largest community, said the decision reflected the "incredible dynamism" and appeal of Reform, or Progressive, Judaism in Poland. "People were looking for a contemporary Judaism ... to experience Jewish practice, Jewish culture and our great tradition of Torah and rabbinic text" while finding meaning and guidance for living in today's world, Schuman said.