Warsaw – As Menachem Daum walked through the streets of Dzialoszyce, Poland, in 2002, he saw the roofless synagogue built in 1854, a poignant reminder of the vibrant Jewish community that had once existed there. On a return trip he made three years later, Daum was approached by a man who seemed to be in charge.
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“How much do you want to pay me for it?” he asked Daum.
“I was startled by the question,” Daum said recently, recalling the situation. “The idea of selling this historical and sacred site and razing it for a housing development or shopping mall was just unthinkable.”
“But obviously,” Daum continued, “it wasn’t unthinkable for the man who was asking me this question and who had the legal authority to sell this synagogue to me or to anyone of his choosing.”
Why buy it? I don’t see the logic if there is no one there to use it.
Why pay them for property they STOLE?
Simply a guy trying to make a bundle of money.
Why should this differ from hundreds of shuld in New York City and other cities that demolish shuls in neighborhoods that no longer have any jews there. Why is he playing on peoples emotions.
Boy are all of you wacko. An honest oheiv yisroel Jew wants to buy a shul so that it’s area won’t be used for mundane matters, and you all make such amazingly stupid moronic comments. Tovoi olov brocho.
R’ Menachem has been back and forth in Poland for years attempting to restore old cemeteries, and shuls. He is a one man team, often accompanied by Polish youth who work to help his humanitarian efforts. The Poles are working from guilt for their grandfathers past, or a sincere desire for Tikun Olam. I’m not to judge.
Menachem’s film ‘Hiding and Seeking” examines the Jewish and Pole relationship.
We were there for a thousand years with vibrant communities and much interaction with the indigent Poles.
He is working on a new documentary about the destroyed Jewish cemeteries.