Why do I keep returning to Poland?

A preliminary question is, why do I go to RC classes and workshops on the first place. They are not pure fun (although they do have fun moments), and I am sometimes asked why I keep on doing something that I do not necessarily enjoy. Especially when that involves traveling to another country.

My answer is, I go to RC workshops because they are a space where I can think well about my life, and discharge patterns that have made me decide bad decisions in the past. This is also the case with the HFW workshops in Poland, which are led by Julian Weissglass.

But there are additional reasons, unique to these workshops, which I will hereby list, not necessarily in order of importance.

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I love being in Poland, a country whose struggles resemble those of Israel, a country that is within 4 hours flights from Israel, and its time only differs from ours in 1 hour. Poland is a country where I do not need to hide my being an Israeli Jew. I can can safely speak Hebrew or hold a Hebrew book in public places, and I will not get into trouble. People might actually be interested in a benign way.

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I love the international atmosphere in the HFW workshops in Poland, the cultural diversity. In the Zionist-Socialist home where I grew up, there were picture books about children from other countries, there were children’s magazines with tales from distant countries, including countries that are not predominantly white. I loved that as a boy, and I still do.

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I love that people from Asia, Africa and eastern Europe are central to the HFW workshops in Poland. At times, I feel central to these workshops too. That contradicts my “youngest in the family” distress. I love that the workshops are not dominated by USers and UKers. I sometimes read reports from workshops in the US, where the authors make a note that “there were also participants from the Canada, England and Israel” – as if we were some exotic supplement. In the HFW workshops in Poland, we are yet another group of interesting people.

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I love that I can learn about the struggles of people from different cultures first hand, and reflect on mine. Usually, in international settings, people try to hide these struggles in order to keep the national pride, or conversely, defame their countries in a patterned way. In the HFW workshops in Poland, people seem to be more rational with regards to these struggles.

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I love that I get to meet people I have known for so many years, some of whom have become my regular counselors. I love that I can meet new people who are experienced co-counselors, whom I can acquire as new regular counselors. At home, the only new people I get to meet are new in RC, and there is no telling how committed they are to the one-point-program.

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I love that I can witness and exerience what it is like to be around allies to Jews in an RC setting, one thing that I cannot witness and experience in Israel. I can watch what they do, and learn how to become an ally to people for whom I am in an oppressor role: women, people of the global majority, GLBTQ, young people. First hand experience is so much more helpful than reading the literature.

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I love that the workshops evolve from year to year. The evolution of language liberation is the most spectacular example, but there are other changes each year. This year, the workshop that I am to attend will be preceded by a one day workshop for men. That is new! I see these changes as a measure against stagnation. I have given Julian credits for that on several occasions.

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 I love the idea that people can heal from the hurts caused by wars.

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Hence, I keep returning.

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