33rd JCF – PRESS TEXT

The motto for the 33^rd edition of the Jewish Culture Festival (June 23^rd – 30^th, 2024) will be Shema Yisrael / Ahava.

The most important Jewish prayer – Hear, O Israel – is not a mere confession of faith. This is a statement of affiliation with the Jewish People, often recited also by non-practicing Jews. This prayer is also calligraphed on a scroll of paper, placed in mezuzahs on the doors of Jewish homes, accompanying Jews for their entire lives – that is why we decided that this will be the perfect title for the Festival which begins a new thematic series of the JCF.

The past editions were dedicated to the four elements: earth, fire, water and air. This year’s Festival initiates our conversation about Jewish mysticism, spirituality, about Kabbalah, Gemar, Hassidism and other means of communicating with G-d.

But why ahava? Because this word  means love. When we read the comments to Shema, lsrael, the word “love” appears almost in every second sentence. Because loves makes up an integral element of the confession of faith. Because faith is love.

Love is a feeling which drives and motivates us. It is thanks to love to the Jewish culture that we can invite you each year to come to the Jewish Kazimierz, so that you can experience the culture’s  richness, diversity, inclusiveness and universality.

It was with love and respect to Judeo-Christian culture that European and world culture has developed and is still developing.

The 33^rd JCF will be full of lectures, workshops, meetings and presentations which will interpret and explain the meaning of this prayer. But we also treated this title verbatim – at this Festival there will be many opportunities to listen (we are going to have as many as 22 concerts and DJ parties!), but also to invite others to listen to us (a series of music workshops), and also….to learn how to listen! Innovative deep listening workshops will teach you to hear the sounds of a given place even when it is quiet around.

The quality mark of each Jewish Culture Festival is music. This year we have prepared a record-breaking number of concerts – as many as 16 of them! The majority of them will be taking place in the Museum of engineering and Technology, a few of them in the JCF Tent, whilst one special concert – in the Old Synagogue. Amongst these, you will find the concerts which we ordered especially for this occasion (two Maqamat concerts, two Maya Belsitzman concerts, and a concert of Jarek Bester), but also those that will have their world premieres (Hebrew Tangos) and Polish premieres (The Kadya Trio, The Sway Machinery, Voices of Yemen). All the concerts will be streamed live on our website: 33.jewishfestival.pl and can also be viewed there free of charge after their premiere – at any time at all!

Although the Shalom concert on Szeroka Street will not take place this year, as we had to resign from it this year out of concern for your safety, many other music events will be going on. Feel invited to a musical welcome of Shabbat at the JCF Tent and to a series of DJ events: in the Tent and in the “Alchemia” you will listen to original sets by Polish and Israeli DJs.

We are fully aware that times in which this year’s Jewish Culture Festival will take place are extremely difficult. Yet, we are not a political event, but a cultural one. To participate in the JCFs is not about taking sides in a conflict: it is an attempt to build a community that cherishes humanistic values putting them above politics.

Our thoughts are with the victims of this conflict and with their families, we are waiting for the return of the hostages, hoping that the world will hear our crying out for love.