Why do I feel more JEWISH in POLAND?!?

[@evka_esgie]

I think you've explained clearly this paradox of being more Jewish in Poland. I understand it in positive way. I'm catholic and don't have any problem with non-catholics. Exploring the topic of Jewish tradition is fascinating and doesn't interfere with my faith. It rather enriches it. It even helps to understand better the Bible. It also helps to understand Poland and its history of being home to many nations.

[@evegannon5111]

I am Polish but the horror of war 2 still affecting me although I was born after the war. I would not visit concentration camp. Once as a child I went there and I got sick. I don’t live in Poland but memory of horror produced by Germans affecting me even in my dreams. Good luck in Poland

[@xxxyyy5080]

I once had a "lucid dream/astral travel" to something that Carl Jung would call the relm of collective unconcious. I saw/feel (whole experience was very long and visual but this memory was more of the energy/feeling experience) there a memory of PL family hiding jews in Warsaw (I am Varsowian) beeing cought by german gestapo. Whats funny I precived all people there as "an ball of energy" and I could not recognize jews from poles due to fact that I precived them via emotions and both had emotions of pure terror. But I could recognize germans clearly they were extreamly satisfied they cought "the prey". The saddest conlusion I had is that people are basically the same yet they prey each other due to ideology. Later collective unconcious wanted to show me similar experience but different memory of jews beeing tortured by germans. That was to much for me and I refused it.

[@bron9242]

Im Polish too, I been in Oswiecim and it is shocking experience for sure ,but the bigger picture is the reminder what people are able to do against each other.Thats why is vitally important to keep this " museum concentration camp intact} for the future especially now where some groups are already trying to deny the truth and pretend it never happened !

[@missjo8346]

It's only natural that you think of that. Im a polish catholic (however greatgrandma was Jewish and our family intermarried with Jews a lot in general), but not a day goes by that a thought of WWII doesnt appear in my mind. I think it's safe to say this is true for majority of us. I think of all that was lost, the house near Drohobycz, where my grandfather went to school and was taught polish by Bruno Schultz, Lwów and how the tight-knitted family got splattered around the world; the pain, the terror, the story my grandmother told me of when Ukrainians did another pogrom in Galicja and burned Poles and Jews together, how they escaped and could only watch the fires from afar, knowing all is lost. What happened to Erdsteins, our cousins. Of my grandfather who as a half jewish kid was protected in a catholic orphanage, while his brothers fought in the Home Army, to be later persecuted by communist russians. Of course. Every day those thoughts come. When I drive through the city and see holes from bullets still present in some buildings, I think of the horror of war, of how all possessions and so many lives just ceased to exsist and how we must rebuild, re-gather, reestablish, create anew. I think this is true to so many Poles. Ive never visited Auschwitz-Birkenau because I cannot handle it. Ive heard relations of those times first hand, we all had. Poles where next in line to be annihilated and many did, heck, most of the Jews were our citizens, fellow Poles actually. Obviously, there was and there is antisemitism. But I pass the Synagogue and theres no guards, no rude graffiti, like at the neighbors to the west. It's good to have Polish Jews come back. My favorite poets are Tuwim and Leśmian, and I love the old Warsaw's hits of Adam Aston's songs. Here's to hope of growth of culture and growth of the country that is a mother to all of us! Once we've been marked by times so dark, it will always be in the soul for generations, but we must look forward to a new future. When all its people are together, Poland is untouchable.

[@BarbaraBarbara81010]

Pięknie to napisałaś. ..."Kiedy wszyscy ludzie są razem, Polska jest nietykalna."...tylko, niestety wszyscy nie jesteśmy i nie byliśmy razem...każdy gra swoją rolę w swoim filmie...tylko dla siebie i smutny los Polski widzę.

[@annafirnen4815]

I completely understand the feeling of "torturing" yourself with media showing the sad history of your people. I may not be Jewish, just Polish, but anytime I watch something about WWII and other things it makes me sad and angry about what our country was robbed of. But then few words from a poem "Miejcie nadzieję" by Adam Asnyk ring in my head: "Przestańmy własną pieścić się boleścią, przestańmy ciągłym lamentem się poić". It reminds me that yes, we need to remember what happened but we can't live in the past. We need to work for better future. And it takes a group effort. As you said, I hope your son as well as many others in this new generation will be the part of the new tomorrow for Poland and the world ❤.

[@katarzynaherman4814]

Piekne slowa Asnyka. Szkoda ze bohater i wielu jak on ciagle sie tym plawi I delektuje i przy byle okazji wykorzystuja to. (szkoda ze my nie uzywam takie taktyki) A w nowej historii, ktora chca stworzyc wszystko ma byc przeciwko Polakom. Nie patrzy mu sie dobrze z oczu.

[@kaczmarekandreas7214]

Dziekuje😂😂😂

[@andrzejkrzeminski3270]

blah blah blah....look what jews do to Palestine right now....

[@budyn1412]

@@katarzynaherman4814 Historia, w której wszystko ma być przeciw Polakom? Że co? Historia żadnego narodu nie jest, jeżeli jest jakkolwiek rzetelna, tylko wyliczeniem ich moementów chwały, zasług i osiągnięć, ale też problemów, nieporozumień i niedociągnięć moralnych. My ich sporo mamy jak wszyscy inni, a chowanie ich pod dywanem nikomu nic dobrego nie robi.

[@katarzynaherman4814]

@@budyn1412 mamy, ale to nie znaczy ze zawsze kaza nam sie kalac. Nigdy nie zauwazyles tego, nawet media w Polsce czesto przedstaeiaja nas za zacofanych I ciagle dazacych za kims. W sumie media nie nalezala do Polakow to nie trzeba sie dziwic. A slyszales o ustawie 447 podpisana przez Trumpa? Radze uzupelnic wiedze. Znow nas doja za cos co zrobily Niemcy. Zreszta juz niewiele do dojenia zostalo bo wiekszosc rozsprzedana.

[@renemagritte8237]

Michael, it's so good to have you here with us. Dobrze że jesteś.

[@katarzynaherman4814]

Zamiast sie nim tak delektowac, zastanow sie po co sie tu przeprowadzil. Juz mamy wystarczajaca ilosc takich jak on.

[@renemagritte8237]

@@katarzynaherman4814 Mamy? I co to znaczy "takich jak on"? Ma pani na myśli ciepłych, dobrych ludzi zachwyconych Polską i zafascynowanych polską historią i kulturą? Przyjeżdżających z Kanady aby być tu z nami, uczących się trudnego polskiego języka i okazujących nam przyjaźń i biorących aktywny udział w polskim życiu kulturalnym? Takich ludzi nigdy nie dosyć. A tak na marginesie: w ilu krajach Pani żyła jako Polka? Pytam z ciekawości.

[@zbigniewhaczek5575]

@@renemagritte8237 Co to jest POLAK? Bredzisz ! Jego ojczyzna jest Jemen. Tak samo jak Khazarow jest Altaj to nie jest obraza tylko historyczne fakty. Archeologiczne i genetyczne.😉 Dlatego zrobili sobie definicje Polaka!🙃😆

[@kiaaurora]

Pain jest naiwna jak dziecko jeśli pani myśli ze oni chcą brać udział w polskim życiu kulturowym. Żydzi przyjeżdżaj tutaj jak na swoje i są ekstremalnie roszczeniowi. Maja gdzieś Polskę i Polaków, chcą odbudować swoją żydowskość w Polsce. Ot co.

[@renemagritte8237]

@@kiaaurora "Żydzi przyjeżdżaj tutaj jak na swoje i są ekstremalnie roszczeniowi." W czym się ta ekstremalna roszczeniowość Zydów osiedlających się w Polsce przejawia? Byłbym wdzięczny za podanie konkretnych przykładów. Bo osobiście jakoś się nie spotkałem.

[@jekubos]

Hey Michael! I'm not Jewish, but whenever I spot some old Jewish symbols it also makes me sad that so much of heritage was lost and especially that so many people lost their lives.

[@jankowalski3220]

Świetnie "żydłaczysz" Michael:))) Na temat polsko-jidyszowskiego dialektu napisano przed wojną wiele szmoncesów, polecam" Sęk" w wykonaiu Kabarteu Dudek. Zreszta może znasz.

[@adidas862]

what is this all about? For last couple of weeks I have been seeing these videos of you talking about being a Jew in Poland, about history, about how great it is to be in Poland. Is this some kind of a propaganda? Is this supposed to encourage other people to relocate to Poland?

[@biglance]

You made me think, I wonder if Catholics from North America would feel more Catholic in Poland, especially if their Catholic origins are rooted in Poland, I assume so. I guess I will find out soon ^^ peace be with you.

[@magdadagmara5401]

What happened ” here “or what happened under German occupation This place this “here “ is not guilty of these crimes These are not crimes of this land

[@leszeknagooglach]

Nondescript, non-culture - that's how I felt America when I was there...

[@LMB222]

North America. Canada sadly isn't much better than the US.

[@jk5042]

Thank you, I enjoyed it very much

[@katrinagkatrinag6854]

I will never get to like your nation, never. Anyway, I wish you all the best.

[@lerubenfeld]

You wish me all the best despite not liking me? Why? And why do you not like Jews?

[@richardtylman9177]

Thanks Michael. As far as I can tell, all your monologues are brilliant performance pieces. I have a question. Do you script your videos ahead of time, or are they spontaneous? I can name a number of identifiable literary devices you use, including metaphors for selfhood, the sense of rhythm (prosody), anaphoras, metonymy, synecdoche, refracting, strategic repetition etc. The KZbin transcripts of your monologues are invaluable; take this as an example: "I've been sitting here in this chair for about a 100 years just waiting for you to come and join me." (0:12) I wonder if, over the years, you'd be able to evoke a similar sense of belonging using the Polish language. Most Jews in Poland, historically, were probably somewhere on a continuum in between speaking some Polish, and identifying with and/or socializing with Poles to some extent, etc. Your inability to speak fluent Polish at this particular time would place you right in the thick of the Polish-Jewish identity from far away past, an opportunity rather than a problem. ❤

[@lerubenfeld]

Wow, what a kind thing to say. No, I don't script them, but I of course do make some decision ahead of time about the topic as well as the points that I want to touch on - but outside of that, they improvised. That said, I am a professional writer and actor for the theatre, and that certainly helps with these videos. Regarding language, I agree with you - yes - of course the difference being that in those days, there were large Yiddish speaking communities and culture for Jews to engage with, whereas although there are of course a number of ex-pats living in Poland, there is very little English "culture" to engage with in Poland. So the only entry-point into the most interesting aspects of the culture of Poland is through understanding the language -- which I understand now is going to be a life-long battle/journey/adventure. x

[@Sufi7]

​@@lerubenfeldI enjoy learning foreign languages, but I agree with you that it is a life-long battle/adventure. I'm a native Polish speaker, fluent in English, but battling/struggling with German for years. I feel a bit like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill, a continuous pointless struggle, but I still try to recharge batteries and renew my efforts. There's a Polish religious song "Kochać to znaczy powstawać", whose lyrics form a one-sided conversation with Jesus about not giving up. "Ciągle zaczynam od nowa, choć czasem w drodze upadam, wciąż jednak slyszę te słowa: "Kochać to znaczy powstawać." I don't exactly love German language, but I'm definitely too stubborn to let it defeat me. Good luck in your learning Polish, I'm rooting for you!

[@NobelMicha]

video and sound quality is better.your way of talking reminds me of furios pete

[@ziemowitfincek4060]

I'm Polish and my grandmother (91 yo) so she was raised, went to school with jewish friends and always told me Poles (Slavs) and Poles (Jews) we are brothers. I'm from town of Kalisz (about 100 000 people) which was about 40 % Jewish before our German friends visited us 80 years ago. Wesołej Chanuki Michael.

[@LMB222]

My grandmother from Kalisz was an ugly antisemite. This, of course, didn't prevent her from marrying my Jewish grandfather from a shtetl in Belarus. I detested that lady when she was alive and I equally detest her today.

[@kuba210190]

Hey, you look like this crazy actor from Prison Break and you pretty much act like him, was that really you in the film?

[@lerubenfeld]

Nope. I was not in Prison Break

[@gedeonmalak]

Odkrylem Twoje nagrania kilka dni temu i jest mi bardzo bliskie to, o czym mowisz w kazdym filmie. Super, ze sa tacy ludzie.

[@lerubenfeld]

Powiedz wiecej. Jestem czekawe dlaczego się czujesz blisko.

[@gedeonmalak]

@@lerubenfeld to, w jaki sposób działa Twój mózg i serce jest mi bliskie, to jak mówisz o dziedzictwie, o byciu Żydem w Ameryce i na Starym Kontynencie. To ,że mówisz prawdę o 1000 letniej historii. Prawda stała się towarem deficytowym. Lubię Twoją ekspresję wariata ;-) Jestem protestantem i jest nas w Polsce obecnie 0,01 % więc w pewnych kwestiach jestem w stanie odnieść swoją/naszą historię i sytację do historii Żydów w Polsce. Studiowałem w Lublinie, gdzie dziedzictwo Żydów niczym duch unosi się w powietrzu, oddychasz nim na każdym kroku. Na rynku jest restauracja Mandragora z kuchnią aszkenzayjską, w której pracowałem. Zawsze zabierałem turystów do Jesziwy, która kiedyś kształciła najlepszych Rabinów na świecie, i na stary cmentarz żydowski, na który trzeba się było włamywać przez dziurę w ogrodzeniu, co dodawało tylko tajemniczości całej wyprawie :) Jest duża tęskonta i szukanie tego dziecictwa przez wrażliwych ludzi, są ludzie którzy WYBIERAJĄ to dziedzictwo choć nie mają bezpośrednich korzeni żydowskich ale zgodnie z prawdą czują, że jest to ich dziedzictwo.

[@xxxyyy5080]

Are many jews coming to Poland ?

[@mateuszwesoowski9583]

"Dlaczego nie verstehen? My wszystko verstehen. Proszę bardzo, Pan spocznie, Pan usiądzie, Pan poczeka, się załatwi…" Jewish history in Poland is quite complex. I would like to present a problem, just the problem, no judgment or no solutions: PLC was a multicultural and tolerant country and in some ways that hurt us. Literal opposite of "diversity is our strength". Let me explain. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth made very little attempts to assimilate Jewish communities. They had a separate language, separate law ans even separate religious courts that were directly protected and guaranteed by Polish kings. It was this freedom that attracted so many Jews persecuted in other countries to PLC. This tolerance worked well... until it didn't. In 1795 the last partition of Poland happened and Poland was wiped off the map. For 123 years until 1918 Polish lands were ruled by hostile powers that were working hard to assimilated occupied Polish lands into their own countries. There were active Germanization and Russification policies, those included suppression of Polish culture and history (literally teaching or publicizing books about Polish history was punished by prison or banishment to Syberia), ethnic Poles could not hold offices etc etc. But another side of those policies were the "divide et impera" policies. Meaning the occupiers actually promoted minority groups that were part of PLC and were not Polish. Because it is easier to occupy and rule few divided and hostile groups rather than one big united nation. This is when Ukrainian and Belarussian national identities were born. But Jews who were never assimilated in PLC also were affected. In 1918 when Poland was restored after 123 years of occupation many Jewish people were not happy - during the partitions they adapted to the new overlords and sided with Germans or Russians. They saw Polish fight for independence as a destabilizing factor that hurt their own goals. This led to the period of antysemitism in Poles and antipolish attitudes in Jews in the 20 years between 1918 and 1939. Its hard to believe but there was a significant number of Jewish people that supported Nazi invasion of Poland (before they realized what German people wre all about). And then sided with the Russian communists who conquered Poland after they did realize what German people were about. So in a way Poland payed a price for not assimilating Jewish people and leaving them to live their own lives in peace. I will post a few citations in the comments to this:

[@mateuszwesoowski9583]

“When the Jews in Spain began to use that wealthy land as a means of mingling with the Arabs and Spaniards, G-d’s plan caused them to be expelled to lands of lesser culture, such as Turkey and Poland, with whom our people had no incentive to assimilate. Among these nations, G-d permitted the Jews to live in relative peace for centuries; for there was no danger that they would imitate the ways of the poor and backward populace. But those of our people who dwelt among the Germans,French, and English were tempted to mingle with them; for their higher living standards created allure. You see how our nation adopted the German language, but not Polish or Turkish.” - 1-Avigdor Miller, Rejoice o Youth! An Integrated Jewish Ideology (New York: n.p., 1962), 276-77. "As this last shred of hope gave way to sober reality, Yisroel Efroikin also mourned the breakup of Russia into independent successor states as spelling the death of a unified Russian Jewry. From the late eighteenth century until World War I, Lithuanian, Polish, and Ukrainian Jews had comprised a united Russian Jewry that experienced modernization together through such movements and processes as Haskalah, Zionism, and the rise of Yiddish culture. Now, however, Russian Jews would face the future as minorities in emerging nation-states. ... Although the successor states might guarantee personal emancipation and national autonomy, he argued, the small size of these fragmented Jewish communities would preclude autonomy’s implementation. The peasant nationalities that would lead most of these successor states, moreover, would force the Jews from their traditional economic role in commerce and industry. Echoing the Yiddishist call for a synthesis between Jewish and European cultures, Efroikin feared that the low cultural level of these peasant nationalities would negatively affect the development of secular Yiddish culture." - 4-Karlik, The Tragedy of a Generation, 146. “Rarely did a Jew think it was necessary to learn Polish; rarely was a Jew interested in Polish history or Polish politics. ... Even in the last few years it was still a rare occurrence that a Jew would speak Polish well. Out of three million Jews living in Poland, two-and-a-half million were not able to write a simple letter in Polish and they spoke [Polish] very poorly. There are hundreds of thousands of Jews in Poland to whom Polish was as unfamiliar as Turkish. The undersigned was connected with Poland for generations, but his father did not know more than two words in Polish. And it never even occurred to him that there was something amiss in that.”(5) - 5-Cited in Chone Shmeruk, “Isaac Bashevis Singer and Bruno Schultz,” The Polish Review, vol. 36, no. 2 (1991):161-67. Jewish Professor Yacoov Talmon who hailed from the Russian Partition of Poland wrote: “... many important factors infused in the Jews a spirit of contempt and hatred towards the Poles. In contrast to the organizational activity and capacity of the Germans, the Jews saw the Poles as failures. The rivals most difficult to Jews, in the economic and professional fields were the Poles,and we must not underrate the closeness of Yiddish to the German language as well. I still remember that during my childhood the name “goy” sounded to me as referring to Catholic Poles and not to Germans; though I did realize that the latter were obviously not Jews, I felt that the Germans in the vicinity were not simply Gentiles. It would be shocking to think of it to-day, but the pre-Hitlerite relations between Jews and Germans in our vicinity were friendly. ... In the twenties, Jews and Germans stood together one election lists. Out of those Germans rose such who, during the German invasion, helped in the acts of repression and extermination as experts, who had the experience and knew the secrets.”(15) -15-Shimon Kanc, ed., Sefer Ripin: A Memorial to the Jewish Community of Ripin [Rypin] (Tel Aviv: FormerResidents of Ripin in Israel and in the Diaspora, 1962), 9-10.

[@adboroutdoor..7662]

Niestety nawet znacząca część Polaków nie zna tych faktów, a oni wolą ich nie widzieć, wybierając z historii (ta wspólna 1000-letnia, którą promują też nasi ignoranccy politycy to bzdura) głównie to, co dla nich wygodne. To ich wielki błąd, że stale obarczają winą innych, nie próbując się odnieść do własnej przeszłości, ani nie nie próbując zastanowić się głębiej nad tym, że ich własne postępowanie wobec nacji, wśród których żyli, też mogło stanowić istotną przyczynę okazywanej im niechęci, bo to przecież nie było zjawiskiem irracjonalnym, pozbawionym rzeczywistych podstaw. Pozdrawiam i dzięki @@mateuszwesoowski9583

[@mateuszwesoowski9583]

@@adboroutdoor..7662 Ten temat jest bardziej skomplikowany niż się ludziom wydaje. Ale Chrześcijaństwo uczy żeby skupić się na sobie zamiast obwiniać innych. Idea Państwa narodowego to dopiero 17 wiek. Żydzi jako mniejszość która nie była asymilowana nie mieli dużo czasu aby nią nasiąknąć. Trzeci zabór Polski pod koniec 18 wieku przerwał dla nich ten proces. Zaborcy promowali ich odrębność od reszty Polskiej populacji. Zabory zintensyfikowały ideę tożsamości narodowej dla Polaków, ale dla żydów wręcz przeciwnie, byli oni przez rządzących nagradzani właśnie za swoją odrębność od reszty populacji. Polski duch narodowy jest bardzo dobrze zdefiniowany przez wieki walki o niepodległą Polskę. Ale to raczej my tu jesteśmy w mniejszości. Zmierzam do tego że fakt że wielu żydów zamiast romantycznym sentymentem historycznym kierowało się pragmatycznym wyborem gdy popierali Polskich zaborców - to nie jest żadna negatywna cecha typowo żydowska. To raczej Polski patriotyczny chrześcijański romantyzm jest tu wyjątkiem. To smutne że tak potoczyły się nasze losy. Zarówno żydzi jak i Polacy ucierpieli potem z rąk Niemców jak i Rosjan. Warto pamiętać że to tylko krótki czas naszej wspólnej historii. Kultura żydowska miała duży wpływ na kształtowanie kultury Polskiej. Było też trochę wielkich Polaków którzy byli żydami, w tym niektórzy z moich ulubionych autorów. Żydzi to normalni ludzie. Jedyny problem jest że mają tendencję sie izolować od reszty. Ludzie boją się tego co obce więc to izolowanie prowadzi do demonizacji. Kiedyś było nam razem po drodze. Potem nasze ścieżki się rozeszły. Daj Bóg że się znowu zejdą w przyszłości. Nasi przodkowie pokazali że może to być bardzo korzystne dla obu grup. Polska Chrystusem Europy. Przewodzi się przykładem, a nie rozpamiętując bóle i gorycze.

[@adboroutdoor..7662]

O ten pragmatyzm, przedkładanie własnego interesu, zwłaszcza po czasie I wojny, ale i obecny, mi przede wszystkim chodzi i choć wiem, że nie dotyczy to tylko ich, naszym dziadom było dane to odczuć i dla mnie nie przedstawia się to jako cecha pozytywna, bo nie gryzie się ręki, która... podobnie jak to dziś czyni sąsiedni kraj na wschodzie. Historia, ale i czasy obecne, świadkiem, że błędem jest współtworzenie państwa ze społecznościami, które nie chcą się asymilować, izolują się i ponad ogólny przedkładają swój własny interes, a w zawierusze dziejów zwracają się w stronę, z której wiatr powieje.@@mateuszwesoowski9583

[@metanoian965]

@@mateuszwesoowski9583 Poland is blessed without the eternal curse. why allow the serpent back into the childrens bedroom ? why are Poloks stupid ?

[@4relevants]

Recently I discovered through 23andMe that I'm 1% Jew from Poland. When I listen to you I feel like this 1% is finally free, happy, and in charge :)

[@metanoian965]

lol 23&ne is 100% jew like the others are. someone sent a lizard sample to 23. Result = Ashkenazi jew.

[@tomford5495]

So, you've been "Pupa Judaica" in Canada and became "Lepidoptera Judaica" in Poland?😊

[@mehow357]

Cześć Michał 😉 You have your "Jewdar", Poles have their "Poldar". Whenever there is Polish accent in the movie (or abroad) - it just SCREEMS to us "hey Pole, Poles were here !"😂 As for the rest: at the beggining, when you started talking about holocaust, my thought was "OMG, here we go, yet another his nagging about holocaust", but I was positively surprised later on 😉 I think I understand you and your feeling of beeing "rootless", and the feeling when you spot every Jewish accent on the street. And the feeling when you realize that your roots are indeed here... you have the history... but then the most important aspect that was defining you as Polish Jew kicks in - the holocaust. What was the most heartwarming to me? The moment when you have started taking about next generation 😉 I hope someday you'll watch it again and notice what I saw: happiness and hope that your kid won't define itself only through holocaust but he/she will feel as a Polish-Jew, with rich and long history of beeing Pole and Jew (with only one very sad history episode of holocaust)... I know, it wasn't only about that, but in my view, these were the keypoints of this video (probably you have different opinion regarding keypoints, but I watched it, through my eyes, so f.. off, that's my opinion 🤣) 👍

[@lerubenfeld]

Thank you ... I will not f.. off, but I will take your thoughts kindly :)

[@frankgradus9474]

A serious man.

[@solaris2015]

yeo, doing important things.

[@annmal5289]

I teach English in the contryside. There are so many kids with jewish last names and they have no idea...

[@slawekwojtowicz]

Polish Jews are the best Jews in the world! 😀🖖

[@kiaaurora]

But He’s jot a Polish Jew, is he?

[@slawekwojtowicz]

@@kiaaurora of course he is! Being Polish is a state of mind. Kind, caring, open-minded, smart…. He fits all the criteria and he was naturally attracted to similar environment.

[@kiaaurora]

He’s a Canadian immigrant. There’s nothing Polish about him. Also, What have you been smoking to spit out such gibberish, It’s not even funny.

[@bartoszbuszko4270]

Dude, Jews are part of Poland's heritage and our nations have lived together for hundreds of years. Remember that 6 million Poles of non-Jewish origin died in World War II. Additionally, while everyone could enjoy victory and freedom, we were in the prison of communism - with all its repressions, etc. Those were terrible times and I hope that our nations will one day be close again because we have a common history, culture and heritage. Even though it is sometimes painful. Poland after the difficult years of World War II and communism where suffered is opening up very slowly and returning to tolerance and openness as it has been for centuries. I just want to say that as a Pole, I am proud of Polish-Jewish heritage. Remember - "Polish Jews" are Jews but also Poles - or Poles but also Jews. Regards

[@katrin.iceland.universe]

Your accent was very convincing 😊

[@tintin1680]

Sorry to see Poland is less and less polish.

[@budyn1412]

Hope you're not Polish - I'd hate to see Poland burdened with yet another idiot.

[@evegannon5111]

As the time goes by I can see that that Jews were very well mixed with Poles. The culture has gone but as the president of Poland said who doesn’t have Jewish roots after 1000 years. I wish you feel good in Poland because it has been a part of of your rich culture. Do you know that Poland was at one time mother of Israel .My kind regards

[@mareksicinski3726]

11:23 the usnurenss is the reality in the end

[@Beata19WF]

It would be wonderful that more people like you come and make their life in Poland. Happy Hanukkah .🙌🏻

[@tei187]

You did sound a bit Pacino in "Hunters" :)

[@mikadorek1]

That is strong Mike. Im glad you and your family are back to Poland. Yes, back. Because here are your roots, your history and this is important thing. Hopefully your children and my … grandchildren will live next to each other here in Poland. That is good thing.

[@tomaszstramel3594]

Well, you might want to ask Michael where his family had lived BEFORE they came to Poland all those years ago, and why they don't consider that other place their home.

[@sawomirmarnotrawny1694]

Jewish, Canadian, Polish? or maybe in a different order, not that it played any role. I'm so picky on principle.

[@comdo831]

Making an appearance in Jurassic Park XX may not be worth million dollars. To me Spielberg is a someone who couldn't make up his mind if he wants to film another remake of Snow White, or something more adult orientated. Ended up making movies with screaming kids and adults acting like kids. "The Pianist" tops "Schindler's list" in just about every respect. Schindler's list is showing good persecuted Jews and bad everyone else, a twisted image of the reality. The Pianist is showing actual events and feels more real, with a powerful message. It's not about Jews vs. everyone else, it's about good vs. evil, and how you save your soul if you get caught serving on the wrong side of that line.

[@wandamuszynski2809]

Bravo!! I love how you talk about your kid being rooted in a whole new Polish-Jewish identity - one that takes 900 plus years of Polish-Jewish history into account.

[@beatasosinska3368]

Not u again

[@piotrpolcyn9798]

Did You know, that between 1580-1764 there was in Polish Kingdom real Jewish parliament? Absolutely unique in the world then, so called "Sejm Czterech Ziem"(hebr. ‏ועד ארבע ארצות‎, Wa‘ad Arba‘ Aracot), initially Sejm Trzech Krajów (Waad Szalosz Medinot) or Sejm Trzech Ziem (Waad Szalosz Aracot)! - made most probably thanks to "polish anitisemitism" 🙂

[@metanoian965]

all European countries had jew councils or syn a gog parliaments. it was how jews protected thei own kind from Host countries justice. murderers and thieves got away free. Why jews always got kicked out after the naive natives woke up and grew up and took care of themselves first. Just like Poland will have to do in the future. Yes true. Polaks are dumb. jews know this lol

[@LMB222]

Don't negate the antisemitism in Poland. It existed, even in the 20th century. Sure not you and not everyone, but there's no point pretending it didn't exist.

[@piotrpolcyn9798]

@@LMB222 aaa! aaa! aaa! antisemitism! Yeah, especially nowadays, where there is no Jews in Poland... somewhere around 10 000 / 38 mln citizens. But we remember atheistic jewish communists, who welcomed Red Army 17.09.1939, then colaborated with NKWD making lists of Poles to execute or to send to Gulag (like my grand grand father whole family), they fled in 1941 after German invasion on USSR, and back in 1944 with so called "polish communist army". They were eg. persecuters, who executed thousands of polish patriots until 1956. THESE Jews we remember VERY BAD. In 1968 most of them fled to Israel or other countries, taking not taking the responsibility for their crimes. In our region polish patriots shot to red commies until 1956, and we are proud of that. Learn something about polish history until you start to cry aaaa! Aaa! Aaaa! ...mitism!

[@tudormiller887]

Very interesting video. How was Hanukkah for you ? Watching in the UK. 😊

[@PiotrBuczyński-q4x]

Brother, you are right to live in Poland - in the country of true tolerance and freedom. True, because not distorted by political correctness. It is your choice what ethnic, cultural or religious roots you want to "sign up to". In Poland you can be a Jew, a Canadian, a Pole, an Eskimo... And you will be respected as a neighbor! Jewish culture is flourishing in Poland. There are Muslims in Poland who are wonderful Poles. In Poland, the Belarusian language is being saved among communities of Belarusians, those who have already lived in Poland and those who escaped from the bandit Lukashenko. In Poland, "old" and "new" newcomers from Ukraine have all the conditions to cultivate their culture and language. Political refugees from Moscow found a safe haven in Poland. Have you heard or read about any national, ethnic or religious excesses in Poland (I mean murders, beatings, destruction of property, etc.)? And if you say that you feel more Jewish in Poland, then - in my opinion - very good! You have a great opportunity to better learn about the history of your own ancestors who co-created ancient Poland. Best wishes

[@zbigniewhaczek5575]

Znowu sen o potedzie majac multi kulti, przerabialismy ta lekture i czym sie to skonczylo? George Friedman wam przepowiedzial za 100 lat przestaniecie istniec (szukac na YT. Jest przyjaznie nastawiony do Polski, dlaczego tak powiedzial to wymaga myslenia. W taki sposob orginalni mieszkancy beda zlikwidowani z tej czesci swiata

[@PiotrBuczyński-q4x]

Multi kulti (na wzór choćby Francuzów) będziemy mieli wtedy, gdy sami wyzbędziemy się polskiej kultury i gdy przestanie być pociągająca dla przybyszów!@@zbigniewhaczek5575

[@abekowalski]

I also feel Jewish, but as far as I know I am not even Jewish.

[@lerubenfeld]

Did you check your DNA?

[@abekowalski]

@@lerubenfeld Never did, but I have blond hair and blue eyes so it is quite unlikely that I may have some Jewish roots. Maybe I am just one of the lost souls.

[@abekowalski]

@@lerubenfeld I dont see my comment. So probably yt erased it. I was saying that I havent done any DNA test, blond hair, blue eyes. Yet my gf says I dont look like a typical Pole either, but I definitely feel some sort of connection to the nation.

[@Melh21]

I love your content. ❤

[@lerubenfeld]

Thank you 😊

[@monsterenergyhype8291]

I think this is great that You can feel Jewish history in Poland. Jews played a big part in Polish history, even if some people want to forget about them. We cannot forget. I wish these historical and cultural aspects will be preserved and never forget for all the generations to come so every Jew that will visit and/or live in Poland could feel the same. And yeah, gastronomy aspects too cuz Jewish dishes are great 😎👌

[@solaris2015]

yep, the same catch phrase about New Temple (Rebuilt) :)

[@twisters999]

You know. That's Why I can finally assume that The REAL POLAND is Reborn

[@baraamar4525]

I would love if Poland would make Sobota a weekly holiday as a second country in the world😉

[@PLP357]

I love my Jewish brothers.

[@marek800m]

I hope your son grows up to be a good Jewish Pole

[@kamilziemian995]

In 2016 I heard that Jews where come to Poland often say "How ugly is this place. Where my grandparents see all the seeming beauty of Poland?". Can you say how you see this issue?

[@pawelzielinski1398]

Who cares what others say? You can't make everyone happy. I like that Warsaw become more tourist friendly, more modern and cosmopolitan city compared to the one I grew up. I like the brand new highways with nice and clean gas stations, a lot of nice restaurants in tourist destinations, a lot of good food. There are a lot of things that I do strongly dislike, but no place is perfect. I hate PiS, but they will be history soon...

[@katarzynaherman4814]

Skad tyle kompleksow? Czasem niemile rzeczy mowi sie zlosliwie. Po za tym w jakim celu w takich ilosciach przybywaja do Polski? Zeby brzydki kraj obejrzec? A moze cos jeszcze...

[@pawelzielinski1398]

@@katarzynaherman4814 who cares? Każdy kto przyjeżdża do Polski zostawia tam pieniądze, więc turystyka jest korzystna dla Polski. Niestety, Polska nie należy do popularnych miejsc turystycznych.

[@katarzynaherman4814]

@@pawelzielinski1398czesci zwisa, a czesc toleruje do pewnego moment. Przyjerzdzac moga i opinia tez moga miec. Gorzej jak sobie przywlaszcza nieswoje

[@pawelzielinski1398]

@@katarzynaherman4814 a nie masz problemów z Polakami, którzy przywłaszczali sobie mienie swoich żydowskich sąsiadów?

[@michawozniak5955]

I'm happy you feel at home. There is something missing from Poland without its native Jewish population.

[@kiaaurora]

Jews are not native Poles 🙄

[@pawelzielinski1398]

Happy Hanukkah!

[@hyperhumana]

Mayby wash your clothes.

[@lerubenfeld]

It was dirty from my 5 year old son. But yes I noticed.

[@komputerowiec6038]

Pozdro Michael !!

[@leszekleszek773]

Thank you for sharing your feelings about the Holocaust. I believe this will touch everyone, if not then something has gone wrong with their socialization... Don't worry, just accept the fact that Jews are persecuted throughout history because God loves you and others feel it and are jealous rather than be thankful to God for who they are and for the gift of being itself. Enjoy your Jewish community and the good things life brings you! :)

[@BarbaraBarbara81010]

Michael, bardzo proszę nie mów o naszej wspólnej 1000-letniej historii, ponieważ to nie jest prawdą. Nie będę się rozpisywać na ten temat...kto chce ten znajdzie.

[@renemagritte8237]

Pani Barbaro, rozumiem, że Pani ma jakąś swoją, osobistą historię Polski, która nie jest tożsama z moją, mojej rodziny i moich przyjaciół i znajomych. Historię, w której nie ma miejsca dla tych, którzy żyli obok naszych przodków, pod tym samym niebem i dzieląc z nimi dole i niedole od czasów Kazimierza Wielkiego? Rozumiem, że ma Pani swoją własną, osobistą prawdę odrębną od mojej. Niemniej przeto przykre jest to co Pani pisze. Zastanawiam się czy Pani czegoś ubędzie jeśli się Pani historią i prawdą podzieli z człowiekiem, który odkrył swoją miłość do Polski? Tak tylko pytam.

[@BarbaraBarbara81010]

@@renemagritte8237 Niczego przykrego nie napisałam. Historią najlepiej zająć się samemu...źródeł jest wiele. Prawda, z której czerpię nie jest moją prawdą osobistą...to jest historia, którą znam całkiem nieźle. Żadne bajania na mnie nie działają. Korzystam z prac naukowych, historycznych książek, dzienników, pamiętników, gazet, tłumaczeń Biblii, Talmudu, autorów żydowskich, wyników badań archeologicznych, itp. ...polecam Pani/Panu to wszystko. Z pewnością nie chciałam urazić Michaela ...jeżeli kogoś nie lubię to nie poświęcam dla niego ani przecinka. Do sedna...wspólne stosunki od Kazimierza Wielkiego ...tak, ale nie 1000 lat. Pod tym samym niebem...tak, ale nie wspólnie..z małymi wyjątkami ..np. rodzina mojego męża. Ludzie powtarzają nieprawdy, półprawdy, bajki ... i utrwalają się one w umysłach, które samodzielnie wiedzy nie szukają i nie wiedzą w jakim świecie żyją.

[@michastepien8326]

to napisz co jest prawdą. konkretnie. nie tak po sowiecku z ukrycia.

[@PiotrJaser]

@@BarbaraBarbara81010 to zależy od okresu historycznego oraz od rosnącego stopnia zróżnicowania Żydów. Już w XIX wiek wchodziliśmy z bardzo różnymi grupkami żydowskimi. odmiennymi językowo, tożsamościowo, kulturowo i religijnie. Frankiści właściwie dali się całkowicie wchłonąć, ale też takie było ich zamierzenie. Wyznawcy judaizmu reformowanego to Polacy wyznania mojżeszowego, zdecydowanie polskojęzyczni. Ale byli też Żydzi na Kresach, którzy wraz z rosnącą dominacją rosyjską polskiego nie znali wcale. Przypominam, że w XIX wieku nie istniała państwowość polska więc rodziło to dodatkowe komplikacje. Warto jednak zastanowić się, dlaczego tak wielu polskich literatów, artystów i naukowców z drugiej połowy XIX wieku i z pierwszej połowy XX wieku miało żydowskie pochodzenie. Zadaje to kłam wielu tezom o rzekomej izolacji Żydów. Przypominam też, że na przestrzeni wieków wykształcił się zachodniosłowiański język żydowski knaan, na początku w oparciu o staroczeski, później z rosnącymi wpływami języka polskiego. Ta nowa wersja nazywana jest czasem językiem judeopolskim, zapisywanym literami hebrajskimi. Niestety język knaan wymarł. Również w języku jidisz zachowało się mnóstwo słów polskich. Mitologią jest twierdzenie, że ludzie żyjący obok siebie i będący częścią tego samego skomplikowanego układu politycznych, gospodarczych, ekonomicznych i kulturowych zależności żyli w izolacji. Również badania genetyczne Polaków wskazują na znaczne wpływy aszkenazyjskie, dotyczące co najmniej kilkuset tysięcy współczesnych Polaków, być może nawet kilku milionów. Choć mitem jest opowieść o Esterze, kochance króla Kazimierza, to mit ten opowiadano przez wieki i w dawnych czasach na dworach szlacheckich nie wzbudzał żadnych kontrowersji, to znaczy związek polskiego króla z Żydówką nikomu nie wydawał się oburzający, ani ówczesnym Żydom, ani ówczesnej szlachcie.

[@kolakpatolik1857]

​@@BarbaraBarbara81010 jaką prawdą? Prawdą o Józefie Bemie? Berku Joselewiczu? 100 000 żydów biorących udział po stronie Polski podczas kampanii wrześniowej? A może ta prawdą, która powstrzymywała chłopów galicyjskich podczas rabacji od zabijania żydów? Klechów i jasniepanow nadziewali na kosy dla zabawy... tak tylko przypominam, żeby było wiadomo, kogo nasi przodkowie harujacy na polach i w fabrykach mieli naprawdę dosyć.

[@mareksicinski3726]

12:30 all kids and people Reminds me of Julian Tuwim’s words, it is a common way of thinking across many people Some people are suffocated by us Witt, plenty of Americans are thirsty for it

[@FrankDrebinJunior]

Wooow, the accent - transition moment was phenomenal! I'm sure your story can be a seed for a good Holywood scenario, my friend! Greetings from a Pole ( 3/16 Jewish-Pole looking past 120 years... :)

[@robertbrozewicz8003]

It is optimistic view. Good view. The first holocaust in Poland was in 1648 in the East. Jews who were often understood to be part of Polish administration system were killed en masse by the revoloting Kozaks. Even now you have a Remembrance day held in Israel to this day.. Also it is hard to say uniquovaqely who is Jewish and who has or not Jewish or other roots. In Poland generally all are Polish but they may come from as far east as Far East and from other directions as well.

[@jjacek74]

kompletnie cię nie rozumiem ale to co robisz będzie materiałem dla socjologów

[@lerubenfeld]

Bo mówię po Angielsku?

[@mayaniebieska8425]

I love your quest. You are home... Spielberg will understand 😜

[@lerubenfeld]

I hope so!

[@tomaszmazurek64]

Rejuvenation of Jewishness - you could even call it... rejewvenation? I'll show myself out.

[@lerubenfeld]

hahaha. there's the door lol

[@rallyauto34]

because you donl live in a stolen land

[@lerubenfeld]

oh Jesus. do we really need to play the "I'm going to repeat things other people have said while doing zero research" game?

[@twisters999]

Szalom Alajhem mate! :D greetings from Polin!

[@piotrwiniarski4665]

.

[@bazyluuu]

Michael welcome home! It's amazing you deside to move here. Kraków doesn't work without Polish Jews.

[@tomkusz-p2o]

Polish , Jewish that I understand but how can yu feel Canadian ?

[@pawelzielinski1398]

I think he grew up in Canada. Millions of people feel Canadian. What's wrong with that? IMHO Canada is a really, really nice country. I always feel happy when I go there.

[@lerubenfeld]

I think it probably has to do with my relationship to cultural sensitivity and my social politics. I can feel a difference here in Poland, particularly around certain issues like abortion, gay rights, cultural sensitivity and kombinować culture.

[@pawelzielinski1398]

@@lerubenfeld I hope that there will be some progress there soon. I don't expect radical changes, as Poland is a very conservative country, but with the new government in less than 100h I would expect that in the future nobody will get away Scott-free for beating up a person with a rainbow on their bag. Or that "LGBTQ free" zones will not be tolerated. I also hope that I will not be considered a "Pole of a lesser quality" ("Polak gorszego sortu") I can't wait to my upcoming visit to free Poland next year.

[@budyn1412]

That happens to everyone. As a Polish American, I have Polish things jumping out at me where most people would not notice them. Though to be fair, you live in a place that's probably more full of Jewish history than any place outside Israel. You might not feel the same living in Warsaw, Poznan or Elblag (Warsaw of course only because it was destroyed during WWII along with most of its many, many pre-war Jewish sites).

[@kaczmarekandreas7214]

Stay safe in Poland! Poles know history. There will be some idiot here or there with a Palestinian flag! but there are idiots everywhere👍👍👍

[@supreme3376]

Zjeżdżałem na rowerze spod Palestyńskiej ambasady w Warszawie po chodniku na rowerze Pani (miła Policjantka) powiedziała mi aby cofnął do przejścia i przejechał na na druga stronę jeśli tędy dostarczał do tej miejscówki zaproszę tą osoba na drugą stronę ulicy i zaczekam aby odebrała. I was riding down in Warsaw with my on the order Nearbay Palestinian Embassy (Nice Police) woman told me that i should not ride to this side of road ok next time if a have chance to deliver something a will deliver to the other side

[@kiaaurora]

Idiots with Palestinian flags? Israel is committing another Holocaust on them, learn history

[@pathetichappiness8913]

Bo codziennie ktoś Ci o tym przypomina 😂

[@supreme3376]

I to jest żałosne w ch..

[@pathetichappiness8913]

@@supreme3376 Taka mamy niestety kulturę w mediach.

[@Matlalcueitl]

Yes, the majority of believers are catholic. But there's a steady growing population of nonbelievers (15%+).

[@michaxd11]

It would be cool when you and your women make more Jewish children to multiply Jewish culture in Poland.

[@kiaaurora]

Crazy

[@lerubenfeld]

Me and my “women” ?! 😂

[@michaxd11]

@@lerubenfeld ehhh I mean wife of course !!! Happy to see you with more little children in Poland hahaha

[@solaris2015]

Your kids have 2 passports, or optionally 3, good for them.

[@dareheard]

bro... you are Canadian, Jewish by religion, Polish by mentality... you are not a Jew in Poland, you are Canadian who is discovering own heritage. I get you when you talk about Holocaust, i get you too when you are taking piss of these people who think about Poland as "Polish-camps" - you are doing a great job lifting polish stereotypes and the most, jewish own and lost identity... 800 years of Jews living among one of the most for over years in my opinion first multi-culti culture and now on... in crappy modern world fullyfield with shitty politcal corectness, we are forgetting about major thing: No matther who you are, matter what you are... despite idiots who want to treat their own little dicks among the whole history of great and never known Poland... today i've heard and maybe this will explain the way of being Polish: Poland is not a country, Poland belongs to people who feel polish, you are polish as same as I, who left this country 19 years ago but I raised my kids to be 100% polish living in Ireland, not because of their nationality, put 230% of them knowing our heritage and culture... btw... my kids speaks polish as their native language being born outside of the country.... keep doing what you do... huge value to this lost world when everynone has to prove something... we don't have to... we are Poles and we are proud of this! Best of luck and keep doing this! That is why we survived for centuries and we are proud of it! Greetings from Galway...