Cracow
		Cracow the beautiful, ancient city, is one of the most magnificent cities in all of Poland. In Polish it is called Krakow. The city is located in southern part of Poland and was once the residence of the Polish princes during the 12th century. Later it became the capital of Poland until 1609. For many centuries it was the home of one of the most important European Jewish communities. In 1938 the Jewish population was 64,438. The Jewish population was mostly in the southern district of the city Podgorze and Debnik. Cracow was barely damaged during the war. The old Jewish district, Kazimierz, and many former Jewish buildings have remained intact. The city dates back to 465 when the Caliph of Cordova sent the traveler Ibrahim ibn Yaqub on an expedition; in his journals, he mentions the city as a major trading center. By the early 12th century Jews were already living there. Kazimierz was founded by King Kazimierz (Casimir) the Great in 1335. In 1407, a preacher in St. Anne's Church accused the Jews of ritual murder and soon after rioting broke out which lasted from early morning until dusk. Many Jews were killed. In 1494, a huge fire in Cracow stimulated another wave of anti-Semitic riots in the city. By the end of the 15th century, the Jews were expelled from the area and settled in Kazimierz, a suburb of the city. After this point, Jews were only permitted to live in the old Jewish district of Kazimierz. While they owned stores in many other places, especially on the Main Square in Cracow, they had to return by nightfall back to the Jewish district. The Jewish community, populated by immigrants from Germany, Bohemia, Spain, and Portugal, became a semi-autonomous Jewish town protected by the king. It flourished as a trading center. Jewish culture and scholarship reached its height in the mid-sixteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries, when great sages like Rabbi Moses Isserles, known as "the Ramah" (c. 1525-1572), drew students and scholars from cities all over Poland and abroad. Historical synagogues from this old Jewish district exist until this day, forming the country's richest and most important complex of Jewish relics; it is also the biggest surviving complex of its kind in the world, with structures dating from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The Jewish quarter also contains its famous cemetery, the Old Jewish Cemetery, where Jews come for all over the world to pray at the graves of the famous Cracow rabbis and scholars, particularly at the tombstone of the most eminent Polish rabbi, Rabbi Moses Isseles. It is said that during the war, the Nazis tried to destroy his tombstone, but the first worker who touched the tombstone fell to the ground, as if thunder struck, and the Germans gave up on the idea. The Old Jewish Cemetery is directly behind the Ramah Synagogue. During the Nazi occupation, tombstones were shattered; after the war no more than a dozen tombstones remained. On the remaining tombstones one can still see different decorated elements. A crown signifies the tomb of a rabbi, a "crown of learning" being a symbol of knowledge. The tombstone of a Cohen would show an outstretched hand in blessing or a pitcher with a basin. An image of birds signifies that the human soul was on its way to G-d. A candlestick, was the grave of a woman, indicating lighting the Sabbath candles. A broken tree, or broken candle on the tombstone, generally symbolized a sudden death or a premature one. Archaeological excavations were conducted on the cemetery in 1959. At that time hundreds of tombstones were found and as a result of this undertaking over 700 tombstones were erected anew. However, the overwhelming majority of the tombstones are not standing in their former place. Since 1988, the gravestones have been gradually undergoing restoration. The oldest 16th century tombstones are tall, massive slabs almost without any ornamentation. Here too is buried Rabbi Joel Sirkes (1561-1640), chief rabbi of Cracow (1618-1640) and author of the known work Beth Chadash (The New House) which brought him the title of "the Bach." He wrote extensive commentaries to the Arbah Turim by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher (1296-1343). In the cemetery one will find the tomb of Moses Isserles, who served as the Rabbi of Cracow from 1547-1572 and officiated as president of the Rabbinical Court. He was the author of many religious and philosophical writings, one the most notable being Darkei Moshe (The Ways of Moses). He included in it his own commentary on the book of ritual code, the Shulkan Arukh (Prepared Table), written by the great Sephardic scholar, Rabbi Joseph Caro. The Caro Shulkan Arukh was intended for Sephardic Jews, and was adjusted to the needs of Western European Jewry by Rabbi Moses Isserles; he adapted his work Darkei Moshe for Ashkenazi Jews and called it Ha-Mappah (the Tablecloth). He did this in such a way that these works of Joseph Caro and Moses Isserles became the definite "oracle of Jewish life." The work became an acclaimed book in Poland and all throughout the Jewish world, and it was used in rabbinical courts. Since Rabbi Isserles was a great authority on Talmudic law, the fame of the Rabbinical Court was widespread not only in Cracow, and in Poland, but also abroad. In his writings he proved that secular science could be reconciled with religious knowledge. Orthodox Jews still use the codex of Joseph Caro and Moses Isserles and it is used to define the principle of their behavior. He was regarded as the "Maimonides" of Polish Jewry. The Epitaph on his tombstone reads, "A great Scholar, the Light of the West, the greatest Gaon (genius) of his generation, 33rd day of the Omer, The light of Israel was taken away." Walking through the cemetery you can come upon the gravestone of Golde (Golda), daughter of a Lubliner, Shalom Shachna, the first wife of Rabbi Moses Isserles (Remuh) (d. 1552). On another tombstone you can see the name of Gitel the daughter of Moses Auerbakh of Regensburg, the grandmother of Rabbi Moses Isserles, who died in 1552. On the stone you will see the inscription, "During her entire life she was generous to the poor and she would attend the synagogue every morning and evening." The cemetery that is located in Ulica Miodowa is still functioning. During the War, some of the monuments from the cemetery were taken to the concentration camp building in Plaszow where they were arranged as a pavement in front of the entrance of the camp. The other tombstones were toppled over, the graves opened and the remains scattered. After the war, in 1957, the cemetery was renovated and many new tombstones and inscriptions to the Jews who were killed during the Nazi occupation were placed. The oldest graves go back to 1840. About 50 eminent people are buried there including, rabbis, judges (dayyanim), and Hasidic scholars. The famous painter Maurycy Gottlieb (1856-1879) is also buried in the cemetery; he is known for his masterpiece "Jews Praying on the Day of Atonement". The only synagogue still in use today is the Ramah Synagogue built in 1553, and is the center of Jewish life in Cracow. It is at present the only fully functioning temple where the Jews of Cracow come to pray. Therefore, the atmosphere in the synagogue is quite special. Judging by the its small size, the synagogue was probably origionally used by the Ramah's limited circle of the family and their friends. It was founded by Rabbi Israel Isserles, father of Rabbi Moses Isserles (the Ramah). During the Nazi occupation, the synagogue was completely looted and the entire furnishing of its interior confiscated. After 1957it was reconstructed so that today one can see the Bimah in the center of the synagogue, which is placed on a low dais, and surrounded by wrought-iron-grating- the exact copy of the original Bimah. At the eastern wall is the Aron Kodesh. At the right side of the Aron there is a plaque atop a row of chairs. One of the chairs beneath the wall remains empty at all times; this was the place where the Ramah poured out his heart to G-d. On the plaque one can read the words, "we assume that the late Ramah one stood here, saying his prayers and telling G-d about his sorrows." Reb Israel Isserles, was one of the most prominent Jewish merchants in Cracow. The story is told that every Friday, promptly at noon, he would close up his store and go home to prepare for the Sabbath. One Friday morning, a distinguished merchant came to his store to buy a large quantity of goods. As the morning went by, the clock suddenly struck noon, and Reb Israel Isserles turned to the merchant and told him that he now had to lock up the store. The merchant said that he wanted to continue buying, even half of the store, and he stated that there was still a lot of time until the Sabbath. The Rabbis answered that it was his practice to close the store every Friday at noon, and he would not deviate from it for all the treasure in the world. The merchant left angrily, leaving behind all that he had purchased that morning and Reb Israel Isserles went home to prepare for the Shabath. He knew locking up the store was a great loss for him, as he was not able to sell the merchandise. However, the Heavens rewarded him instead. Indeed, his wife conceived a child and nine months later she gave birth to a boy named Moshe and that famous son is known as Rabbi Moshe Isserles.