The small town of Opatów left a very important legacy, and for that, we are proud. We should have a moment to recognize this town and what it created," said Prof. Susannah Heschel in her message to the residents of Opatów (in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland), the hometown of her father, Abraham Joshua Heschel, the patron of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin's Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations.
The occasion to recall events and stories related to Prof. Susannah Heschel's ancestors was a special meeting at the Museum House in Opatów with biblical scholar Fr. Prof. Mirosław Wróbel, Director of the Institute of Biblical Studies at KUL. He reminded the attendees about the outstanding theologian and philosopher of Judaism, social activist, and descendant of Opatów Hasidic families—Abraham J. Heschel, the patron of the Center.
Fr. Prof. Wróbel emphasized that Opatów had a strong Jewish community as early as the 16th century. There was a synagogue and a Jewish cemetery. In the interwar period, about 6,000 Jews lived in the town. Most of them perished in the Treblinka concentration camp after the liquidation of the Opatów ghetto in October 1942.
Prof. Susannah Heschel also reminded the audience that the small town of Opatów in the Świętokrzyskie region of Poland is a significant place in Jewish history. She visited it in 2022. Her father, Abraham Joshua Heschel, came from the famous dynasty of rabbis from Opatów. His notable ancestor, who lived from 1748 to 1825, bore the same name. The Opatów Hasidic leaders held him in great esteem. "This is a town where there was a great rabbi named Abraham Joshua Heschel, Abraham Yahoshua Heschel, that was all his full name. He lived in the town of Opatów, not for his whole life, but part of his life, and he has a tremendous reputation in Jewish history for his piety."
Abraham J. Heschel "was very modest, so although he wrote a book – a commentary on the Bible, he did not decide to have it published during his lifetime," Prof. Susannah Heschel emphasized. She added that for her ancestor from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, "compassion and helping people" were of great importance. "Every day, dozens of people would come to him, and they would pour out their problems. He was famous for helping people and solving very concrete problems," she pointed out. Her ancestor was marked by "an extraordinary piety of a person who influenced generations that followed."
