The Last Jew of Tarnów

Once, half of Tarnów’s people were Jews.

Now, only two — maybe four — remain.

Once, there were thirty synagogues:
grand sanctuaries, humble shtiebels —
prayer rooms tucked in homes,
small houses of worship
woven into daily life.

Now, only fragments endure:
a digital echo,
the stone bima of the Old Synagogue —
once the heart of prayer, now
a monument to silence.

There were synagogues and communities of every kind —
Traditional, Reform, Chasidic, Zionist —
each a reflection
of the vastness of who we were.

The last Jew of Tarnów
lived into his nineties.
He kept the shtiebel in his home,
even when no minyan came
to fill it with ancient words

The last Jew of Tarnów has died.
But sometimes, a Jew returns —
to keep the story
and the faith
alive.