A group of first year seminarians from Good Shepherd Seminary in Homebush have gained much deeper insights into Judaism and Jewish history after spending a morning at Sydney’s Jewish Museum which they hope will help to better prepare them for their priestly ministry in an increasingly multi-faith society.
The 14 seminarians, accompanied by their Director Fr Dominic Nguyen, visited the museum on 21 March in an initiative led by the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Commission for Ecumenism and Inter-Religious Relations.
They benefited from a guided tour led by members of the Jewish community followed by a seminar on ethics through the lens of the Holocaust and heard a moving testimony from a 98-year-old Holocaust survivor living in Sydney.
Museum educator Erin O’Brien led a thought-provoking seminar with the trainee priests on important lessons to take away from the Holocaust about human nature and the sanctity of every human life.
“Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel argued that the Holocaust challenged our previous understandings around how human beings could be capable of such unimaginable brutality towards each other,” O’Brien told the seminarians.
“As human beings we have a responsibility not just to ourselves, but to each other and I hope that as you look ahead to assuming positions of influence in your congregations, you feel more empowered in the responsibilities you will assume after spending time here and considering some of the most horrific examples in recent history of a catastrophic failure of empathy,” she added.
The seminarians heard a moving one-hour testimony from 98-year-old Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor, Lilly Wolf, who immigrated to Sydney in 1948.
Lilly recalled the brutality she experienced as a young Jewish teenager living in a ghetto in Budapest when it was occupied by the Nazis in 1944.
She was among the thousands of Hungarian Jews who were rescued through the actions of the courageous Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who helped shelter the Jews in buildings which he declared Swedish territory, issuing them with protected passes.
However, once the Russians entered Budapest in January 1945, Lilly had to endure further persecution.
“I was walking through the streets looking for my brother when three Russian soldiers grabbed me from the back of my neck, took me to an apartment, threw me on the ground and they raped me, one after the other”, she told the seminarians.
Once the war ended in September 1945, Lilly was eager to leave the horrors she had endured behind her for a new life.
“My grandmother had a son who lived here in Sydney. That son through the Red Cross found out that his mother was alive, his sister was alive and so there were three adults who survived in our family and the Red Cross asked if we wanted to move to Australia,” she explained.
“We said: ‘Australia? But there are only sheep here!’ But the Red Cross official said: ‘Don’t worry, there are other things there too!’ So we said ‘Okay, let’s get together then as a family and go and live in Australia.”
Eight decades later, Lilly has raised two children who now live in New York and is hopeful, God-willing, of celebrating her 100th birthday.
“I have been blessed with a positive outlook on life but also have a little secret. I enjoy a drop of red wine over dinner and a small slice of capsicum for breakfast each day!” she joked.
One of the seminarians, Ben Mandalinic said he was especially inspired by Lilly’s testimony.
“The courage to move on from the trauma of human evil and return to enjoying the goodness of life inspired me to be grateful for all God has given me,” he said.
“Her courage even to tell her story and to be open and vulnerable with what she experienced, truly humbled me.”
Mandalinic said the visit to the Jewish Museum was a very rewarding experience.
“Part of understanding the life of Our Lord is understanding the religion and culture of his origin,” he explained.
“So to learn about Judaism offers essential insights into the mind of not only our incarnate Lord but also of the writers of both the Old and New Testament.
“All people are searching for God and I find the prospect of ministering in a multi-faith society exciting. To be a person who provides God to those who search for him is an incomprehensible privilege.”