March 2009 Archives

            A hundred and fifty years ago Poland was home to the largest Jewish community in the world. Now, the only Jews in Poland are the ones who leave Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and a handful of other nations to go on a journey for a week or so, all asking the same question: What happened here? These Jews wish to understand what Jewish life was like in Poland and how that life was destroyed in the Holocaust. A few weeks ago, I was one of those Jews.

            In an eight-day trip we managed to visit at least twenty-five distinct sites. We learned about how developed the Jewish community was in Poland, all the way back in the nineteenth century. There were more Jewish newspapers in print then there are now in Israel. There were Jewish governing bodies in Poland. It is almost impossible to count how many schools, synagogues, youth clubs, homes for the elderly, hospitals and other institutions the Jewish community built in various cities and towns of Poland.

We went to the Okopowa Street Cemetery in Warsaw, which somehow still stands. It is a huge graveyard that was used by the Jewish community for years before the war. We saw the graves of Jews who were influential in the arts, government, linguistics and religious studies, all given dignified burials.

We went to Tykochin, a shtetl (small town), which had a four hundred year old synagogue. It was one of the biggest and most beautiful shuls I have ever seen, and I have seen quite a few.

We went to Yeshivat Chachmei Lublin, the first campus-style yeshiva (religious school) where people lived together in addition to learning together. This concept, which is so popular today in Israel and in some places in the U.S. was started in the building in which I stood in Poland.

We went to Lazjansk and saw a mikvah (water basin for ritual purification) used by Chassidic men before Shabbat each week. We learned about how all Chassidim around the world have Poland to thank for the origin of their movement.

We went to a kibbutz, yes a kibbutz, in the middle of nowhere in Poland. It was set up by Zionist youth groups to train people for life in Palestine. We learned about the plethora of Zionists and socialists in Poland. We learned just how active the Jews of Poland were.

And then we learned about how that beautiful burning flame, that was the Jewish community of Poland, was extinguished so quickly and without hesitation. We went to Treblinka, the most efficient death camp of its kind in history. 800,000 Jews were killed there in just a few years. The entire Jewish community of Warsaw, as big and strong as that of many major U.S. cities, was brought to Treblinka and killed, just like that. We went to Majdanek, where you can still see and even go inside the gas chambers and crematoria. 90,000 Jews were killed there. We went to Auschwitz and Birkenau. One and a half million Jews were killed there. The place was the size of a small town. A small town where trains rolled in, Jews got off, about three quarters were sent right to their deaths and the other quarter were chosen to work, a much slower death. We saw ghettoes and mass graves in forests.

We went to Poland and saw that Polish Jewry no longer exists. Right now, more Jews live in Israel than in any other place in the world. I have been living in Israel for over six months now. It is hard to know what to say about the Holocaust, but spend just a week in Poland learning about that darkest of moments in Jewish history and it is easy to love the Jewish state and the Jewish people. Am Yisrael Chai.

My introduction to my volunteer placement could not have been better.

For my Israeli experience, I am living in Kfar Saba and working at the Kadima after-school youth center there. My very first day on the job, I had the exciting pleasure of joining the children in their Purim celebration. Everybody dressed up in colorful and creative costumes (we had a cowboy, a flowerpot, a baby, a cross-dressed boy, and more) and up to a kibbutz just north of the city for a day of activities and performances with the rest of the Kadima centers in the Tel-Aviv area.

The place was swarming with frolicking children, and though it was a little overwhelming, it was also awesome. Simply gathering so many people together in one place for a Holiday celebration seemed like an enormous accomplishment. But there was also a lot in store for us that day.

When we first got there, the kids broke into groups and enjoyed a series of small little stands and games set up all around the kibbutz in a carnival-like fashion. There was bowling, Bozo Buckets, fishing, pin the tail on the donkey, potato sack races, and many other fun activities to chose from.

Afterwards, everyone gathered in the front for a lunch of hotdogs, juice boxes, and popsicles. I had the interesting experience of eating my hotdog with olives, hummus, and egg salad. I guess there aren't standard protocols in Israel for what you can and can't put on a hotdog.

After lunch, we received the real treat of the day: a performance by Kokhav Nolad (Israeli American Idol) contestant Hen Aharoni. He sang a variety of hit songs and got everybody on their feet. Then, we all got to stay on our feet for a little bit of organized dancing. There was some Electric Slide, some Bomba, some Funky Chicken, and some Hora.

Finally, it was time for everyone to return home. The day was a great success, and an amazing way for me to celebrate my Purim and be welcomed into the Kadima family.

Turkey, until February 24, 2009, was simply my favorite deli meat. Now, it is one of the most interesting and unique places I have ever been.

            My Olami group, Sephardic Judaism and Zionism embarked on a journey to study Jewish history and explore modern Jewish life in the bi-continental country. There we visited beautiful synagogues, Jewish schools, and mingled with Turkish Jews of all ages.

            The Jewish community in Turkey is not like that of America or Israel at all. Turkey is a country that has been in the news a lot lately, and to put it lightly, is not known for its country's love of Zionism or Israel. The situation in Gaza triggered a wave of anti-Israel sentiments throughout Turkey, and because of that, security has to be extra tight. When our group visited Jewish youth clubs or synagogues at night, we had to be careful and not draw attention to ourselves. The Jews we met with told us stories about how they would not feel comfortable outwardly supporting Israel or wearing a Star of David around their neck. However, despite these uncomfortable situations, the Jewish  community thrives in Turkey. Jews are proud and happy to be Jewish, they just need to express it in a different way that I have ever seen before.

            The best example of this is when our group visited a youth club in the Asian side of Istanbul. We had to walk in a silent straight line in order to get in, then walked through security, but once the security check was completed, we entered a different world. We were greeted by the sounds of booming Israeli music, and teenagers practicing dances as a part of their Israeli dance group. It was so exciting to see that the political situation of Turkey cannot keep Jewish teenagers from loving and being active in their religion; that Judaism still matters to them even if the homeland they associate with is not beloved by the people of their country.

            This Olami trip was packed not only with Jewish sights and attractions, but also Turkish palaces, vacation islands, and a relaxing trip to the Hama'am, the traditional Turkish bath.

            The trip to Turkey, more than anything, got me so excited to come back to Israel, where there is not only an enormous amount of freedom for the Jews, but there is a national love and identity with the Jewish religion. Israel is a haven for Jews everywhere; it is the one place where the Jewish people will always be able to call home.