Never Forget
We are very happy to be back writing to you from the land of Israel.
We had a beautiful Shabbat in Poland, singing and dancing as we welcomed Shabbat with a group of teens from Australia at the glorious Tempel Synagogue. Though the Jewish community that built the synagogue is no longer there, for one Friday night, we filled the hall with song and joy.
We toured Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter of Krakow, visiting historic synagogues and community buildings—some now rented as cafés, with faded and haunting paintings of Israel on their walls.
On Sunday, we rose early for a full-day tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau. We walked through the buildings and vast fields of these camps, learning and reflecting on the lives and deaths of the Jewish people who were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered there. Our tour ended with a moving ceremony led by our students and madrichim, including poetry, prayer, and Hatikvah.
On Monday, the last day of our Poland trip, we visited the Buczyna Forest, a serene woodland and the site of the murder of the Jewish children and families of Tarnow. As evening approached, we made our way to the Krakow airport to fly home to Israel.
One of the central themes of our Poland trip is witnessing. To be a witness means not only to see and understand, but to be changed by what we have seen, to speak and tell these stories, and to stand against darkness, evil, and brutality. To live a life of righteousness, light, humanity, and readiness to protect our values is the truest expression of being a witness.
Each of our students wrote essays reflecting on their experiences in Poland, and we encourage you to ask to read them and to discuss their insights with your children.
Back in Israel, we resumed our studies. On Thursday, we will journey north to Atlit, a British Mandate camp used to imprison Jews who dared to flee the DP camps and make their way to Israel against the British authorities’ will. Many attempted the journey, but it was not until after Israel’s independence that Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors could freely come to Israel and become citizens of the Jewish State.
In these troubled times, it is a blessing to witness and learn about the incredible life force and faith of our people—who emerged from the depths of the Holocaust to rebuild, educate, fight, and believe in the purpose and future of the Jewish nation.
Shabbat Shalom,