Monday continued ....

........Our next stop was the small ghetto, the southern portion of the Warsaw ghetto. All of the existing buildings in the area that was the ghetto, were built after the war. It was impossible to fathom the place that held over one third of the city's population in what was a scant 2% of the area of Warsaw. We stood surrounded by what appeared to be low-rent apartments. I wondered what the people who live there today think of the daily groups that make the pilgrimage to this historic site.

We visited the construction site of the new Jewish Museum. It is not a Holocaust museum, but rather a history museum meant to tell the story of the Jews of Poland. I recall visiting the Jewish museum in Berlin which also seeks to tell the full Jewish story.

It was dark as we walked up the steps to the memorial at Mila 18, the site where the last stand of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising took place. We learned about the roles of the leaders in the ghetto who rallied men and women, old people and children, as they refused to surrender to the nazi evil. It was here that together we recited the kaddish and we sang oseh shalom.....May the One who makes peace send peace to us and all of Israel.

We proceeded to visit the Nozyk Synagogue which survived the war because the Germans used it as a stable. It was renovated after the fall of communism. From there we went to an excellent kosher restaurant for dinner and checked into the hotel at 8:30.

I ended my first day in Poland, with a clearer understanding for how important it is to answer the call of the voices that cry out to be remembered. Being here makes a statement that we do remember. It is what we do with this remembrance that makes the difference. I look forward to exploring ways that we can come back to learn about the rich history of our people here and to gain a greater understanding for what happened to them.

Ellie Weisel wrote "what does it mean to remember? It is to live in more than one world, to prevent the past from fading, and to call upon the future to illuminate it."

Tomorrow we are on the road to Krakow at 7 am.

Sacred Ground

Being a neophyte to blogging, I am looking to Jill for advise and direction. She explained that this is all about me sharing what I am doing, my reactions, ideas and feelings. No history lessons, no in depth references, no facts and figures. So here goes...

We landed in Warsaw on Monday morning and it was fitting to begin our journey in Poland at the Jewish Cemetary on the edge of what was the Warsaw ghetto. It was sunny as we left the airport, but the temperature had dropped by the time we got to the Cemetary. The cold went through all of us, physically and emotionally. I was surprised that such a massive Jewish cemetery was left standing after the War. According to our guide, there are only theories as to why the nazis did not destroy it along with the ghetto. Grave markers dating back to the early 1800s represent only a fraction of the 1000 years since Jews first came to Poland. At the beginning of the Holocaust, there were 3 million Jews in Poland; one third of Warsaw's population was Jewish. Today, there are less than 20,000 Jews.

This place tells the stories of a vibrant and diverse Jewish community. Doctors, rabbis, educators, actors, musicians, and community leaders. Many of the monuments are intricately carved with symbols depicting their lives and the contributions they made. In the center of the cemetery is a clearing, marked by stones with black stripes. It was here that people from the Ghetto came each day to bury their dead, most in unmarked and mass graves.

I thought about the responsibility we all have to remember. Visiting this Cemetary is one such way. It is clear that remembering will be a recurring theme over the next four days.

Up in the Air...

Jill again, it's now 1:01 am (still working on your time until we land ). Since David's last post, we boarded Lot Airlines at roughly 6 pm and settled in together in row 34 - out of 37. We spent the first few hours watching a movie, Legends of the Fall. I cried, David might have too, but it was dark. We had an interesting meal of dumplings and some sort of a make-your-own sandwich (when we pressed the stewardess for details, she responded, "I don't know, it's American food"). We both drank what they called "black orange juice", which was definitely closer to grape than any orange I have ever tasted. Luckily, David came prepared with healthy snacks of cheese, carrots and assorted sugar free candies (I'm not including the hard boiled eggs, which I made him deposit in the trash, far from our seats). I'm guessing at some point around 11 pm, we attempted sleep. We each had our own ritual, although both included pills and a pillow, after that our methods are more individual. I required additional layers of outerwear (I was also seated next to the window and Lot Airlines is not big on insulation), a secondary pillow and a blanket. David dons an eye mask and drifts off with music from the iPod. I think he was far more successful at sleep than I was, judging from something that could have been snoring, but he is my boss, so that should probably stay between us.

At roughly 1 am, the cabin lights were suddenly lit and breakfast was being served (It feels like we just finished our dumplings). I have now abandoned all hopes of extended sleep and decided this was a good time to check in with all of you. Breakfast was a tasty sandwich, or maybe we were just hungry, either way it was better than the dumplings.

That basically covers everything since David's last post. If my math and time difference calculations are accurate (emphasis on the "if"), we are about 2 hours from landing in Warsaw.

Until then, Jill

Two hours to takeoff

We arrived a JFK at 12:30 for our 6:40 pm flight. Jill and I both were anxious about avoiding Thanksgiving Sunday traffic. Always better to leave extra time!

Going to Poland on our way to Israel brings up so many conflicting feelings. Visiting the country whose Jewish community experienced such horrific losses feels like an obligation, a sacred pilgrimage to pay tribute to the lives that were lost and the lives that were saved. I have had the honor of knowing and working with many survivors of the Shoah. Last year, I began working our community's survivors and the second generation to plan the annual Yom Hashoah commemoration. I have heard their stories throughout my career in JCCs but this is the first time I will visit the camps and learn about the Holocaust through a different lens. Less and less survivors remain with us as each year passes. We all must take very seriously our obligation to continue to tell the stories. I know that this experience will provide me with more tools to be able to do that through the work we do at the JCC.

Our overnight flight on Lot Airlines to Warsaw arrives at 9:30 AM and we start the day with visits to the Jewish Cemetary, the ghetto, the Nozyik Synagogue and the Heroism Walk before checking into our hotel. Will check in tomorrow. David

Just Getting Started...

By the time that most of you are finishing the last of your Thanksgiving leftovers or hugging your final houseguest goodbye, David Jacobs and I will be headed to JFK airport to begin our two-week adventure to Poland and Israel. We are traveling, together with 35 Jewish Community Center professionals, representing 15 JCCs throughout North America, to learn about new directions and exciting opportunities in Jewish travel. The Jewish Community Center Association (JCCA) has developed an innovative new program, JCC Boarding Pass, designed to help communities like ours explore Israel and Jewish life around the world, tailored specifically to our own needs and interests. On this trip, David and I will sample the unique experiences that JCCA can provide for upcoming Mandell JCC journeys. Our days will be busy, that is more than likely an understatement, but we want to see and do as much as possible while we are there. We are both looking forward to getting to know our colleagues from across the country; sharing their ideas and maybe even making a a few matches with other communities for future travel. I am certain that we will work hard, and am also fairly confidant that we will laugh plenty too; after all if we have fun, you will too.  The details of our itinerary will be revealed as we go along, too much information now and you would have no incentive to continue reading! If you are new to "blogging”, let me offer an introductory disclaimer: this is a stream of consciousness medium, there are bound to be typos and grammatical errors. This is a virtual postcard to let you know where we are and what we are doing. We will share all the highlights and promise to offer up a few "lowlights" as well. Keep in mind that our posts are going to be written on little sleep and without any "proofreaders," our messages are intended to be more personal than corporate. Think of it like a postcard from a traveling friend, thus our blog title, Postcard from The Mandell JCC. Feel free to Email us at the blog address below with questions, comments or criticism (be gentle) and we will do our best to get back to you when technology allows.

In the meantime, we are both very busy reading up on our destinations, finalizing the complicated process of ensuring that our technology will function in both countries, and attempting to pack for 14 days in varying climates in one 50 lb. suitcase (that is somehow is going to weigh under 40 lbs for one leg of the air travel). I unfortunately did not have time to learn any conversational Polish or Hebrew, but I'm sure there is an "App" for that, so I should be fine if I find myself separated from the group and in need of assistance. David has downloaded Simon Sebag Montefiore’s book “Jerusalem – The Biography” for the long airplane and bus rides; my prediction is that we will be too busy talking to our colleagues to do much reading…or we will be napping.

 

There a few ways to "follow" this blog, all will get you to lthe same place, http://www.blogger.com/www.postcardfromthemandelljcc.blogspot.com (find us directly at that address). We will post links daily on our website and Facebook page, and "tweet" it out there at the same time. Easier still is to enter your personal email address in the empty space bar on the blog site or become a "follower" and you'll automatically be sent any new posts. We will do our best to update you daily, including photos and videos when possible, and introduce you to all the exciting people and places we visit. We hope all of you will be with us "virtually" for this trip.

Next time, pack your bags; we're doing this together...

Talk to you from JFK,

Jill and David

postcardsjcc@gmail.com