מסע לפולין - Poland Pilgrimage

Describing the journey I have just taken as an experience would definitely be an understatement. EIE's Pilgrimage to Poland has been an emotional roller-coaster, with the exhilarating turns; the high points of European Jewry and the flourishing Jewish families of Polish society; all countered by the loop-de-loops and sharp, sudden drops of Nazi regime, failed Jewish rebellion, and the mass graves of Tikochin, Maidaneck, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. I was left speechless, breathless, numb - stunned by every sight and fact as I walked among the places where Jews faced discrimination, extermination, and hatred; a hatred I hope to never witness ever again for the rest of my days.
Our trip was based on two concepts - life and death. We witnessed and discussed the remnants of Polish Jewry: the synagogues of Krakow and Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter of the magical Lublin, and the memorial walk dedicated to Jews of the Warsaw ghetto who fought against the Nazi murderers, determined to continue their Judaism regardless of anything their opposers said. We learned of the Iberleben; the forms of resistance Jews used to fight the Nazis literally and figuratively. To think something so trivial and usual as remembering your name could be so powerful against those that forced you to lack a persona and an identity - this thought hit me the hardest. The inhumanity of the Nazis to treat not only Jews but also Poles, Soviets, gypsies, and infirm as animals; as someone or something subhuman - it didn't seem real before.
But it became real. It was real. It was like something out of this world. Something I could never imagine - a group treating another as nothing.
Our visits to Maidaneck and Auschwitz will forever be burnt in my mind as horrible factory-like camps that killed millions and millions of Jews and others through the vile, sick, nightmare ways of random executions and gas chambers. To sit in front of the collected ashes where victims of these terrible places were dumped, not buried, after their improper sped-up cremations angered me to the point of numbness.
I want to share one thought that came to me as I departed Birkenau, fists clenched but body numb. As I made my way past the train tracks, I remembered how thousands of Jews went through the selection process in the exact spot I stood. There, SS officers decided who shall "live" and work for the time being and who shall be immediately stripped of their clothes and belongings, sent to the gas chambers and turned into piles of ashes. I was reminded of a quote from the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services that we say each year: "On Rosh Hashanah [the Book of Life] is written, on Yom Kippur it is sealed." This of course refers to God, but where was such a god at a time like the Shoah? What gave the Nazis the right or the power to decide the fate of millions and millions of people? How come for those victims, it was written as they boarded the trains from Hungary, Poland, and Austria, while it was sealed as they were herded into the gas chambers, as if they were animals?
Why does something so terrible as this happen?
How does this even become a possibility in society?
How can someone be treated as nothing, as a worthless piece of flesh?
How! Why!
Questions continue to run my mind ragged. At this point, my strongest answers come from what I've witnessed. I will never forget what I have seen on this pilgrimage and I will make sure to keep the lives of the six million who perished forever in my heart and in my mind. This can never happen again. I insist that every single Jew of ability visit Poland to witness the horror and to ensure that it will never, ever happen again, but more importantly to make sure that we never forget this horrid event.
לזכור ולא לשכוח
To remember and not to forget.

Hey, Dad

(sorry for not being so up to date, a lot goes on here and I can’t always find the time to blog)

Another week on Tzuba has come and gone and I am very grateful for the needed Shabbat sleep. A few regular days, two tiyulim, long nights of working on my papers for Regional Board elections, and a very special guest – quite the weekend to describe, but I’ll give it a shot.

First, the tiyulim. This week we started to learn about Jewish oral law, how it came to be, and how it slowly became written down in works like the Mishnah and the Talmud after being memorized for years by the Tana’im (those whose role was solely to memorize what the rabbis and sages would discuss in the Sanhedrin and in other beitim midrashim.) As we travelled up north to Beit Sha’arim, we learned about how the Sanhedrin moved from Yavne up north to here and its nasi – its leader – Rabbi Yehudah haNasi. Rabbi Yehudah is most well known for his big transition from oral law to the written Mishnah, after he compiled many different arguments and even put some of his own opinions in to create Halachah – what is known as Jewish law. At Beit Sha’arim, we explored the tomb caves where many had been buried and the coffins they had been buried in. These coffins differed in their artistic designs – some had kosher art, consisting of just geometric shapes, but others were definitely unkosher, picturing animals and humans. This became a looming question to our tiyul – why the transition to unkosher art? After Beit Sha’arim, we travelled to Sakhne, a spring that always stays 28 degrees Celcius – possibly the most beautiful site we’ve visited so far. There, we swam and had a gourmet pizza lunch which was definitely a step up from kibbutz food. As lunch came to a close, we changed out of our swim suits and piled on to our buses, headed for Beit Alfa, home of a famous ancient synagogue with an unusually detailed mosaic floor. We took a good, detailed look of what the floor had depicted – the lower third showing the binding of Isaac, the middle third depicting a zodiac with the Greek god Helios in the middle, and the top third depicting the Beit Mikdash surrounded by menorahs and shofars. Hang on – Greek god? Zodiac? That’s gotta be considered unkosher art. We then exited the synagogue and had a very long discussion concerning the Halachah mentioned in the Mishnah about unkosher art and the new limits the rabbis of this time period had established for the Jews. I found it very interesting to see the transition from no unkosher art at all to some unkosher art being allowed in places such as burial sites and synagogues. This definitely symbolized some sort of assimilation for Jews living in the time period of the Mishnah.

Our other tiyul was an experience not many would be able to have. After learning about the beginning of Islam and the 5 basic pillars of this religion, we traveled to En Rafa, home of a nearby mosque where we had the pleasure of interviewing an imam – the leader of prayer at the mosque, just like a rabbi at a synagogue or a priest at a church. It was interesting to discuss the five pillars of Islam and their importance as well as the questions we asked about the relationships between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity and the relationship between Islam and terrorism. Although I wish we had more time to have these questions answered in greater depth, the experience at the mosque was definitely thought provoking – it made me question why the conflict of religions was so violent and arrogant when we have overlapping histories and prophets. Not only did this tiyul feed my mind with questions, but also my stomach – we travelled to Abu Ghosh and gulped down possibly the best lunch I’ve had yet: hummus, pita, falafel, and the necessary veggies that came with it (if you’ve never been to Abu Ghosh, it is definitely the best hummus you will ever experience).

However, this past week had one big difference – Dad was here since Tuesday. Perfect timing too – we were just making the transition from Mishnah to Talmud, something my dad specializes in teaching. On Wednesday morning, I had the pleasure of listening to my own father teach my friends and I about the Talmud Yerushalmi and the Talmud Bavli, both which contain much commentary and have much importance when it comes to Halacha and living Jewish-ly at that time period and for years to come. It was definitely different to be taught by my own dad, but hey, now I can grade his students’ papers ‘cause I’ve got some experience in the class!

After a few days of good meals (Dad took me out each night for dinner…a huge plus – I hate kibbutz food), a father-son Shabbat seemed very appropriate for this visit. Friday night we travelled to Modi’in, a city to the west of Tzuba (also where the Hasmoneans first started their rebellion, later on known as the Hanukkah story – heard of it?). There we met up with my dad’s friend, Natan, and walked from his apartment to shul. After an all-Hebrew service came dinner, delicious as always, followed by a sit down song/jam session with Natan and his daughter Noam. I love being able to play a guitar in Israel – not only do the people who listen to you know the tune and/or the words to “Jewish” songs you can play, but every now and then a Katy Perry or Oasis song can get them to sing along too, especially the Israelis.

Saturday was a different story. After finally finishing up my NFTY Elections video (running for WFMVP of NFTY NAR for the upcoming year…elections are on Sunday!), Dad and I threw on our sneaks and hopped in the car headed for Tel Aviv. One long nap later, we were parked right off of Dizengoff, one of Tel Aviv’s most famous streets for shopping and especially for food. (Fun Fact: Israelis actually have a verb for wandering down Dizengoff Street, להזדנגף). We got lunch at a nearby café and then continued to wander aimlessly through Tel Aviv. Most, if not all stores were closed – another thing I love about Israel: on Shabbat, it’s as if the entire country shuts down for a day; nothing’s open, nobody works – it’s peaceful and beautiful. Dad and I took a nice walk along the beach and port area, browsing in a few shops and listening for the glimpses of English in sea of Hebrew speakers. As the sun set, we wandered back towards Dizengoff, grabbed some good Italian food for dinner, then drove back to the Kibbutz. Quite the relaxing weekend and boy did it feel nice to finally take a break from a regular kibbutz Shabbat. I really hope I can go back to Tel Aviv soon, hopefully with all my friends here.

Other than that, all’s good as usual. General Studies are studying and we’re all having loads of fun. Parents just showed up today, so I’m hoping to get adopted for the week by a nice Jewish family. Oh, and on a more personal note – Dad, thanks so much for coming out just to visit me. It really means a lot and I’m glad I got to see you before the other parents came to visit. I love you to death and I’ll see you in April!

And to all you other readers – hope you’re enjoying this blog; it’s a lot of work to keep up to date but I think it’s pretty worth it.