#bjemotl

After nearly 24 hours of travel for many, the Los Angeles Delegation of the March of the Living finally arrived in Poland this afternoon! Our bleary-eyed, sleep deprived teens took flight delays, lost boarding pass and passport scares (all found), and missing belongings (also found) in stride. In fact the silver lining of our lengthy day and close quarters was that we all got to know each other just a little bit better. We exited Warsaw Chopin Airport at 4:00pm local time into a chilly, but bright and sunny Warsaw afternoon, and boarded our color-coded buses that will our mobile homes for the next week (sorry Shpall, RedBusRules!). We all enjoyed a scenic drive through Warsaw, and I heard many comments like, "This reminds me of Paris!", "It is soooo pretty here!", and "I can't believe how green it is!" as we passed by some of the charismatic Polish squares, landmarks and architecture. After about a 45 minute drive, we arrived at our destination...the Rejnek District, which forms the historic heart of the city. Faithfully restored after WWII leveled approximately 85% of the city, the charming old town features a large central square dotted with cafes and restaurants and ringed with souvenir shops, clock towers, and little walk-up ice cream and waffle shops. This is, frankly, a perfect way to start the trip. In addition to getting a glimpse of what Polish life was like for many before the war, we also got to stretch our legs, take great big breaths of fresh air, and indulge in some local flavor. And indulge your kids did...with nearly everyone I spoke to having sampled some local fare, including rabbit, duck pasta, schnitzel, waffles with mounds of whipped cream, ice cream cones, pirogies and on and on. First-timers to Europe, Oren, Sam R., Nate and Spenser commented that they were "blown away by how great it was". After about 2 hours of free time in Rejnek, we boarded buses to check into our hotel, have some dinner, and try to get to bed early. Tomorrow comes with an early 6:00am wake-up, and a notable shift in content and tone as we visit the Warsaw Okopowa Cemetery and the Treblinka extermination camp.

The Warsaw Ghetto wall's boundary marked on the street and a fragment of the all still standing. Survivors share objects of importance and life-lessons. Beginning Havdallah in the Nozyk.

The arc of this trip is remarkable: After experiencing gray, cold days in Poland touring concentration camps and confronting the worst in humanity, we come to Israel and are immediately embraced by the warmth the Mediterranean sun and, more notably, the Israeli people themselves. This morning we awoke to a fantastic breakfast that is also an amazing break from the monotony of the food in Poland. Cheeses, salads, eggs, fish, and much more were set out on an never-ending buffet, of which we all ate more than our fill. We rolled out of the hostel and made the short trip to the beach, where the warm sun, salt air and Mediterranean Sea reinvigorated our bodies and souls. The kids socialized, played games, snoozed on the sand and swam in the ocean. It was a much needed break and stunning contrast to where we were a short 24 hours earlier. Following the beach, we made the trip to Jerusalem and various lookout points to gain some perspective of where we are. Each of our amazing Israeli guides found different perspective and meaning to each lookout. The Red Bus guide, Efrat, took us to a park just opposite the Knesset where we stood between that imposing building and a sculpted menorah decorated with carvings of the history of the Jewish people. She told us that standing on that site, we could see the past in the menorah, the present in the Knesset, and the future of the Jewish people in our group of students. We toasted the moment with the shehecheyanu as the sun began to slowly set over Jerusalem. Following a group reflection that discussed the arc of our trip and the transition from what we saw and felt in Poland to what we are seeing and feeling in Israel, we checked into the hostel that will be our home for the remainder of our trip and enjoyed another great Israeli meal before free time and curfew. Tomorrow will be a “day of choice” with a wide range of activities from which participants may select in the morning, a trip to the Dead Sea in the afternoon, and the beginning of our second and final Shabbat of the trip.

Today, our last in Poland, we visited Majdanek. Somewhat fittingly, it was another exceptionally cold day, with a chilling wind and intermittent rain. This camp is a powerful one, due not only due to the atrocities committed here, but the relatively intact nature of the camp. Surprised by the Russian advance, the Nazis did not have time to destroy this camp like many others. As a result, barracks, gas chambers, guard towers and crematoria remain eerily present. We gathered next to the giant sculptural monument to memory standing at the entrance to the camp, as our educators provided some first-person testimony and framed the day. We then toured the camp, concluding at a large dome-roofed pavilion protecting a reclaimed pile of human ash from pits adjacent the to the crematorium. Our delegation encircled the ash, heard once more from our educators, listened to a powerful rendition of Hatikva sung by camp prisoners of Bergen-Belsen upon their liberation, and recited the mourner’s Kaddish. It was moving and powerful. There, next to the final resting place of so many, we delivered the letters you wrote to each of your children. Hearing from home at the conclusion of a week that has been so powerful, challenging and highly emotional was a gift, and each participant was tremendously moved by the letters received. Somber and reflective as we loaded the busses, it quickly dawned on us that we were all being treated to yet another experience so many did not have -- the opportunity to escape the camps and go to Israel! And as I type these words, the wheels of our flight just touched down at Ben Gurion Airport, and the entire plane let out a spontaneous cheer of pure joy. Our journey turns a page now, as we continue to explore our heritage, our connection to Israel, and how we will approach the future. Tonight, we drive to Haifa for some very quick sleep. Tomorrow, we will wake to the warm Israeli sun, a delicious breakfast and the beach!

Our morning in Kraków started under sunny skies and mild temperatures. We took a very short bus ride to the Jewish quarter of Kraków and enjoyed a glimpse of the rich history of Jewish life in this beautiful city, which extends back to the 12th century. At that time, Jews were invited, valued and protected citizens who contributed richly to Polish society. In Kraków, we saw many remnants of that life, including three breautiful synagogues, posters advertising klezmer performances, and restaurants that serve Jewish food. Upon completing our walking tour, we boarded the busses and made the drive to one of the most difficult sites of our trip: Zbylitowska Gora, located just outside the town of Tarnow. A short walk through a well-tended middle class neighborhood is a lovely forest, where Nazis took all of the 800 Jewish children from the town of Tarnow, brutally beat them to death, and dumped their bodies into a pit not much larger than a backyard swimming pool. Today, we walked through that same idyllic forest to a simple patch of grass ringed by an equally simple blue metal fence: The final resting place of those 800 children. Standing around that fence as a single delegation, we tried to align the beauty of the forest and the near constant chirping and trilling of birdsong with the incomprehensible evil that occurred here. We cried, we sang, we blessed the children, we recited the mourner's Kaddish and took some time to offer the children our individual thoughts, written on pieces of paper and hung on the fence or nearby trees. It was emotional and incredibly impactful, as reflected by the thoughts of the students: Jordan B.: The Nazis took away so much...it is just incomprehensible and I can't even begin to process the emotions of it... Michael R.: This site made me think about each little child, and each one of their stories...about relationships I have with my own family...and I can’t imagine the brutality. Lauren C: I had a very hard time today, and am still struggling with what I saw. Numbers can make it hard to connect to the reality of the tragedy. When it is personalized, and I think about a child playing with siblings, having a lemonade stand or looking out a window -- all of the beauty and innocence of childhood -- it is impossible to conceive of this happening to those children. Aaron L.: Standing in two lines and having the survivors march out of this place ahead of us was when it hit me. It was so bittersweet. There should’ve been so many more people walking between our lines. People from this town; people the same age as our survivors. Brian P.: This made me even more determined to live a meaningful life...a life these kids did not have the opportunity to have. I am more determined to do more, study harder, be kinder and love more. Danielle L.: Blessing the kids was the hardest part of the day. It reminded me of being a camp counselor and blessing my campers on Shabbat -- of putting my hand on their heads and messing up their hair. How could anyone smash an innocent child’s head into a rock? How could anyone do that to a child? Zoe: It was surreal to be standing there, and at first, I really could not wrap my head around what had happened here, and could not really access my emotions. During our time for solo reflection I sat down near some flowers, and saw some that were still just buds and had not yet bloomed. I picked several of them and made a bouquet -- and then immediately realized what I had done. It was just like all of these children. Their life was cut short, and just like the flower buds, would never have the chance to blossom into their full potential. I wrote my note to the children and hung it, with the buds, on a nearby tree. I want to teach others about what happened here, and encourage people to bring beauty, not hatred and evil, into the world. The reflections of your children continued, and they were all clearly impacted by the day. Tomorrow is our last day in Poland: We visit the camp at Majdenak. Shortly after that, we fly to Israel!

Tomorrow we return to these sites for yet another very unique experience: Honoring the dead while also celebrating the fact that we can do something over a million Jews could not: Walk out, alive and free.

Today is perhaps the most unique day of our journey, and is possibly best viewed in contrast to yesterday. Yesterday, as we toured Auschwitz and Birkenau, the horrors of the camps were on full display, as were their very personal impacts upon specific people and families. Joseph Wise, a student whose family lost 300-500 members during the Holocaust and approximately 70 in Auschwitz, summed up his feelings about yesterday's tour thusly: "The scale and scope of the evil here is just so hard to comprehend. How could people do this to one another? How would I manage in these conditions? I just want to cry and suffer with them." Today, the focus, experience and conversation shifted. Rather than a focus on death and evil, today was, in many ways, about the future, about hope and about survival. After getting charged for the day with important context from our educators and some great singing from Happie and Eric, we headed over to Auschwitz with as many as 12,000 other March of the Living participants. Kids from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Panama and many, many other delegations excitedly met each other and put their negotiation skills to the test to trade for the hot pis, caps and scarves. The tumult of meeting peers from around the world was placed on hold once we were told to proceed through the cruelly false Arbeit Macht Frei gate. We marched somberly out of Auschwitz as a single delegation with our survivors leading the way, and continued along the railway tracks to Birkenau. The route itself was lined by Poles there to pay their respect, many saying "Shalom" and "Shalom forever" to us as we passed. Once inside Birkenau, our delegation was afforded time to mingle with other delegations until the powerful ceremony began. Featuring prominent figures from around the world, the ceremony ended with reciting the mourner's Kaddish, a powerful rendition of Hatikvah, and several forceful declarations of "Never again!" Evan Satlin commented, "This was the most impactful day of the trip for me so far. Marching out of Auschwitz -- doing something that so many were unable to do -- was really, really meaningful. I also got to wear Tefillin today for the first time (and it was in Auschwitz!). Other highlights of the day were the performances of Happie and Eric. They played twice: Once while we were marching in, and again during the ceremony. Their music continues to provide a rich and meaningful soundtrack to this event. The Los Angeles Delegation was also offered the honor of lighting one of the candles during the ceremony. Tammy Shine represented our delegation, and did a wonderful job. Tomorrow we explore Kraków and the terrible Zbylitovska Gora.

On Friday night, our delegation welcomed Shabbat with a great service led by our fearless leader, Alisha Pedowitz, and musician and song leader extraordinaire Happie Hoffman. Alisha tied our service and our experience here in Poland together beautifully, noting in particular that the strongest thing in the world is memory, as memory is the one thing that can outlast death. Our mission here in Poland is not just to deal in the collective enormity of the Shoa -- so often very difficult to comprehend -- but to reduce the story of the 6,000,000 who perished into the 1+1+1+1 of many stories, of many relatable individuals and most importantly, to bear witness to their stories and remember them. This highly relatable approach is exceptionally effective, and frequently comprises some of the most memorable moments of the trip. Of course, nothing is more enriching that personal accounts of the survivors who accompany us on this journey, and we are forever grateful for their presence. Our Shabbat experience on Saturday included a range of choices, including attending an Orthodox service at Nozyk Synagogue (the only synagogue to remain standing in the Ghetto, and currently, as our historian Michal says, “the only shul in town”), walking to the remarkable Polin Museum (of Jewish history in Poland), or attending a survivor theology discussion and singing minyan. Following lunch, those interested and willing to truly soak up every moment of the trip were treated to walking tours with local guides or our historians. We saw a number of important and historic sites essential to a deeper understanding of wartime Warsaw, and the Warsaw that has since emerged. Grateful to return to the warmth of the hotel, our students enjoyed a moment or two of free time before rejoining the group and our survivors for dinner and a presentation of particular objects that had a deep meaning for them. Gabriella showed us a picture of a beautiful beaded silk purse made by her mother; Estelle shared a moving poem written by her granddaughter; Bob shared a book written about the bravery and courage of his mother; Lea shared a picture of a cabinet she hid behind while SS officers searched for her in the home of the righteous gentile family who hid her; and, Eva shared a letter of introduction written by her future husband. Student Dina Blazer read Erica Schwartz’s letter to the group (absent from the trip) and distributed inspirational cards she had made for each participant. Finally, Monise Neuman, shared the story of Ronnie Mink, a historian that attended 7 of these marches and made a deep impact upon all who were fortunate enough to hear him speak. Monise lovingly honored his memory NC presented us all with the gift of a hand-made South African flag pin for us all to wear proudly during the March. Our delegation then ended Shabbat with Havdallah at the Nozyk Syagogue, which was followed by rousing klezmer music, dancing and a fair amount of crowd surfing by survivors. It was a joyous and life-affirming evening...and nearly impossible to conceive that we were celebrating without concern or hesitation, in Warsaw, Poland, in a synagogue that once served a vibrant and thriving Jewish population in Warsaw, and stood in silent witness to the atrocities of the Ghetto. Today we made the long drive to Auschweitz, as our journey takes another giant and incredibly impactful step forward.