07.25.2014-07.26.2014
Hello!
I am so sorry it has been awhile, the last few days have been very busy-when hasn’t it been busy is the better question, but busy in all of the best ways. ANYWAY I am catching up on Friday and Saturday. Friday we met with the Chief Rabbi of Poland. The Chief Rabbi told us about the Jewish religion and culture in Poland. He believed that the Holocaust did clearly impact the Polish community. We discussed this later in our debrief and about the way the Poles were victimized just as much as the Jews. For many of us, I did not realize the prosecution that all Poles suffered. Through Hebrew School, it was always drilled into my head that six million Jews died; we never talked about anyone else. This trip has opened my eyes to other victims and I have learned I should not be so quick to group together all of the victims together. We also talked about what we have taken away from the Dialogue, most of which has been that the Holocaust affected people just like you and me. It is a number, it is people who died, people who were tortured and affected. We should all feel a little bit guilty because we are human and this is what we are capable of. At first I did not like the idea of feeling guilty but now it really makes sense to me. We also talked about Kniefall and how beautiful, courageous and brave the act was even though it was controversial.
After the debrief we had Shabbat dinner with a Jewish Youth Group called Zoom. The dinner was beautiful and the people were fantastic (to talk to). We had a great conversation about what is happening in Israel and learned that most Poles are Pro-Palestine which surprised me as my family is very Pro-Israel.
On Saturday we woke up and I got a discounted coffee from my favorite coffee place in Poland, Coffee Heaven. I was one of their best customers so I got a discount ☺. We then took the train from Warsaw to Krakow. It was a long train ride but we were able to rally and take a tour of Krakow. It is an absolutely beautiful city and it is right behind Berlin in my book. We ended up getting dinner in the city square and then came back to the hotel and had a great night sleep; we were so tired.
Excited for the eight hour walking tour today!
journeytotikkunolam 