Although five of my six weeks spent on USY Pilgrimage this past summer were spent in Israel, I’d like to focus on my infinitely powerful eights days in Poland. I cried a lot while I was there (for anyone who has been there or just knows me at all will understand that this is not so surprising) and I surely wanted to get to Israel by the end of the seventh day. However, I learned much more in the country than just Holocaust facts, as vital to our Jewish heritage as they are.
The itinerary of the trip had us explore the Jewish life before the war through cemeteries and old synagogues and then, of course, the decimation of it through the concentration camps. Yet, what most of my fellow travelers seemed to ignore was the present Jewish life in Poland. And not only the Jewish life, but life in general. As a Jewish community I believe that we dwell on Poland only as a place of death. Again while I don’t act to diminish this abhorrent truth, I saw more to the country. I saw vibrant life there.
For example, for our Saturday night in Krakow, we attended a Jewish Festival. This, let me tell you, was a huge deal. Our staff was very hesitant about taking us there for security reasons. We were told not to wear revealing clothing so every one of the 43 USYers bundled up in sweatshirts, jeans, and sneakers. We all looked very dorky. Then we split up into groups of seven, exactly seven, which of course raised unbelievable drama (you try telling a group of eight friends to break into a group of seven). We were given guidelines, stripped of our electronics, and assigned a counselor. We had specific meeting points, backup meeting points, back up back up meeting points and plans A-Z for every thinkable circumstance. At this point we are freaked out and unsure if we still wanted to go. But we did, and I have to say, that it is probably one of my favorite memories of the entire trip, including my time spent in Israel.
The place was crowded when we arrived. The festival had apparently been occurring every night for the past week and it was still crowded. We were on our toes, filled with nervous excitement that could hardly be contained. My group and I weaved our way into the crowd to find an open spot squeezing our hands very tightly so as not to lose a member of the chain. We stood there for a while sandwiched between one polish man and another while a Chassidic
rebbi chanted on the stage 50 yards in front of us. We began warming up to the music, allowing our nervous jitters to shake themselves away, and one by one we began removing our intensely hot sweaters. We formed our own little circle and began dancing. Soon we were invaded by a long line of very loud, very intoxicated, and very polish adults all screaming in a language we could only guess was polish. So we joined along. One woman fell over and then thanked my friend for helping her up in rapid polish. He smiled and responded vesjey – exit, the only Polish word any of us learned (this is not entirely true; we also knew odloty, which means departures, and prezloty, which means arrivals – you can probably imagine what percentage of our trip was spent in the Warsaw airport).
Anyway, this experience is unforgettable, we danced and sang all night long and it was an exhilarating sight. The festival took place in a cobblestone square and there were people hanging from the windows of surrounding buildings and more and more people joining the crowd every second. It was an amazing rush of life that was so rejuvenating after the pain and helplessness of our visits to the camps and other such portrayals of the murdered Jewish life.
Our arrival in Israel was equally as exhilarating. I remember boarding the el-al plane and instantaneously feeling overwhelmed with excitement and comfort. We were all emotionally exhausted but mentally prepared for the second half of our adventure. We devoured the plane food, that’s right, the plane food. Believe me, when you have eaten frozen meat dinners for the past eight nights, three options for dairy breakfast feels luxurious. I remember holding hands with those around me as the wheels hit the ground, the sound of song and tears of joy spread through the plane. It was beautiful and altogether breathtaking. It always surprises me how much more love I can feel towards the country when my devotion to it is already so strong. We were excited and, in the end, we were not disappointed. The first week we went south to snorkel, hike
Masada, swim in the Dead Sea, ride on camels and shop on the boardwalk in Eilat. We then explored the Golan, the Galil, and the mystic city of Tzfat. We slept with the Bedouins, dined with the Druids, and prayed with the Jews. It was unbelievable and thoroughly enjoyable
However my trip was constructed in such a way to create an experience of darkness to light: Poland to Israel. While, truthfully, my memories of Israel do bring with them a sense of delight, I’d rather not see Poland as simply the prelude to my Israel experience. Cultures, in and of themselves, have their own characters. They have weaknesses, and we for sure grappled with Poland’s weakened history so depressing and awful, but they also have strengths, one of which I attempted to illustrate earlier. Likewise, Israel also has strengths and weaknesses socially and politically, all of which we explored greatly in our experience there and the strengths of which affect me constantly. From this I have learned that no two cultures can be or should be compared in terms of another. Likewise our Poland visit shall not be thought of as only an introduction to Israel. Rather for each experience, I saw the country for its differences and unique attributes that are important in understanding.
That concept is only one of the many lessons I learned over the summer. Intellectually, I was stimulated by the rich history of Israel and enthralled by the awe-inspiring beauties of the land. I learned about friendships and the importance of support and expression. I thus feel compelled to thank those who made this experience all the more possible. To the Shulman family, whose generous donations help child after child explore the depths of Israel and themselves. I am infinitely grateful for your help. To the Scholarship committee I want to thank you for selecting me to receive the funds; I truly did enjoy talking to you. To Rabbi Berger who assisted the committee in their decision and presented me with the scholarship. And lastly, thank you to the Beth Sholom community at large. You have supported me with all my endeavors from the very beginning and I thank you for allowing me to share my reflections with you.
