Israel Pilgrimage,
Group #7

*The pictures below are links; clicking on them will take you to a larger version of that picture.

Tuesday, June 27th:
After a flight across the Atlantic and most of Europe, Group 7 landed safely in Warsaw. They retrieved their luggage, met their Group Leader Na’ama Sharon, and their Israeli madrichim, Anat and Shachar. They began by visiting the Genscher Jewish cemetery which began functioning almost 200 years ago. They saw ornate tombs of wealthy prominent Jews and famous Rabbis, while also visiting unmarked mass graves of Jews who died in the Warsaw Ghetto. The group then held mincha services in the Nozyc Synagogue, the only remaining synagogue in Warsaw today, and they visited the remains of the Warsaw Ghetto Wall. Tonight they will check into their hotel in Warsaw, eat dinner, and meet in sub-groups. These small groups will remain the same throughout the summer, as a way for the pilgrims to debrief about their days in a more intimate setting. The group is looking forward to their week.

    

    

Wednesday, June 28th:
Group 7 traveled east from Warsaw and stopped on the way to Lublin at Kazimierz Dolny. This town used the tombs of the Jewish cemetery to build a highway after World War II, and in the 1980s the local population restored all of the tombstones into one big memorial wall for the ancient Jewish cemetery. After lunch, they continued on to Majdanek Concentration Camp. One of the most interesting and shocking parts of the camp is that most of it is still intact, and therefore gave the group a full image of what it looked like when it was operational. Also, the group was extremely moved by the barrack full of shoes, and walked through quietly trying to imagine the people who filled them. In the afternoon, the group visited Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin. It was in this yeshiva that Rabbi Shapira established the 7-year cycle by which some Jews learn one page of Talmud a day. The group had a study session in the Beit Midrash (main room) of the yeshiva and sang Jewish songs, and even though the room does not look the same as it did before World War II, the USYers were able to get a feel for the tremendous learning that went on there. In the evening they made thier way back to Lublin.

    

    

Thursday, June 29th:
Group 7 left Lublin this morning and traveled to Woldowa, the site of a beautiful synagogue. There, the group sang and tried to bring Jewish life back to a place that once had vibrancy. From there they drove alongside the train tracks to the Treblinka Death Camp. The striking memorial at Treblinka is a display of 17,000 stones each with the name of a city or town, to remember the 17,000 people who were killed daily in the camp. The group did a memorial ceremony and then boarded the bus for the drive to Warsaw. Tonight they will check into their hotel, eat dinner, and meet in sub-groups. These sub-groups will remain the same throughout the summer, and are a way for the USYers to debrief and discuss their days together in a more intimate setting.

Friday, June 30th:
Group 7 spent the first half of the day in Warsaw. They began at the Umschlagplatz, the area from which the Jews of Warsaw were deported to the Treblinka Death Camp. They then saw the Mila 18 bunker, the last remaining one from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and the Rapaport Monument, both of which are testament to the Jewish uprisings in defiance of the Nazis. The group visited the Jewish Museum in Warsaw, and spent the afternoon in Gura Kalavara to talk about the development of Hassidut. In order for a little "down time," the USYers will have a chance to go to the Old City of Warsaw before returning to their hotel to prepare for Shabbat. Tonight, the group with daven Kabbalat Shabbat together and eat dinner at the hotel. Tomorrow they are planning to go to the Nozyc shul and then to have a session with the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Shudrich. The group is looking forward to a much less hectic day. Shabbat Shalom!!!