Ten days. It is a journey back over 2,000 years of Jewish history; a reliving of the highs and lows of almost two millennia. A contrast of many of the greatest milestones of creativity and gravestones of those both remembered and forgotten. These are the 10 days of the Heritage Seminar, an experience shared by 15 Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School seniors as well as seniors from Hillel, Magen David and Westchester Hebrew High School.
The journey began at Newark Liberty International Airport on a flight bound for Warsaw, Poland, a city that prior to the Second World War was one-third Jewish. During visits to locations like the Warsaw Jewish Cemetery, Yeshivah Chamei Lublin and the Tomb of the Chassidic Master, Rebbi Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk, students witnessed the vitality, originality and diversity of the 800-year history of the Jews of Poland. At these sacred locations, our students sang and held onto one another as they proclaimed to themselves and the world, that these traditions are not mere quaint relics in a museum, but alive and thriving in our own hearts and homes.
Our students also encountered those places on earth where man himself opened the gates of Hell and threw six million of our people to their untimely deaths and countless others into a living nightmare that accompanies survivors and their families to this day. From a lightning storm at the remains of Treblinka that forced us back onto the buses to the hailstorm at Miadonic to the gentle mist that covered our heads as we stood at the last remaining wall of the Warsaw Ghetto, we bore witness to how quickly, violently and needlessly this magnificent heritage was almost destroyed. And as we left our final destination of the first leg of our time travel, the Birkenau death camp, our students proudly affirmed the reality that Am Yisra’el chai—the Nation of Israel is alive; we’re still here.
Several hours later we exchanged Poland’s gray skies for the heavenly blues of Israel. After a short rest (and much anticipated breakfast) at the Kibbutz Lavi Hotel, new energy swept over our weary travelers.
After rappelling down the Arbel and dinner at a Tiberias restaurant overlooking the Sea of Galilee, we went out on an aptly named vessel, Noah’s Ark, and cruised around the Kinneret, dancing as one body and soul. The next few days were a whirlwind where we saw the Burma Road that saved Jerusalem during the War of Independence, visited the Western Wall Tunnels and performed acts of hesed for Jerusalem’s needy. We even managed to find time for a little shopping. During our last night, we received a visit from none other than Rabbi Tully Besser (Joel Braverman High School’s dean of students).
Our final day in Israel was on Ta’anit Esther. While many students took advantage of the unique opportunity to pray at sunrise at the Kotel, the emotional experience came full circle as we spent time visiting Har Herzl, Israel’s National Military Cemetery. While this hallowed place reminds us of how far we have truly come as a nation, it also shows us with equal clarity the ultimate price paid by so many for us to enjoy the sweet fruits of the modern State of Israel. The last grave we visited belonged to Michael Levine, an oleh (immigrant to Israel) from Philadelphia, who perished on his first day serving in the Lebanon War of 2006. Senior Joshua Twito (aka Roni) spoke about the heroic spirit of this young man and how it lives within each of us. Am Yisra’el chai.
After saying goodbye to the Kotel with Tefilat Minhah, we were once again on the bus—this time to Ramat Beit Shemesh to hear the reading of Megillat Esther. There we were greeted by Flatbush alumnus Mr. Ross Fleischman, son of our registrar Ms. Lenore Fleischman. After our final banquet in a restaurant that could have been owned and operated by Avraham Avinu himself, it was time to head for Ben Gurion and the flight back to America.
When one returns to his or her normal routine, it often feels as if the great experience never really happened. And yet when the members of our delegation now see each other in the hall, we remember that we share more than a common experience, but a common responsibility to pass the lessons learned on to our communities and the world. Am Yisra’el chai.
YOF students who traveled with Rabbi Rosenblum and Judaic Studies teacher Mrs. Batya Theil on Heritage were: Sarah Babaee, Talia Benkoe, Celia Cain, Claire Cohen, Leon Kassin, Rebecca Lazaros, Richard Mann, Michelle Meer, William Merkin, Yakov Merkin, Isaac Sasson, Morris Srour, Sarah Srour, Joshua Twito and Malka Wallick.
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Rabbi Yitzchak B. Rosenblum is a senior faculty member at the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School. In addition to teaching Talmud and Halakhah and serving as a college guidance counselor, he serves as the Rabbi of the Sephardic Minyan and is involved in the informal educational programming. This was Rabbi Rosenblum’s first experience in Poland. He also supplied the photos accompanying this article.
