Neshama 34

List of 6 items.

• Israel - March 17

  Sam:
  
  

  On Friday morning, we left Sde Boker and headed toward the Dead Sea area. I was sad to leave the beautiful views of the makhtesh, the delicious barbecues, and my new favorite cat, Mitsi, but I was excited about the idea of a relaxing weekend in a nice hotel.
  
  

  During my stay at the hotel, I made sure to make the most of it. I enjoyed a comfortable and long sleep in the hotel bed, hit a morning workout, indulged in the enormous buffet, and alternated between the Dead Sea water pool, hot tub, wet sauna, and outdoor pool. Even though we weren’t allowed in the actual sea, being in the Dead Sea pool was still a great experience. I’ve been a few times but being able to float there and have my cuts heal always amazes me.
  
  Unfortunately, my relaxing hot tub experience was interrupted by a siren, but I’ve come to realize that’s just a part of Israeli life.
  
  

  During Shabbat, we joined together with another teen program and had a very nice communal service filled with singing and words of Torah. Afterwards, we had a great meal and spent time bonding together.
  
  

  On Sunday, we left to return to Jerusalem. I didn’t exactly want to leave the nice hotel, but I was excited to return to the original programming. When we got back, we had some good Thai food, which was a big change since I hadn’t had anything but Israeli food on the trip. We were then introduced to the “Many Faces of Israel” program that we will begin this week. During this program, we will learn more about the many diverse cultures of Israel, which I’m excited about because so far I’ve mostly met Jewish people in Israel. My group is researching Circassians, which I did not even know about before this program, and I’m really intrigued to learn more about their culture.
  
  

  Today, Monday, we drove to Kfar Adumim, where we spoke with a local resident in his home about the complexity of the region where both Palestinians and Israelis live. We also learned about his incredible volunteer program, which has more than 100,000 volunteers helping people who have been impacted by rocket attacks.
  
  

  Afterwards, we spoke with a Palestinian bus mechanic. It was very interesting to talk with him because this was the first Palestinian I’ve actually met. I honestly expected him to have some complaints about Jews and Israelis, but he said he did not feel discriminated against and that he tries to treat all people equally. Hearing that made me hopeful that there are definitely Palestinians who want peace and who want to live together.
  
  

  Later we met with a teacher who works with “hilltop youth,” helping teenagers who have gotten into trouble find their way back into school and community life. I really enjoyed hearing her talk about this community, which I had never known existed. It seemed like they are creating real opportunities for these kids and supporting them in meaningful ways.
  
  

  Today included a lot of learning and a lot of new experiences, but I really enjoyed getting out of my comfort zone and gaining so much knowledge. I’m excited to see what else I learn on this program throughout the week and to develop a better understanding of the many different people who make up Israel.

• Israel - February 24-27

  Maya S.:
  
  

  he past three days we spent exploring and learning in the Old City of Jerusalem and some of the surrounding areas.
  
  

  On Tuesday we made our way to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, making some stops along the way. We first stopped to admire the Muslim cemetery with the original name Ma’aman Allah. This is how the Mamilla Mall — the real reason we agreed to walk — got its name.
  
  

  From there we walked into the Old City and saw remnants of both the First and Second Temples. Touring the Jewish Quarter, we made stops at the Hurva Synagogue, which is active today. Unlike many others, the students who learn there wear their tefillin all day rather than only for morning services.
  
  

  We continued our day by learning about the City of David and walking through the water tunnels that once protected the city from being taken over and destroyed.
  
  

  After a busy day, we ended with some time to relax followed by dinner on Ben Yehuda Street.
  
  

  We started the next morning by taking a bus up to Har HaTzofim, where we caught beautiful views and could even see Jordan in the distance.
  
  

  We followed this with a short bus ride to Har HaZeitim (the Mount of Olives), where we visited three different churches while learning about Christianity — its history and its various practices.
  
  

  We ended the day by spending time in the Arab shuk and Mamilla Mall, followed by some free time.
  
  

  The next day we made our way up to the Temple Mount. Here we learned about the significance of the location for both Jews and Muslims while admiring the Dome of the Rock.
  
  

  Afterward, we learned about the Temple Institute — its worldview and its preparations for the building of a future Third Temple — and even got to try new foods like sachlav.
  
  

  We made one final stop and walked part of the Via Dolorosa, which we had explored the day before, to meet Sister Margaret, who shared how she devoted her life to Christianity and thoughtfully answered our many questions from the past couple of days.
  
  

  After three packed but meaningful days, we returned to Agron for some well-deserved rest.

• Poland - Friday, February 20

  Amber:
  
  

  Today we started the day by going to Auschwitz I, walking throughout the camp and learning what the different buildings were used for and how they have been restored to look as they once did. As we walked under the famous sign “Arbeit Macht Frei,” meaning “work sets you free,” we all felt a sudden sense of sadness, trying to put ourselves in the shoes of the prisoners and imagine what they must have felt when entering the camp.

   

  One thing that especially stood out to me at Auschwitz I was the display of piles of hair collected by the Nazis, symbolizing the loss of each person’s identity when their heads were shaved. The strands of hair also reminded me of the display of 90,000 shoes we saw at Auschwitz I, and how so many belongings were taken from people along with their freedom and dignity. Seeing these physical objects made the loss feel real. 

   

  Afterward, we went to Auschwitz II, also known as Birkenau. As we first entered, we saw the Main Gate where so many people arrived and went through the selection process and were deceived by the Nazis, not fully understanding the reality of where they had been sent. As we walked through the camp and stepped inside some of the buildings, we saw the different sections, including the women’s camp and the men’s camp. We also entered a room that had been used as a bathroom for prisoners, which was shocking because of the terrible conditions. As well, we entered two buildings that displayed the beds that prisoners slept in, conveying how harsh the living conditions truly were. Seeing the ruins of the crematoriums was especially difficult.

   

  Having the privilege to share my personal family story, specifically about my great-grandmother Roza, who survived the terrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, was very meaningful to me. Hearing others in my grade honor their own family stories and testimonies made the experience even more powerful. Today was incredibly moving, and putting myself in the shoes of my great-grandmother made everything feel real in a way I will never forget. עם ישראל חי.

• Poland - Wednesday, February 18

  Chloe:
  
  

  We started our third day in Poland by visiting Yeshiva Chochmei Lublin, learning about Rabbi Rav Meir Shappira, the creator of the Yeshiva. There, we were privileged to learn about his establishment of Daf Yomi in the place it was founded. This is a 7 year cycle of reading and learning a page of Talmud every day. This Yashiva specifically was so special because of how much of what we saw is the original building. Because of its beauty, the Nazis chose to utilize it rather than burn it down. It was recently restored and continues to be is actively used for visitors. Getting to learn about Rav Meir Shappira’s studies in the place he founded them was an incredible experience.

   

  From Yeshiva, we went to Majdanek death camp where we saw remains of where Jews were held, enslaved, and murdered, a meaningful but extremely painful experience. Our class walked along one of the 5 fields the Nazis created, viewing many of the horrific conditions Jews endured. We witnessed gas chambers, piles of ashes that have been reserved, stacks of shoes filling an entire room from those who have passed. While walking through this death camp, Rob introduced an idea to make this experience more meaningful and less overwhelming. He encouraged us to try and think of each individual person, rather than taking in the mass numbers of Jews, deaths, and shoes as a whole. Look at a shoe and imagine where it might have been worn: How old was this person, what conditions were they in, where might they be going? Looking at each shoes size and color and envisioning a small child, an elder, or a young adult who was stripped of their life was hard but very impactful.

   

  From Majdanek, we drove to a small town named Tarnogrod, which is where my family is from. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit the Synagogue where my grandmother's family went each Shabbat and look at the original Aron Kodesh (Torah arc) that they would have prayed in front of. It has been restored and is now a library, but the old structure remains. There is even a piece of Torah remain framed on the wall of the library. It was amazing to see Jewish history being honored even though there are no longer any Jews living in Tarnogrod.

   

  Our next stop was at the Tomb of Rabbi Eli melech of lezhensk. We learned about how Bal Shemtov wanted to make Judaism accessible to everyone. We celebrated and honored the life of Rabbi Eli Melech by eating, dancing, and singing negunim, making this very uplifting stop after such a long and heavy afternoon.

   

  Last, we went to an outdoor museum where we read the names of those who participated in Righteous Among the Nations. We read a testimony of one Polish family who helped hide and save a family of Jews until their location was given to the Nazis and they were all ultimately publicly killed.

• Poland - Tuesday, February 17

  Ashton:
  
  

  After a much-needed night of rest, we had the privilege of experiencing an extremely meaningful day. Bright and early, at 7:30 am, we boarded the bus in Warsaw and rode for two hours to the town of Tikochin. In Tikochin, we started off at the synagogue. We were both surprised and grateful to find out that non-Jewish people have been running and maintaining the synagogue ever since the entire Jewish community there was tragically murdered. An old orthodox synagogue, it is lined with beautiful murals of prayers, which Rob suggested were there in honor of generous families who donated. We noticed how the ceilings are shaped in a marvelous way that enhance the acoustics perfectly for the harmonies of the Jewish community. We then walked to the Tikochin Jewish cemetery, a very painful place to visit. We were disappointed to see the condition of the cemetery, as it was basically all under ground, with just a few tips of tombstones sticking out. Whatever did stick out was in poor condition, with most words unreadable and moss growing all over them. Seeing this led us to consider an important question: while we blame the Nazis for everything that happened during the Holocaust, could we have been better in the following years in terms of how we responded and how we protected our memory? After the cemetery, we visited the Lopachova Forest, a horrifying site in which the pits where Jews were massacred. While we were taking it all in, Gracie and Sabrina shared a moving testimonial of one of the few survivors of these massacres, describing how she had to bear witness to her entire family being murdered, and that she only escaped because she fell into the pit and was able to blend in until the Nazis were gone. She later went on to testify at the Eichmann trials, a powerful parallel to the resilience of the Jewish people.
  
  

  We then took a two-hour bus ride to the Treblinka death camp. This was the second deadliest of the death camps, with estimates of deaths around 800,000-900,000. It was a lot to take in, with 17,000 stones placed in the ground all around the camp, each one representing a Jewish community brought to Treblinka. We looked at the maps of what it used to look like and stood on the ground in which our people were killed in gas chambers. The freezing cold temperature added to our understanding of what they went through, making it feel even more real. While everyone gathered around a statue where the gas chambers used to lie, Roei’s mishpacha shared a beautiful poem called “The First the Last and the Rest”, exploring how lucky the first to die was and how unlucky the last was.

  We finished the day off with a 3-hour bus ride to Lublin, where we enjoyed dinner at the hotel. While it was an emotionally exhausting and immensely painful day, words cannot describe how important it was and how grateful we are for the opportunity to see it firsthand. Learning about the atrocities in classrooms is already moving, but standing on the very ground where it happened was truly transformational and emphasized that we can never let anything like it happen again.

• Poland - Monday, February 16

  Shaya:
  
  

  Today was our first day in Poland, after a tiring day of travel and a mix of joy and tears, the class of 2026 has launched into a transformative three month experience! The entire grade gathered in the Ulam for a moving ceremony lead by Mrs. Kolmer, Principal Huseman, Head of School Carrie Siegel, and one of our dear classmates, Nate Lustig. Our sendoff was emotional and saying goodbye to our families was definitely challenging.

   

  As we landed in Poland, I felt the weight of my Judaism heavy on my shoulders, and the responsibility to carry on my family’s values, dedications and stories. We put our ridiculously overweight suitcases on the bus and headed to our first stop at the Okopowa old Jewish cemetery. Bundled in our scarves, gloves and hats, we were ready to learn about influential communal and rabbinic leaders living in Warsaw prior to the war. One story that stood our to me was that of the great sage, Rabbi Peretz who was a community leader and great Jewish scholar and how they believe that over 100,000 people attended his funeral, in recognition of his contributions to our people. We then walked through the are that was the Warsaw Ghetto including the Umshlagplatz – the deportation platform, as well as to hear the inspiring story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, led by Mordechai Anilewicz at the site where it’s believed that he was killed by the Nazis, after fighting for the dignity of his people. It was very upsetting to be standing in the same place that the Jewish people had thrived generations before. They believed they would venture on to better things when in reality, they were held prisoners and treated worse than animals.

   

  I am ready to embark on this new experience and learn about my families stories while keeping their memories alive. Overall, I learnt so much today, and I am excited to be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity that Golda Och has given us the gift to take part in.