Our Journey Concludes, 5/19/25

 Our final day in Budapest was spent doing enjoyable things: shopping, cooking, eating, swimming, and cruising. Not a bad way to enjoy a beautiful Monday in May! Coming off our Danube Cruise there were more than a few tears as the reality of the end of the trip and the upcoming graduation sink in. The tears were tears of exhuastion, but also tears of gratitude. For the gift of friendship, the gift of community, the gift of time, the gift of being so profoundly blessed. The adults among us found the expression of emotion truly touching. The kids have been great on this trip and they have made an impact on all our guides, both in Budapest and Prague. 

Having traveled internationally, and with such a meaningful itinerary, our 8th graders join a minority of Americans who have had such impactful experiences in an international setting. Travel is challenging, inspiring, eye opening, fun, and formative. Our trip was all of these things and more. 

This evening we asked the kids why they thought that we, their parents and teachers, had brought them to Prague and Budapest. Due to the bustling part of town where we were at the time, we only had a chance to hear a few answers. Each answer we heard was thoughtful, but likely not as thoughtful as the answers you will get once there's been a bit of processing time. In the coming days please take a chance not only to learn who the kids roomed with and hung out with, but what they saw, what they tasted, what they learned, what they felt, what questions they had answered, what new questions arose for them... If you greet them with heartfelt curiosity, I am confident that you will be rewarded. 

I know speak for all of the chaperones in expressing our gratitude to these 8th graders, our fellow travelors. While some people are repulsed by the thought of traveling with a group of teenagers, we relished each and every moment, even the challenging ones. To see the world through their eyes is to see the world anew. They made it fun, they made it meaningful, and they made it memorable. 

This blog began with the acknowledgment that I never envisioned writing about an 8th grade trip to Prague and Budapest. It concludes with the acknowledgement that this trip may be a singular phenomenon in the history of The Davis Academy but also with the possibility that we may one day return here. The world is a complicated place and we, as an extended Jewish family, have a front row seat to that complexity. One of our security guards joined us shortly after finishing a 6 month tour of duty patrolling the Israel- Lebanon border. Our Israel-based guides return to Israel with virtually no Israel tours on their calendar. These are heavy times for the Jewish people. These are heavy times for Israel. It is my fervent prayer, which I know you share, that our 8th graders come away from this trip  empowered in the knowledge that they can be a source of light, a source of sweetness, and a source of hope. It's not fair to ask of them that they build a world that is worthy of them, but that's where we find ourselves. I'll end with the confident assertion that this trip to Prague and Budapest will fuel their passion for building that world. 

Budapest, a Complicated Home-- 5/18/25

Before reading further, I want everyone to know that today was a fun day. We spent much of the middle of the day enjoying a traditional Hungarian meal (i.e. Mexican food), sang happy birthday to a beloved classmate, posed for glorious photos with all of Budapest as our backdrop, and just came back from 90 minutes of free time that included dinner and shopping. Having said that, for those who were paying attention, there was also a chance to learn about the Jews of Hungary, past and present. 

For as long as there has been a Hungary there have been Jews at the center of it all. During the Middle Ages, Jews were so prominent and central to the functioning of the country that Hungarian currency even had Hebrew writing on it. As a well established, prosperous, highly educated ethnic community, by the 19th century, Jews made up approximately 25% of Budapest's population. Hungarian Jewry boasts many Nobel Laureates, professors, prominent scientists, artists, authors, musicians, and cultural figures. There are also many Hungarian Jews who played an essential role in the shaping of Modern Judaism, most notably Hannah Senesh (poet and resistance fighter) and Theodore Herzl (the founder of Modern Zionism). Hungarian Jews are proud of their heritage and, in spite of the darkest chapters of our story here, many of them have a deep and abiding love for Budapest, their home. 

The ultimate symbol of Jewish Hungary is the Dohany Synagogue. In a previous post I may have indicated that it is the 5th largest synagogue in the world. It turns out that it is likely the 3rd largest. Not only Jews, but virtually all visitors to Budapest, tour the Dohany Synagogue. During our time there we shared the space with hundreds of fellow tourists, most of them of faiths and traditions other than Judaism. In addition to being an exquisite synagogue, Dohany is also a Holocaust Memorial. In 1945 more than 2,000 murdered Jews were found dead and subsequently buried in mass graves in the courtyard. There is a tree there, made of metal, uprooted from the earth. Each leaf bears a name. When viewed upside down, the tree looks almost like a Menorah. As we sang Hannah Senesh's famous poem, Eli Eli, several tourists stopped to listen. One family from Northern Ireland asked what the song was and said they were moved to tears by our singing. 

How can Hungary be a site of Jewish renaissance given the horrorific way that the Holocaust unfolded here? I was not aware and you may be equally unaware, that due to an alliance with the Nazis, Hungary did not begin to deport Jews until April of 1944, when the war was already winding down in many areas. Between April and July of 1944, approximately 440,000 Hungarian Jews were deported to Auschwitz, never to return. That's an astounding number. Later that year and into 1945, when the alliance with the Nazis imploded and deportations stopped, the Hungarian Fascist Government known as the Aero Cross took it upon themselves to murder Jews on their own. They did so in ways that defy our ability to comprehend due to their complete lack of humanity such as shooting Jews and watching their bodies turn the Danube red. We contemplated this cruelty as we paid our respects at the "Shoes on the Danube" memorial. It was very moving to see our students pay such respectful homage to this painful story. It was also quite moving to see how many yellow ribbons had been added to the memorial. We concluded by saying Mourner's Kaddish, but with the reminder that as Jews we always carry our hope with us and our belief that good will win out over evil. To sweeten the mood a bit, we stopped for a little bit of cake, coffee, and chocolate. 

As previously mentioned, both of our local guides are Hungarian Jews. Since Hungary is part of the EU, living in Budapest is a choice that they have made. Why live in Budapest knowing that to be a Jew here is to live in the shadow of such a uniquely cruel and barbaric shadow? Why live in Budapest when many Jews are currently fearful that the current Hungarian Government seems to be committed to telling a revisionist history of the Holocaust where Hungarians were innocent bystanders and victims of the Nazis when that is absolutely historically inaccurate? Why not find a more stable, comfortable, or safe home? 

For our guides and for more than 100,000 other Hungarian Jews the answer is that Hungary is their home. They love the food, the culture, the energy, the unique sense of humor, the literature... Many Hungarian Jews have lived abroad only to find themselves returning to Hungary, returning to Budapest. Having spent a few days in Budapest, admittedly as tourists, I think our students and all of us who are here on this trip have a greater appreciation for the idea of Budapest as a home for Jews. Our connections here, especially the human ones, means that the story of Jews here is now a part of our Jewish story as well. 

Speaking of home, tomorrow is a day devoted entirely to fun, shopping, bonding, cooking, cruising, and enjoying our last full day together! 

Getting to Know Budapest, 5/17/25

The kids are settling into their rooms after a relatively relaxed day spent getting acquainted with Budapest. In honor of Shabbat, we slept in. Everyone appreciated a chance to "catch up" and came down to breakfast in good spirits. We enjoyed a delicious spread and made our way to our first activity of the day: Escape Rooms. 

I confess that I was a bit skeptical about how the Escape Room would "land" but was pleasantly surprised. Kids emerged from their variously themed rooms with smiles and good energy. That energy carried us through our first shopping experience in Budapest and then on to lunch. 

After lunch we visited "Heroes Square" where we got a conscice overview of Hungarian history that included an important detail-- the fact that Hungary has been on the losing end of all but one of their military/ geopolitical conflicts. 

From Heroes Square we walked a museum dedicated to Hungarian Musical Culture. We toured a unique and inspiring exhibit that focused on world music. After that we took a short bus ride to enjoy some beautiful views of the Danube and check out the Hungarian Parliament. Our guides provided a brief overivew of some of the complexities that Hungary has faced since the fall of the Berlin Wall. From there we stopped by the hotel and made our way to our Ferris Wheel ride, Havdalah service, and eventually dinner at a leisurely pace and enjoyed the bustling Karavan Market in the Jewish Quarter. When we returned to the hotel we let the kids visit the mini market across the street, a decision that was greeted with great enthusiasm. 

While our day was spent zigzagging across Budapest participating in what can only be described as an eclectic itinerary, there was an overarching theme. That theme: Budapest is a city of contradictions. Here are just a few...  the Danube River is beautiful, but it is also stained with the blood of thousands of Jews who were shot there in 1944-1945. The Hungarian Parliament is a magnificent structure ostensibly dedicated to democracy even as hundreds of thousands of Hungarians believe that their current leader is an antidemocratic and authoritarian leader. There are dozens of monuments scattered around Budapest that present contradictory versions of history, some praising the Soviets some condeming, some suggesting that the Hungarians were blameless during the Holocaust and others laying much guilt at their feet and so on. The contradictions make Budapest a challenging place to understand even if it is an easy place to enjoy. Tomorrow we will learn more about the Jewish story, past and present. More than likely the contradictions, tensions, and complexities will only increase. 

Live Jews- 5/16/25

    In 2021, celebrated author, Dara Horn, released a collection of essays with the provocative title, People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present. In those essays she made a compelling argument that, in many corners of the world, including here in Central Europe, there's a fascination, as the title suggests, with Dead Jews. Surely, respect for the dead is far from a negative thing, but what Horn points out is that it can become problematic when there's an acute lack of corresponding interest in LIVE Jews. 

    Consider our itinerary here in recent days. The Jewish quarter in Prague-- home to ancient synagogues, a large and famous Jewish cemetery, and stories of yesteryear--- it was packed with tourists. Though not packed during our visit, Terezin, also a place that honors, as Horn would say, "Dead Jews", is a site that, as I mentioned, every Czech student is required to visit. But what about Rabbi David Maxa's small synagogue in central Prague? How many non-Jewish Czech citizens ever visit there or attend services? Far (far) fewer. Horn suggests that this is because many people are much more comfortable with Dead Jews than Live Jews. We can honor, memorialize, and even romanticize the dead. But the living... somehow, especially when it comes to Jews, they can be an annoyance, an inconvenience, a quandry. For that reason, Live Jews can be easier to brush aside and ignore. 

    If Horn's argument leaves you unsettled and feeling that there's some truth to her observation, then you can find great solace and pride in knowing that our time in Prague, Bratislava (more on that in a moment), and Budapest (where we arrived this afternoon) has been full of deep and meaningful engagement with Live Jews. Rabbi Maxa you already know. But I should also mention that both of our local tour guides in Prague and Budapest are also Jewish. Yishay and Jeremy, our guides from Israel: Jewish. Even one of our security guards in Prague (we have new ones here in Budapest) was Jewish. Live Jews, real people, with real stories, real thoughts and feelings, real hopes and dreams. We've forged ties with all of these people. We've made lasting connections. We've brought to life the teaching, Kol Yisrael Arevin Zeh L'Zeh (All Jews are responsible for one another). Our time in Bratislava and in Budapest has made us feel that connection even more. 

    Even though it's the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava is the type of town that you only visit if you have a reason. That reason may be as simple as having a spare day while visiting nearby Vienna, or it may be, as was the case for us, an opportunity to meet a Live Jew who lives and works there. 

    Rabbi Misha Kapustin, a Live Jew, is the chief program officer of the Jewish Federation of Slovakia. Rabbi Misha isn't a native of Slovakia, but rather a Ukrainian who left Ukraine as a political refugee in 2014 when Russia invaded and occupied Crimea, where he was serving as a rabbi at the time. Due to his outspoken opposition to the Russian occupation he was forced to flee to ensure the safety of his family. Since Slovakia shares a border with Ukraine, it was a natural choice. 11 years later, Rabbi Misha is a Live Jew serving as a rabbi in Bratislava and tending to the approximately 1,500 other Live Jews who live in small pockets scattered across the country. Most memorably, he shared his experiences coordinating Jewish refugee resettlement during the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Rabbi Misha said three things that I hope the kids were able to hear and that I hope to always remember and associate with him. He said. 1) You always have a choice, you have agency. 2) Your future is in your hands. 3) Our children are our most important investment. Once a beautiful synagogue stood in the immediate shadow of the grand Catholic Cathedral of Bratislava. Now there stands a small Holocaust Memorial. The communists knocked down the synagogue to build a bridge across the Danube. But that sad story was not the focus of our visit to Bratislava.

    We chose to visit Budapest not because (or in spite of) the fact that 600,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, but because Hungary (and Budapest in particular) is one of the places with the greatest renaissance of Jewish life in recent times. Instead of celebrating Shabbat at the Doheny Synagogue, the largest synagogue in all of Europe, we chose to celebrate Shabbat the much smaller Frankel Synagogue. Founded in 1888, the Frankel Synagogue is akin to a neighborhood synagogue in Atlanta. We chose to celebrate Shabbat there because they have many more young families and teens in their congregation than the iconic Doheny Synagogue. Shabbat isn't about seeing synagogues, Shabbat is about being with our community. The Frankel Synagogue offered us that and so much more. 

    At the Frankel Synagogue we were greeted by multiple security guards (themselves Live Jews) and ushered into the beautiful sanctuary. Somewhat incongruously we heard Israeli pop songs being played through a bluetooth speaker. The synagogue's education director, who also happens to be the National Director of BBYO for Hungary, launched right into explaining the icebreaker that she had prepared for our kids and the synagogue's teens. Before we knew it, everyone was mixing and mingling. Once the activity was over, the kids all disappeared to the synagogue's youth lounge for a snack before the start of Shabbat services. Meanwhile the adults in our group enjoyed watching the synagogue fill up with Live Jews of all ages who had come to celebrate Living Judaism with their Jewish community. 

    The Shabbat service began on an inauspicious note. But when the opening portion of the service concluded and the main section began, the community's chazzan (cantor) took the bimah. Jeremy, our guide, whispered to me, "Wait till you hear this voice." Within seconds of the chazzan uttering the words of the Barechu I was in tears. I literally cannot tell you the last time I felt such a rush of emotion in a prayer setting. As the chazzan sang, I looked at the faces of the people in the synagogue. I saw my grandfather. My grandmother. My great grandfathers and great grandmothers. I felt, and I know I am not alone, a complete collapse of time. Past, present, and future all merged. I felt the generations there, holding me. I felt the future imploring me to keep the chain of tradition alive. With every creak and thud of the wooden pews I felt a sense of sacred companionship. I have no Hungarian ancestry that I know of, but I felt completely at home. I felt as if I had been there before, not necessarily in this lifetime. And what made it even more incredible, is that I know many of our kids felt it. And I know the chazzan knew exactly the spirits he was conjuring. He was playful yet solemn, flashy yet humble. Every so often he would stop to listen to the voices of the congregation. Every so often he would turn around (the chazzan faces the same way as the congregation) and lock eyes with a fellow Living Jew. I'm the last person to tell you that death means the end of our story, but I can seldom recall ever feeling the dead, those I knew and loved and those I never met, feeling them so close. Feeling them right beside me. And of course, amidst that profound spiritual experience, an elderly gentleman waltzed across the room and started making small talk. Unsurprisingly, we have a common person (also a Living Jew) in Atlanta. 

    As I reflect on the day I am struck by the fact that two things can be true at once. It is undeniably true that there are still many tears that must and will be shed as we confront the devastation that Jewish life experienced in this region under the dual spectors of Nazism and Communism. The evidence, or lack there of, is unavoidable. At the same time, every member of our group has had a chance to meet, learn from, befriend, and shake hands with Live Jews. These Live Jews, whether teens at the Frankel Synagogue, rabbis working to rebuild Jewish life, chazzanim awakening deeply stored memories through their songs and prayers, security guards protecting Jewish souls, or the kinds of folks who come to synagogue not to pray but to schmooze--- these Jews make as much a claim on our heart and our soul, they are as much a part of our story and ours a part of theirs, as those whose time on this earth we seek to redeem by bearing witness and through the incredibly Jewish act of memory. It turns out that Live Jews are, in some way, a kind of pain, a kind of burden. But they are a joyful pain, a joyful burden. Now we all have to care about the Jews of Prague, of Bratislava, of Budapest, not just because they are our "brothers and sisters" in some abstract sense. But because they are our friends. They have touched us and we have created room in one anothers hearts to reside there. 

    

Terezin, 5/15/25

    As adults we know that there life experiences that are so impactful that they create, in our souls, a "before" and an "after." Today our children (and their chaperones) had one of those experiences. I don't think it's hyperbolic to say that there's life before you've visited a concentration camp and life after. I think such a visit, when appropriately framed, contextualized, and thoughtfully presented... such a visit creates in you a before and an after. 

    It's one thing to study the Holocaust. And study, our kids have. Under the careful guidance of Ms. Kuriansky and other teachers, our kids have studied the Holocaust. More than simply study (if such a thing is possible), our kids have heard multiple Holocaust survivors share their stories, planted daffodils in memory of children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, painted names of victims on stones, and visited the US Holocaust Museum and Memorial in Washington D.C. They have lit memorial candles, recited special prayers, and researched areas of personal interest and importance. And so many of us have personal stories, family stories. All this and more has shaped us. All this and more we brought with us to Terezin. 

    Even with these things we carried, visiting a concentration camp-- feeling the ground beneath your feet, watching the clouds move across the sky, hearing the birds chirping against the ominous silence, reconciling the beauty of the natural world with the horrors that human beings are capable of, standing in places where children were separated from their parents, where Nazis enforced docility through terror, where people starved and suffered from diseases, and perished from neglect and abuse... Being there and experiencing it all creates in you a before and an after. Standing on train tracks that literally lead to Auschwitz... a before and an after.

    Terezin is a complicated place. In some way it is a more gentle place to have such experiences and in other ways a more complicated, and even more barbaric place. Those of you who have been likely know what I mean. Before it was converted into a hybrid of a concentraiton camp and a ghetto for the Jews of Czechoslovakia and surrounding areas, Terezin was a small town. Replete with architecture from the era of the Hapsburg Empire and all the trappings of a small European town such as public gardens, a school, a church, small markets, and so on. Approximately 7,000 people lived there. 

    

    When the Nazis and their collaborators decided it was time to address the "Jewish Problem" in Czechoslovakia they chose to convert Terezin into a concentration camp/ ghetto. They did so knowing that it could serve multiple purposes. It was a convenient place to load Jews onto trains to send to Auschwitz and other death camps, but also a place that was sufficiently quaint that it could be used to mislead well-intentioned organizations such as the Red Cross into believing that reports of Nazi atrocities were overstated. Mostly famously, a propoganda film was produced by the Nazis. We watched footage of that film today while at Terezin. Footage depicting festive soccer games, crowded social halls, musical performances. In short "a decent life." History suggests that the Red Cross was persuaded by these and other propoganda measures. Meanwhile, the reality is that several thousand Jewish residents of Terezin were shipped to Aushwitz before the film was made to make sure that Terezin didn't appear to have an "overpopulation issue." 

    A common trope in Holocaust discussions is that, somehow, Terezin was a little bit better than other camps. But in reality, of the 150,000 Jews who were sent there, approximately 17,000 survived. Terezin was also one of the last camps to be liberated, with many people there dying after the end of the war. Terezin's crematorium (which many people don't even know exists) became operational in September of 1942 and burned through the end of the war. 

    So no, Terezin wasn't really "a little bit better." Rather, we are blessed to have, as sacred witness that these people lived, loved, and deserved to live and love beyond what was given to them, an astonishing collection of art, poetry, and other forms of documentation that show the resilience, spirit, brilliance, and strength of many who were kept there. Perhaps we're familiar with the collection of children's art and poetry, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly." A lesser known but extraordinary story is that of a child at Terezin named Petr Ginz. One of his drawings that was donated to Yad Vashem, depicting the moon, was carried into space as one of a handful of Israeli artifacts, by Ilan Ramon. The drawing was destroyed in the horrible accident that claimed Ramon's life and that of his fellow astronauts. Both Petr Ginz and Ilan Ramon were taken before their time, but both left legacies that affirm both the Jewish spirit and the human spirit. 

    After the war, Terezin was turned back again from a concentration camp to a small European town. Terezin too, it seems, has a before and an after. Incomprehensible as this may be, there's solace to be found in the fact that every student in the Czech Republic visits Terezin. The Czech people, it seems, have chosen to confront rather than deny this chapter of their collective history. We witnessed this first hand, as we saw several groups of Czech students wandering the vast grounds with us. Hopefully these Czech students also experience Terezin as a before and an after.

    We concluded our visit to Terezin with a short memorial service. Several students were courageous enough to read short reflections that they had written during some time that we had set aside for personal reflection earlier in the day. To describe this moment and this setting, words truly fail. I'll simply document here that we stood arm in arm in a circle and recited Kaddish, then unrolled several Israeli flags and sang Hatikvah. 

    Stripping a child of their innocence by visiting a place like Terezin isn't a decision that we made lightly. We made this decision with great care and we thank you, our parents and partners, for your trust. And there were things at Terezin we didn't show the children. They don't know, and they don't need to know, that our memorial service took place in the shadow of Terezin's crematorium. They don't need to know that their chaperones toured that crematorium while the students were heading back to the busses. They don't need to know that we left that short tour with tears in our eyes, silence in our hearts, and a collective visceral experience of having stared pure evil straight in the eye that we hope never to experience again. They don't need to know that their mindless chatter and silly singing on the bus ride home were a balm for us. But as our partners, we want you, their parents, to know that. 

    Before and after moments--- for some they come often, for others there are only a few over the course of our lifetime. Often we recognize them only in hindsight, sometimes we recognize them as they are happening. Sometimes we relate to them with joy and gratitude, and sometimes their legacy is more nuanced, complicated, and bittersweet; sometimes such moments may even be painful. When we left Terezin we gave each child a piece of bittersweet chocolate (except for the kids with nut allergies because the cholocate had a "may contain" warning!). In an effort to make our motive in doing so as clear as possible, we explained to them the idea of "bittersweet." But even as the words were leaving our mouths we found ourselves fumbling a bit to express the sentiment in simple terms. Even so, they understood perfectly what we were trying to say. And we were all grateful that, in that moment, it was okay if we struggled to find the perfect words to express what was in our hearts. 

Why Prague? Wednesday, 5/14/25

Why Prague? 

It's a fair question. 

You may have even been asked this very question by a curious friend, neighbor, or colleague. 

Perhaps you had an answer. 

Or a partial answer. 

Perhaps not. 

Perhaps the person asking the question was you. 

Perhaps you are reading this and still wondering. 

If you could've been here today, you wouldn't be wondering any more. 

Why Prague?

Because of Rabbi David Maxa, who opened the doors of his synagogue to welcome us, share his story, and help us understand better: Why Prague?

Rabbi Maxa, who shared about his experiences crisscrossing this region sowing the seeds of the resurgence of Jewish life here. 

Rabbi Maxa, who told us about his experiences at URJ Camp Kutz in New York where he, a young Jew from Czech, read from a scroll that had come from his home country after the destruction, just like the Torah Scrolls we touched at our sendoff Shabbat. 

Rabbi Maxa, who opened the ark in his synagogue and showed us that very same scroll which URJ Camp Kutz sent home to him when the camp had to shutter its doors and cease its operations. 

Why Prague? 

Because when we asked our kids who had family roots in this city and in this region four of them raised their hands. 

Because when we visited an ancient synagogue that has been turned into a memorial with walls covered by the nsames of the 80,000 Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, one of of those four was able to find the names of their family members written on those walls. 

Because that student allowed us all to join her in looking for those names. 

Because that student not only knew the words  of the Mourner's Kaddish by heart but was also willing to lead the prayer as the rest of us joined in.

Because of the group of non-Jewish teenagers from Czech who happened to be touring at that same synagogue at that same time, who stopped and listened respectfully to our prayer. 

Because of the Maharal of Prague (1512-1609), whose grave we touched, who created the Golem, that great protector of Jews, awoken by Emet (truth), and hidden for all eternity in the attic of the Altneuschul (the Old/ New Synagogue), the oldest still standing synagogue in Eastern Europe completed in 1270. 

Because sometimes tradition and belief are more important than facts and evidence. 

Because we could sit in that synagogue, that ancient place, and know exactly some of the words that were chanted and uttered all those centuries ago. 

Because if we listened closely we could almost hear their voices.

Because the Magen David, the Jewish Star, came to be associated with Jews only due to a 14th century gift from a local king of this area in gratitude for the Jews' friendship and support. 

Because of the hostage wall, where 58 portraits and one empty space (Edan Alexander) are respectfully and prominently displayed, undisturbed, free from vandalism, as a reminder that we too are human beings. 

Because of the widely held belief, disputed by some, that Hitler wanted to turn the Jewish Quarter in Prague into a museum that would show the world the now extinct people once known as The Jews.

Because witnessing the miraclous story of the Jewish people and being a part of it allows us to say the words Am Yisrael Chai with purpose and conviction.

This is why. 

And tomorrow we will surely add to this list as we journey toward, through, and back from Terezin. 

A Free Day in Prague, 5/13/25

 A free day in Prague, you ask? Well, yes and no. It was a bus free day, so we got to breath fresh air, get some exercise, and move at our own pace. We had a bit of free time to relax in one of Prague's beautiful public gardens, so that could also apply. But the title of this post is really meant to reflect the fact that, woven throughout today's meanderings and adventures there was a definite theme: freedom. 

    As is the case with most of life's most foundational topics, more questions were raised than answers. What exactly do we mean when we use the word "freedom"? What does it mean to be free? Are any of us truly and completely free at all times and in all places? What are factors or forces that limit our freedom? And perhaps most relevant for today: Why have we, as a species, struggled to achieve freedom for so much of history? 

    In the case of Prague, the answer to many of these questions invariably circles back to the "C" word: Communism. For that reason, we started our day at a small but powerful museum called: Museum of Communism. Our four guides crafted a visit that helped us all understand the impact of communism on the people of Czechoslovakia. As you likely suspect, that impact was crushing, terrifying, and brutal. And as you likely also suspect, the journey from communism to democracy was a complicated and important one. Both of our local guides were teenagers when the communist regime ended in this region. Both recall life before, during, and after that time. In a way that makes sense to those of us who have family members who lived through significant historical events that shaped their lives, you can tell that our guides and their families witnessed and endured many things as a result of the failed experiment that is communism in 20th century Europe. 

    Emerging from the Museum of Communism into an absolutely beautiful spring morning in Prague was a very freeing experience. With our legs still fresh, we began a leisurely journey through Prague's icnonic city center. We joined the crowds of tourists and locals enjoying whatever measure of freedom each was afforded in the moment. We paused in a large public square to learn about the Prague Spring of 1968 that concluded with Soviet Tanks rolling through the city imposing communism by terror on the people. We learned that on the mountaintop where we'd enjoyed our first glimpse of Prague there had once stood a massive statue of Stalin. We listened to an Israeli pop song from the 1970's that poetically spoke of these events and showed yet another line of connection between our Jewish identity and our settting here. All of this before 11am. 

    I know exactly what we did before 11am because at 11am we gathered with every other tourist in Prague to witness the quirky and somewhat macabre Prague icon that is the Astrological Clock. At 11am the clock sprang to life, most notably as an ancient animatroic skeleton began ringing a bell to sound the top of the hour. Why a skeleton? Because of the fate that awaits each of us... Uplifting! 

    From there we crossed the Charles Bridge, lingering to take pictures, appreciate the unique artwork, and absorb the experience. And from there to lunch and the aforementioned free time. 

    After free time we broke into small groups for a scavenger hunt that led across even more of Prague. Each group was free to approach the scavenger hunt with whatever level of intensity they desired. Some groups took off running while other groups decided to go at a more relaxed pace. It's unclear if the winning team is the one that scored the most points or the one that decided to stop for an ice cream break along the way. This is probably a "yes and" scenario. 

    Post scavenger hunt we returned to the hotel to freshen up before heading to Prague's largest mall (located immediately next door to the hotel). Can you feel the excitement mounting? In all fairness, it was a nice mall, and who can blame our kids for being happy to be handing a generous stack of cash to go and get whatever they wanted for dinner? Isn't that also a taste of freedom? 

    We returned to the hotel exhausted and the kids were happy to retire to their rooms. 

    One of the things that makes our 8th grade trip so effective is the blend of meaning and fun. Today we had elements of both. Yishay asked some of our kids what they thought of the Museum of Communism, explaining that he really wanted to know because he had never taken a group there before. They unanimously agreed that it was a meaningful part of the day. Observing our kids in the museum, I can affirm that their behavior there and their level of interest was authentic. While no 14 year old craves a museum visit, our kids have a broad enough understanding of history that they are able to cultivate compassion and empathy when they learn more about a subject like the impact of communism on the people of the Czech Republic. I have no doubt that, whether they can articulate it or not, the rest of their day, spent freely enjoying the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feeling of Prague, was made more meaningful because of their morning spent witnessing the historical atrocities that were inflicted on the people of this region, including their tour guides. I also have no doubt that it is in large part because of their Davis education that they were able to do so. 

    Right in the middle of our wanderings today we turned a corner and found ourselves standing in front of the John Lennon Wall. So named for its famous street art style depiction of John Lennon that was created immediately after John Lennon was killed (some would say assassinated) in 1980, the wall continues to evolve and change moment to moment. We joined with other tourists in appreciating the wall's "in your face" approach toward messaging (here a picture is worth at least a thousand words). Some of us paused to listen to John Lennon's timeless classic, "Imagine", while others immediately starting looking for pens and sharpies so that we could add our voice to the wall. A number of us were struck by the presence of Hebrew writing, including many comments and stickers raising awareness and in some cases memorializing the hostages. On that note, we were all overjoyed to hear of the freeing of Edan Alexander and I know all of us pray that the coming months bring him and his family much healing and gentleness. But again, freedom is a complicated subject. As a rabbi, I'm often asked what I think of the vision that John Lennon expresses in that song. I can literally feel eyes on me, wondering if I can sing the words, "And no religion too." I suspect that I feel the same way about Imagine that many people do-- I choose not only to imagine, but to believe that we can create a better world. I believe that helping kids learn and grow and yes, live their values every day, is part of what translates a beautiful dream into something that we might be able to know and touch and enjoy in our lifetimes. 

Greetings from Prague, Monday 5/12/25

I'll start with a confession: this is surreal. I can honestly say that I never thought I'd be writing a Davis Academy 8th Grade Trip blog post from the Ibis Hotel in the city center of Prague. Before sharing a few highlights through a haze of complete and total exhaustion (joyful exhaustion but still...) let's start with that simple fact. Here we are in Prague. Before 10am this morning, when our plane touched down (more on that later), I was the only member of our group that had ever been to Prague. Now each of us, students and chaperones, has started to discover the beauty, poignancy, complexity, and enduring allure of this majestic, mystical, and delightful city. 

 On Sunday, May 11th, we left The Davis Academy Lower School in excellent spirits. We remain in excellent spirits even after our travel day took a toll on each of us. Everything was proceeding smoothly until we landed in Frankfurt. Upon landing, and with approximately an hour of layover time, we made our way to Passport Control to enter the EU. There we encountered a very long line. So long that it became clear that our chances of making our flight to Prague were, shall we say, "Fan Duel Worthy." To make a long story short, we were advised to hustle over to a different Passport Control station on the complete opposite side of the terminal (.5 kilometers at least). There we found even more disarray. Perhaps a computer error. Perhaps someone's idea of a good time. Certainly not Newark Level Chaos, but after a sleepless night for many of us, it was plenty of unpleasant. After much pleading, making a few enemies, and a cinematically glorious "run to the plane" we boarded our flight and made our way to Prague. The issue was simply that the airline wouldn't say, out loud, that they'd hold the flight for our group, even though we made up more than half the roster of travellers. So it was with great joy, gratitude, and relief that we met Yishay and Jeremy, two veteran guides who we've worked with over the years, at the Prague airport. 

As I type these words I literally cannot believe that this initial meeting took place less than 12 hours ago. From there we embarked on a beautiful day of exploring Prague with our central focus being the Prague Castle. The Prague Castle is more than simply a quaint historical site. It is a massive compound that took more than 700 years to complete and that currently houses the offices of the President of the Czech Republic (he was on castle grounds today). We learned a bit about Franz Kafka, who drew inspiration for his famous novel, "The Castle", as well as other individuals who personalized the epic history and scope of the castle's story. We witnessed the changing of the guard (trying our best to coax a smile or two), saw a window famously associated with the shockingly effective practice of definistration (one of our 8th graders knew what this meant-- do you?), and so much more. We saw how Czech history and Jewish history intertwine and how experiencing Czech not just as 8th graders from Atlanta, but as Jewish 8th graders from The Davis Academy is actually a much more compelling, naunced, and ultimately impactful experience. 

 Since last Friday's All School Sendoff Shabbat to the moment we sent released them to finally get some sleep, all chaperones agree that our kids have been nothing short of complete heroes. It's clear that they want to be here and that they want to honor the significant investment that this trip represents both for and IN each of them. Today's touring was long, high level, and intense. It was also super fun and interesting, but nonetheless, for a group of exhasted, smelly, unwashed 8th graders who just wanted to brush their teeth and be reunited with their luggage, it was a haul. While we heard plenty of "when do we think we'll get to the hotel" I can honestly say that I heard not a single complaint. They were astonishngly awesome. 

 Speaking of awesome. It's time to get some awesome rest. There's so much more that I could share from today, but it's best to ease into things. Many seeds of conversations, insights, and meaning were planted today by our FOUR guides (two from Israel, two local). In terms of a sweet memory, we made our way from Prague Castle to the Idris Hotel via city tram. But not just any city tram, an antique city tram evocative of Prague's past, and one that was booked as a private ride for our group. Clearly exhausted, cleary committed to this being a life changing trip, we churned our way through Prague, mostly in silence, taking in the architecture, sharing the occasional smile, watching the occasional classmate nod off, and wondering what tomorrow will bring. Thank you for taking a chance on Prague and Budapest. I am confident we made a brilliant choice.