"Rejoicing for what was; commemorating what is no longer."
SAMPLE ITINERARY
Day One
We will begin our touring at Warsaw's Jewish cemetery, and learn of over 200 years of Warsaw's rich Jewish life. We will visit the Warsaw Ghetto, including Mila 18, the bunker headquarters of the Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB) - the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Heroes. After visiting the Umschlagplatz, the location from where an estimated 300,000 Jews were gathered for deportation, we will end our day of touring in Treblinka.
Day Two
We will being our day at the Yeshiva of Chachmei Lublin, the prestigious pre-Holocaust Yeshiva where one needed to memorise 400 pages of Talmud to apply. We will revive the Yeshiva with guided Torah study. We will visit the nearby Majdanek Concentration Camp. We will end our day of touring with a “tisch” at the Kever of Rabbi Elimelech of Lezajsk, the first Polish “Chassidic” Rebbe.
Day Three
We will visit the picturesque baroque synagogue of the town of Lancut and Tarnow's Old Synagogue and market square. We will commemorate the child victims at Zbylitowska Gora. We will visit the Old Jewish cemetery of Krakow, where we will "meet" the 16th century halachic authorities, Rabbi Moshe Isserles (Ramah), Rabbi Yoel Sirkis (Bach), and Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Heller.
Day Four
We will experience Shabbat prayers with Krakow’s Jewish Community, and take a walking tour of Krakow's Synagogues, including the Rema, Temple, and Alta Synagogues. Our festive Shabbat meals will be held in the first Bais Yaakov school, opened by Sarah Schnerir. Known by her students as “Mama Sara”, she was a pioneer of women’s Torah study. We will visit the Krakow Ghetto to gain an understanding of Jewish life in the ghetto and hear of heroic righteous gentiles.
Day Five
In many ways, Auschwitz/Birkenau has become the symbol of the Holocaust. We will spend the day exploring this infamous camp known for its selections, living conditions, and gas chambers.
Day Six
We will visit the Lodz Ghetto, where the Judenrat relayed a decree requiring parents to hand their children to the Germans. At Lodz's Jewish cemetery we will hear of the miracle of the 6 empty mass graves. We will visit Chelmno, the first German extermination camp. In Piazecno, we will visit a mikva of heroism.