Study Trip in Prague: Sunday Funday

Today (Sunday) was dedicated to touring the Jewish part of the city. A big thank you to Jacqueline for saving the day and letting me use her camera after my camera battery died immediately after breakfast! It was a jam-packed, partially snowy day! One of places that stuck out to me most was the Jewish Cemetery. If you look at the pictures you will see why. In the 15^th Century, Jews were not given a tremendous amount of land to bury their dead. The cemetery quickly filled up and no more land was granted. Rather than finding other places (which may not have existed), the Jewish community began to bury the deceased literally in layers. By the time the cemetery closed, there were thousands of headstones – oftentimes falling over on each other, relying on others to keep them up. This creative solution to a Jewish problem was very impactful for everyone in the group. The ground level of the cemetery is easily fifteen feet above the original ground level, walled on all sides. The metaphorical images of generations being built upon previous generations, and acting as support for others, was just another illustration of the challenges that Jews have faced and how we have shown great resiliency. Another highlight of the day for us, as staff, took place in the preparation for tomorrow’s trip to Terezin. We all read some poetry together – some written by children while living in the Terezin ghetto. The maturity, thoughtfulness, and honesty that this group of students has shown throughout this trip have been so impressive to everyone who has come into contact with them. We are continuously amazed with their contributions to discussions, their ability to reflect on their experiences, and the amazing sense of community that has grown to new levels during this journey together. We are truly blessed to share in this with them. – Zach

Below are a couple of reflections and pictures – more to come tomorrow.

Ben D: So far, Prague has been great. We again visited the oldest active synagogue in Europe (Alt Neu), visited some inactive synagogues (that have been turned into museums) and a memorial for the Jews that died at Terezin. After that we went to the old Jewish cemetery. I’ve never seen anything like it. Some graves had twelve bodies buried on top of each other. Although I didn’t have my camera I was still able to capture the forest of gravestones with my pohne. We then went to another museum and lunch. After lunch I bought a hat for my Dadio. Then we went to another synagogue. Then we had free time then dinner and then an insane blacklight show, then back to the hotel, then snacks, then probably playing Apples 2 Apples.

Sam G: Today was a day of synagogues. We saw the Old-New Synagogue, Meisel Synagogue, the Pinchas Synagogue, and the Spanish Synagogue. Only one of them is still in use. This surprised me. Despite the Holocaust, I had expected there to be more of a Jewish community living in Prague. Instead, I saw the remnants of a Jewish community in Prague. I did not expect it to be a happy day, but I did not expect so much death. The empty synagogues, relics of the past, combined with the cemetery, gave the day an aura of death. This was the impact of the Holocaust – entire communities wiped out. It truly was one of the worst things that has happened in human history and I understand that now. I also understand how amazing the Jewish people are. We are still alive which I saw in the Old-New Synagogue. We are here seeing this and learning about how these Jews lived. That is what I came away with today.