April 27 — From Poland to Israel, from ashes to rebirth

Max R. '23
First of all, I just want to say I’m truly blessed and thankful for BT and all their hard work for allowing me and my friends to go on a trip like this. Everything we learned about in Jewish history about the Holocaust was very emotional. But seeing it, in person, just felt different. I didn’t cry, as much as I wanted to — I was more just frozen. Walking into Auschwitz, I was numb. I was standing there with a bland face, and just observing. I couldn’t form a sentence. To see that this actually happened, that I was stepping foot onto the same grounds that our brothers and sisters were killed, felt completely different. What really got to me the most was seeing the bullets on the outside of the bunkers. The Nazis lined up the Jews and shot them, one by one. And the bullet holes were in the bunkers. The Poland part of the trip was very emotional, but something that’s very important for a Jewish person to see. 

Landing in Israel, it felt unreal. Not because it was my first time, but because knowing that almost the whole Jewish population got annihilated, and then knowing we have our own country is a miracle. Israel is beautiful. On day one, all we did was have free time in the Shuk, and seeing all the different types of Jews was amazing. Seeing everyone having fun, enjoying their time was something I was so happy to be apart of. It’s only day one of the Israel part, and I’ve already had a blast. Cannot wait for the rest of the trip.

Chloe L. '23
On Friday we arrived to Israel and went straight to the shuk, just in time to see everyone shopping for their Shabbat essentials. It was an amazing welcome to the country because the market was so busy and it felt like a breath of fresh air knowing we were finally home. 

When we got to our hotel, we met with a few alumni chaperones who would be with us for Shabbat. It was really nice getting to reconnect with our friends in Israel after not seeing them for a year, and it made Shabbat even better because it felt like an old all-school Shabbaton. The alumni taught us new songs at our tisch and we also sang our BT favorites. We had amazing Shabbat dinner at our hotel after services (huge Israeli food buffet. I may have had three plates in front of me. YUM) and then everyone hung out together. 

It was so special coming to Israel on Friday because we got to go straight into Shabbat all together and just be happy after our difficult Poland trip. On Shabbat, we got to sleep in, and then spent the day resting and enjoying each other’s companies. Overall, it was a fantastic first two days in Israel and a great Shabbat.