Tomorrow

June 25th at JFK

I spent this evening with a group of nearly 40 Eisner Camp teens and their counselors, as we prepared for tomorrow’s visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau.  I was profoundly moved by tonight’s conversations: first about pictures, facts and quotes related to the Holocaust; and ultimately by the profound sensitivity, thought and feelings expressed as we went around the circle sharing whatever each person wished to share. We sat together, on the eve of what I can only imagine will be a profoundly moving, disturbing and unforgettable visit.  As Mai, the senior group leader told the teens, “Later this summer we will visit what is often called the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea. But,” Mai explained, “I think tomorrow we will visit the lowest place on earth.”

I shared with the group that I have been anticipating this day for longer than any of them, staff included, have been alive. I explained that tomorrow’s visit is particularly meaningful for me for two reasons beyond the visit itself. The first is the reality that all four of my own children have been to Auschwitz-Birkenau on trips with NFTY and their Eisner friends. Two of my children have visited twice.  For as much as I have studied, read and taught about the Shoah, I have been unable to fully understand what my own children shared with me and their mother following their visits.  Tomorrow I will be able to speak with my children about our experiences and reactions in an entirely new light.

The second reason is because of the roles that Eisner Camp and my own NFTY experiences played in my decision to pursue the rabbinate. I shared with them that I am honored, and even comforted, to be making this visit with this group of Eisner Camp travelers. I have known many of these young people over the years as I have been a member of the Eisner faculty.  As I told them, “I feel privileged to make this visit with them.”

In the "Secret Synagogue" at Terezin

That second reason holds yet another meaning for me which I did not share in our circle. Tomorrow is June 30th.  It marks my last official day as Senior Rabbi of my congregation where I have had the joy and privilege of serving for 18 years.  While there will yet be a path forward within the congregation, that lies down the road. As tomorrow comes and goes, I close one chapter of my rabbinate as I anticipate with curiosity and excitement the next chapter, which I will begin to write in the coming year.  For me to close this chapter as a chaperone and rabbi-in-residence with this summer’s NFTY L’Dor VaDor participants brings me back, in a very tangible way, to the way in which my rabbinic journey began as I entered the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion to begin my studies in 1978.

Earlier today at "Schindler's Factory"

These have been difficult months, and even years, in our world.  I cannot think about tomorrow’s visit without thinking about some of the horrors other people are experiencing our world today. Listening to the young people with whom I sat in a darkened room, as one-by-one we shared our thoughts about tomorrow was uplifting. So many times as the 39 teens shared what was in their hearts, on the eve of our visit to darkness, I felt hope and found light. None of them were denying what lies ahead in tomorrow's itinerary. But so many spoke about how this week (really only four days so far) in Eastern Europe has caused them to reconsider what it means to be a Jew. So many spoke of how they are certain that so much they have taken for granted, they will now approach mindfully and willingly. I cannot possibly fully express the gratitude I feel – to NFTY, to Eisner Camp – and to our young people for allowing me to share this journey with them, and for the words they spoke which cause a great sense of hope for tomorrow. Not tomorrow as June 30th, with all it holds, and all it means (including on a very personal level.) I am speaking of tomorrow as these young people continue their journeys, and take their place and leaders and active members of our Jewish communities. We are blessed!