Day 1, Warsaw: posted by Jules Olsman

As LOT Airlines Flight 04 from Chicago touched down at the Warsaw airport, I gave pause to the fact that it had been 62 years since anyone in my family had been in Poland. The last time it occurred, my father, Charles Olsman returned after the end of the war to learn that all seven of his siblings and their families had apparently perished. He then left and never returned.. I am confident that he never imagined that his son would ever journey here.


We went directly from the airport to the 200 year old Okapova Cemetery. Here are the graves of many distinguished Polish Jews going back two hundred years.. There is also a large open area covered by grass containing an unknown number of men, women and children who died in the Warsaw Ghetto and were buried en masse. Our group led by Rabbi Berkun said Kaddish in what can only be described as a very emotional moment.

One our guides, Muki, a self described Jewish educator from South Africa keeps reminding us that there is much to talk about here in Warsaw in terms of Jewish history, but not all that much to see, because it was all destroyed. His commentary at the Monument to the Uprising and the Umschlagplatz, the site of the railroad deportation of 300,000 Jews was informative. The places themselves are profoundly inspiring and disturbing, as they should be to all of humanity.

When we watched the Pianist, it seemed hard to believe that the destruction of Warsaw by the Germans could have been as devastating as it was depicted. It is obvious from driving around this centuries old city that the devastation was indeed nearly complete. Very little “old” remains here.

We enjoyed a very good dinner together. We look forward to continuing this very emotional trip tomorrow as we head to Lublin.

Posted By Jules Olsman.

Here is a link to photgraphs from today: http://picasaweb.google.com/jonberkun/Day1PolandWarsawMondayApril302007

Preparing to Depart

We are sitting at the Lot Airlines gate at Chicago Ohare International airport, about to board our direct flight to Warsaw, Poland. Yesterday, many of us were called up to the Torah for an aliyah during services in Southfield. We received a blessing for our journey, and together prayed that our experience be meaningful and memorable.
As I walked around the shul during the Torah procession, members of the congregation extended well wishes for a safe return. Towards the end, an elderly woman took my hand and held on longer than usual. I knew she was a survivor, and that she had grown up in Poland. She told me to send them a message from her--that she is still here. She told me to "remind them of their atrocities in 1946," of a "brutal and barbaric" pogrom which she witnessed. They attacked Jews who had survived the camps, all of them having returned to their homes to begin their lives over again. She told me she attended 42 funerals in one day. She went to them all. "Remind them," she said. "Remind them what they did to us."
Over dinner tonight at the airport, someone asked me about the last time I visited Poland. I was 17 years old, I told her, and it changed my life forever. She asked, "What kind of an impact do you imagine this will have on us, who will see these places for the first time as adults?" I believe these experiences are life altering, regardless of when we have them. Only the sooner we see them, the sooner we can lead a life transformed.

Detailed Itinerary

DAY ONE: Sunday, April 29, 2007
DEPARTURE
5:00 p.m. Depart Detroit on Northwest Airlines flight NW1251.
5:22 p.m. Arrive in Chicago.
9:55 p.m. Depart Chicago on LOT Airline flight LO4.
Overnight: Flight

DAY TWO: Monday, April 30, 2007
WARSAW: THE CAPITAL OF POLISH JEWRY
2:10 p.m. Arrive at Warsaw International Airport.
• Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities.

4:00 p.m. Guided visit through the Warsaw Ghetto, including the Remnants of the Ghetto Wall, The Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, Mila 18, headquarters of the Warsaw Ghetto and concluding program at the Umschlagplatz, site of the deportation of the Warsaw Jewish community to Treblinka.
6:00 p.m. Visit the Okapova Cemetery, a testament to the thriving Jewish community of Warsaw in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, where great rabbis, thinkers, scientists and Jews from all walks of life are buried.
7:00 p.m. Check into the hotel for rest and relaxation.
8:00 p.m. Dinner at a Warsaw restaurant, followed by processing of first day.
Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel, Warsaw

DAY THREE: Tuesday, May 1, 2007
LUBLIN: THE GLORY OF POLISH JEWRY
MAJDANEK: THE MECHANISM OF DEATH
6:30 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel & morning minyan.
7:30 a.m. Check out of the hotel and depart Warsaw. Travel to Lublin.
10:00 a.m. Visit Yeshivat Chachme Lublin, one of the great centers of Jewish learning in the pre war years, established by Rabbi Meir Shapiro, founder of the Daf Yomi (Daily Page) Talmud study program.
12:00 p.m. Lunch on your own.
1:30 p.m. Guided visit through the Majdanek Death Camp, concluding with a memorial ceremony.
5:00 p.m. Depart Majdanek and drive to Krakow, with dinner en route.
9:00 p.m. Late evening check-in to the Krakow hotel.
Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel , Krakow

DAY FOUR: Wednesday, May 2, 2007
KRAKOW: A SYMBOL OF JEWISH LIFE
AUSCHWITZ: THE SYMBOL OF JEWISH DESTRUCTION
7:00 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel & morning minyan.
8:00 a.m. Depart the hotel.
• Interactive ‘Site & Text’ program in the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, once one of the most significant Jewish communities in Europe. The program will include visits to :
• The Altshul, the oldest synagogue in Poland.
• The Rema Synagogue, the synagogue of Rabbi Moses Isserles the “Rema,” the great codifier of Jewish law.
• The Rema Cemetery, where many great rabbinical leaders of Polish Jewry are buried.
• The “Pharmacy” gateway to the Ghetto, and the Jewish Ghetto.
• The Temple, Krakow’s Reform congregation.
• The Oskar Schindler factory.

12:00 p.m. Depart Krakow and travel towards Auschwitz, with a packed lunch en route.
1:00 p.m. Visit the Osvizem Jewish Center, located on the site of one of the many pre-Holocaust synagogues.
1:45 p.m. Guided walk through the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp/death camp complex, concluding with a memorial ceremony in Birkenau.
6:00 p.m. Return to Krakow.
• Dinner on your own.
Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel , Krakow

DAY FIVE: Thursday, May 3, 2007
DEPARTURE FOR ISRAEL
7:00 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel & morning minyan.
8:00 a.m. Check out of the hotel and depart.
8:30 a.m. Visit to the Plaszow concentration camp on the outskirts of Krakow, followed by memorial service.
10:00 a.m. Depart Krakow with lunch on your own en route.
1:00 p.m. Visit the town of Kielce, site of the first post-Holocaust pogrom.
2:30 p.m. Continue traveling towards Warsaw.
3:30 p.m. Stop at the town of Sidlowitz, once a thriving Jewish community, visit the Jewish Cemetery.
4:30 p.m. Continue on towards Warsaw.
6:30 p.m. Farwell dinner at restaurant near Warsaw airport.
8:30 p.m. Depart the restaurant and travel to the airport.
9:00 p.m. Check in for LOT flight LO151 to Tel Aviv.
11:55 p.m. Depart Warsaw.
Overnight: Flight

DAY SIX: Friday, May 4, 2007
ARRIVAL IN ISRAEL
4:35 a.m. Early arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport.
• Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities.
• Stop at dawn at the "Scrolls of Fire" depicting the Jewish people’s determination throughout the ages, located in the Judean Hills.
• Ascend to Jerusalem via the Judean Hills.
• Stop at the Haas Promenade to say the traditional “shehechiyanu” blessing, recited upon entering Jerusalem.

9:00 a.m. Check into the Dan Panorama Hotel, followed by breakfast.
• Free time for rest and relaxation.

1:30 p.m. Visit the Machane Yehuda open air market as residents prepare for Shabbat – with lunch on your own.
3:00 p.m. Pre Shabbat visit to the Kotel (Western Wall).
6:45 p.m. Candle lighting.
7:00 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat at a Jerusalem synagogue or at the hotel.
8:30 p.m. Private Shabbat dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

DAY SEVEN: Shabbat, May 5, 2007
SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM
• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Shabbat services.

12:30 p.m. Shabbat lunch at the hotel.
2:00 p.m. Guided walk through the streets of Jerusalem using the writings of Israel’s Nobel laureate in literature, S. Y Agnon as a guide.
• Free afternoon.

6:30 p.m. Meeting at the Conservative Center.
8:00 p.m. Havdallah overlooking the Old City.
• Dinner on your own in Jerusalem.
• Lag B’Omer night tour of Jerusalem.
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

DAY EIGHT: Sunday, May 6, 2007
SEARCHING FOR ROOTS
7:30 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel & morning minyan.
8:30 a.m. “The Memory of the Shoah in Modern Israeli Society,” with Holocaust scholar, Rachel Korazim.
10:00 a.m. Guided visit through the newly renovated Yad Vashem complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, including: the Historical Museum, the Valley of the Communities and the Children's Memorial, followed by a memorial service.
1:30 p.m. Lunch on your own in Jerusalem.
3:00 p.m. Guided visit through new sites in and around the Old City of Jerusalem including the City of David and the Davidson Park at the Southern Wall Excavations.
5:30 p.m. Meeting at the Hartman Institute.
• Evening and dinner at leisure.
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

DAY NINE: Monday, May 7, 2007
TRADITION AND SPIRITUALITY
7:00 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel & morning minyan.
8:00 a.m. Check out of the hotel and depart.
10:00 a.m. Guided visit and text study in Zippori, site of the post Second Temple Jewish Settlement and the codification of the Mishna by Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi approximately 1800 years ago.
12:30 p.m. Guided visit and Druze style lunch in Peki’in in the Upper Galilee, site of continuous Jewish residence from the destruction of the Second Temple 2,000 years ago and the cave where Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai wrote the Zohar.
3:00 p.m. Visit Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years, and a contemporary artists’ colony; visit some of the many unique synagogues, stroll through the quaint art galleries and shop in the artists’ colony.
5:30 p.m. Drive to Upper Galilee.
6:30 p.m. Sunset jeep tour of the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights with gourmet dinner in the field.
9:00 p.m. Check into the Nature Hotel.
Overnight: Nature Hotel, Kibbutz Hagoshrim, Upper Galilee

DAY TEN: Tuesday, May 8, 2007
NATURE AND SECURITY
7:00 a.m. Breakfast at the kibbutz hotel & morning minyan.
8:00 a.m. Check out of the hotel and depart.
8:30 a.m. Visit Kiriat Shmoneh and meet with local representatives for an insight into the effects of the 2006 war.
10:30 a.m. Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River and near the Biblical settlement of Dan.
12:00 p.m. Explore Israel's security situation on the Golan Heights. Observe the abandoned Syrian city of Kuneitra and the Hula Valley, and discuss the strategic importance of the area.
1:30 p.m. Travel south towards Tel Aviv, with lunch on your own en route.
• Drive along the Trans-Israel Highway for a close up view of the ‘Security Fence’ along the separation zone between Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

5:00 p.m. Arrive in Tel Aviv – Optional visit to the Nachalat Binyamin pedestrian mall, with its arts ‘n crafts fair and sidewalk artists (time permitting).
• Check into the Dan Panorama Hotel.
• Evening and dinner at leisure.
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv

DAY ELEVEN: Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A GLIMPSE AT CONTEMPORARY ISRAEL
7:30 a.m. Breakfast at the hotel & morning minyan.
8:30 a.m. ‘Israeli Society @ 2007’, dialogue with scholar Paul Liptz of the Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew Union College.
10:00 a.m. Visit to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel was signed in 1948.
11:30 a.m. Stop at Rabin Square, named after the slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
12:30 p.m. Lunch on your own in Tel Aviv.
1:30 p.m. Walking tour through Neve Zedek one of Tel Aviv’s most unique, artistic and quaint neighborhoods
• Rest of the afternoon at leisure in Tel Aviv.

6:00 p.m. Check out of the hotel.
6:30 p.m. Festive farewell dinner at the Maganda Restaurant in the Yemenite Quarter of Tel Aviv.
8:30 p.m. Travel to Ben Gurion Airport.
9:00 p.m. Check in for the flight.
Overnight: Flight

DAY TWELVE: Thursday, May 10, 2007
DEPARTURE
12:05 a.m. Depart Tel Aviv on El Al flight LY027 to Newark.
4:40 a.m. Arrive in Newark.
9:15 a.m. Depart Newark on Northwest Airlines flight NW0657 to Detroit.
11:15 a.m. Arrive in Detroit.

Flight Information

DAY ONE: Sunday, April 29, 2007
DEPARTURE
5:00 p.m. Depart Detroit on Northwest Airlines flight NW1251.
5:22 p.m. Arrive in Chicago.
9:55 p.m. Depart Chicago on LOT Airline flight LO4.
Overnight: Flight

DAY TWO: Monday, April 30, 2007
WARSAW: THE CAPITAL OF POLISH JEWRY
2:10 p.m. Arrive at Warsaw International Airport.

DAY FIVE: Thursday, May 3, 2007
DEPARTURE FOR ISRAEL
11:55 p.m. Depart Warsaw.
Overnight: Flight

DAY SIX: Friday, May 4, 2007
ARRIVAL IN ISRAEL
4:35 a.m. Early arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport.

DAY TWELVE: Thursday, May 10, 2007
DEPARTURE
12:05 a.m. Depart Tel Aviv on El Al flight LY027 to Newark.
4:40 a.m. Arrive in Newark.
9:15 a.m. Depart Newark on Northwest Airlines flight NW0657 to Detroit.
11:15 a.m. Arrive in Detroit.

List of Accomodations

ACCOMMODATIONS :

Radisson SAS Centrum Hotel
Grzybowska Street, Warsaw
Tel: +48 22 321 88 88
Fax: +48 22 321 88 89

Radisson SAS Hotel
Straszewskiego Street , Krakow
Tel: +48 12 618 88 88
Fax: +48 12 618 88 89

Dan Panorama Hotel
Keren Hayesod Street, Jerusalem
Tel: +972 2 569 5695
Fax: +972 2 623 2411

Nature Hotel
Kibbutz Hagoshrim, Upper Galilee
Tel: +972 4 681 6000
Fax: +972 4 681 6002

Dan Panorama Hotel
Kaufman Street, Tel Aviv
Tel: +972 3 519 0190
Fax: +972 3 517 1777

Summary Itinerary

Sunday, April 29, 2007
DEPARTURE
Flight from Detroit to Chicago, and Chicago to Warsaw. Overnight: Flight

Monday, April 30, 2007
WARSAW: THE CAPITAL OF POLISH JEWRY
Arrive in Warsaw. Guided visit through the Warsaw Ghetto. Program at the Umschlagplatz, site of the deportation of the Warsaw Jewish community to Treblinka. Visit the Okapova Cemetery, a testament to the thriving Jewish community of Warsaw. Check into the hotel for rest and relaxation. Dinner at a Warsaw restaurant, followed by processing of first day. Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel, Warsaw

Tuesday, May 1, 2007
LUBLIN: THE GLORY OF POLISH JEWRY & MAJDANEK: THE MECHANISM OF DEATH
Check out of the hotel and depart Warsaw. Travel to Lublin. Visit Yeshivat Chachme Lublin, one of the great centers of Jewish learning in the pre-war years. Guided visit through the Majdanek Death Camp, concluding with a memorial ceremony. Depart Majdanek and drive to Krakow, with dinner en route. Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel, Krakow

Wednesday, May 2, 2007
KRAKOW: A SYMBOL OF JEWISH LIFE & AUSCHWITZ: THE SYMBOL OF JEWISH DESTRUCTION
Tour the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, including visits to the Altshul, Rema Synagogue, Rema Cemetery, “Pharmacy” gateway to the Ghetto, the Temple, and the Oskar Schindler factory. Depart Krakow and travel to Auschwitz. Visit the Osvinzem Jewish Center, located on the site of one of the many pre-Holocaust synagogues. Guided walk through the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp/death camp complex, concluding with a memorial service in Birkenau. Return to Krakow. Dinner on your own. Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel, Krakow

Thursday, May 3, 2007
TREBLINKA & DEPARTURE FOR ISRAEL
Check out of the hotel and depart. Visit the town of Kielce, site of the first post-Holocaust pogrom OR stop at the town of Sidlowitz, once a thriving Jewish community. Arrive at the Treblinka Death Camp and tour the site. Travel to Warsaw. Dinner at a restaurant near Warsaw. Depart Warsaw on overnight flight to Tel Aviv. Overnight: Flight

Friday, May 4, 2007
ARRIVAL IN ISRAEL
Early arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport. Stop at dawn at the “Scrolls of Fire” depicting the Jewish people’s determination throughout the ages, located in the Judean Hills. Stop at the Haas Promenade to say the traditional shehechiyanu blessing. Check into the hotel followed by breakfast and time to rest. Visit the Machaneh Yehuda open air market as residents prepare for Shabbat. Pre-Shabbat visit to the Kotel (Western Wall). Candle lighting. Kabbalat Shabbat services. Shabbat dinner at the hotel. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Shabbat, May 5, 2007
SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM
Shabbat services followed by Shabbat lunch at the hotel. Guided walk through the streets of Jerusalem using the writings of Israel’s Nobel laureate in literature, S. Y. Agnon as a guide. Free afternoon. Havdalah overlooking the Old City. Dinner on your own in Jerusalem. Lag Ba’Omer night tour of Jerusalem. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Sunday, May 6, 2007
SEARCHING FOR ROOTS
Dialogue with Holocaust scholar, Rachel Korazim. Guided visit through the newly renovated Yad Vashem complex. Guided visit through new sites in and around the Old City of Jerusalem including the City of David and the Davidson Park at the Southern Wall Excavations. Evening and dinner at leisure. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Monday, May 7, 2007
TRADITION & SPIRITUALITY
Check out of the hotel and depart. Guided visit and text study in Zippori. Guided visit and Druze style lunch in Peki’in. Visit Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years, and a contemporary artists’ colony. Sunset jeep tour of the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights with gourmet dinner in the field. Check into the Nature Hotel. Overnight: Nature Hotel, Kibbutz Hagoshrim, Upper Galilee

Tuesday, May 8, 2007
NATURE & SECURITY
Check out of the hotel and depart. Visit Kiriat Sh’moneh for an insight into the effects of the 2006 war. Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve. Explore Israel's security situation on the Golan Heights. Drive along the Trans-Israel Highway for a close up view of the “Security Fence.” Arrive in Tel Aviv. Optional visit to the Nachalat Binyamin pedestrian mall. Check into the hotel. Evening and dinner at leisure. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv

Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A GLIMPSE AT CONTEMPORARY ISRAEL
‘Israeli Society @ 2007’, with scholar Paul Liptz. Visit to Independence Hall. Stop at Rabin Square, named after the slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Walking tour through Neve Zedek. Rest of the afternoon at leisure. Late check out of the hotel. Festive farewell dinner. Check in for overnight flight to Newark. Overnight: Flight

Thursday, May 10, 2007
DEPARTURE
Flight from Newark to Detroit.