FSU Trip (Israel [sort of] update)

Well my FSU trip is over, and it was definitely a great adventure. First I will give some general insights [salute] into my travels, and then I'll go into details about each day.

[An aside: for convenience, here is a link to pictures from the trip, which can also be found at the bottom: http://s1170.photobucket.com/user/EricLAbbott/media/FSU%20Trip%20-%20Berlin%20and%20Russia%20-%203-20-13--4-2-13/IMG_7876_zpsec7a993b.jpg.html].

So the first part of our trip, from March 20 to March 23, was spent in Berlin learning about the Holocaust, as well as a bit about Reform and German Jewry in general. While on the one hand this was great to see one of the epicenters of the Holocaust, on the other hand the best thing about the Berlin trip was that it reinforced first-hand that German Jewry was not limited to that twelve year span of 1933-1945. German Jewry has a vibrant history that goes back generations prior to the Holocaust and is once again growing today. Thank you to the Claims Conference for giving us a grant to go to Berlin, and thank you to Jeremy Leigh, our professor and Berlin tour guide, who helped get us this grant.

From Berlin, Sam, Matti (a friend and fellow HUC student), and I flew to Moscow to begin our FSU Project. Thank you to everyone who helped get us here! It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, partially because it gave us the opportunity to see Moscow, but more importantly because it gave us the opportunity to learn about Jews in Russia. Russia is a crazy place--though I did not see a single meteor or dash-cam. (Yet I did see a mini museum exhibit about the meteor, and I think that the drivers in Russia might in fact be crazier than the drivers in Israel.) Russia is a beautiful place with a rich history. Despite being under Soviet control for 75 years, Russia is in many ways more developed than Israel, and it is very much like a modern European country. Yet as much as I liked it there, and as much as Sam does, I could never live there, don't worry.

Both Jewish communities, in Moscow and in Chelyabinsk, were vibrant and extremely welcoming. They were both very modern; for example, both communities used a projector to display pictures and videos during the Seder, which is something I want to take away from them. They also were very kind to us--they often invited us out to dinner and were a pleasure to spend time with. Yet despite the warmth within each community, and despite the lack of any anti-Semitic acts by the Russians, it was still obvious that things are repressed here. We were advised not to wear anything outwardly Jewish, and even the Orthodox Jews that we met would wear baseball caps in public, over their kippot (yarmulkes) (those with broad, Haredi hats would carry them in their cases in public). Russia has come a long way, but it still has a long way to go.

So here is a summary of what happened on each day (warning--there's a lot of text):

Wednesday 3/20/13

The day began with class, Israel Seminar, which is our weekly class where we learn about Israeli society, usually somehow hands-on. On this day, we went to South Tel Aviv to learn about refugees and asylum seekers in Israel. It was convenient that we were already in Tel Aviv, near the airport, since that was the day that Obama landed in Israel and the highway from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv closed early. The FSU people left early from the seminar, took a train to the airport, and left for Berlin. We arrived in Berlin late at night, around 10pm, and so we were all pretty tired. We didn't really do much at night except hang out in the hostel (which had a theme of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).

Thursday 3/21/13

The grave of
Moses Mendelssohn.

The day began bright and early at 8:30am, and we walked around Berlin for a bit. Boy was it cold! It was snowing and the temperature was in the 30's, and after living in Israel for nine months, I was not used to this. It took some getting used to (and some adding of new layers), but eventually I settled in and was actually quite warm for most of the rest of the trip. On Thursday, we first gathered at a street which essentially translates into "Jew Street," and we discussed what it means to a) name a street for the Jews in medieval times and b) restore that name in modern times. We saw a few other minor Berlin sites, and then went to a small cemetery. This cemetery was where Moses Mendelssohn is buried. Mendelssohn is probably the most important figure for the beginning of modern Judaism, as he was the first person to reform Jewish living and especially Jewish education (though not Jewish law/ritual) and can be claimed by both Reform and Modern Orthodox Jews as the person who sparked their denominations. Unfortunately the cemetery was destroyed in the Holocaust, but Mendelssohn's grave has been restored. The cemetery was locked, but a few of us managed to find a way over the fence and take some pictures.

Right next to the cemetery was a Jewish school, which of course closed down for the Holocaust but has also been restored and reopened as a Jewish school. Josh, another rabbinic student, is very connected to this school because it is where his great-great-grandfather went to school. He told us some other stories about his grandfather along the trip.

View from the New Berlin Synagogue.

The New Berlin Synagogue.

From there we went to the New Berlin Synagogue, which was a Reform synagogue before the Holocaust. It was half destroyed in Kristallnacht, and then another quarter destroyed by allied bombing, but has been restored in the last couple of decades. It now houses a museum as well as a small, liberal synagogue within.

Berlin Victory Column

Then we went to the Berlin Victory Column, which while not necessarily Holocaust or Jewish related, was used by us as a reference to talk about Jewish identity alongside national identity.

Reichstag

After that we were going to go to the Weissensee Cemetery, but it was closed (even though they told Jeremy over the phone that it was going to be open), so instead we went to the Reichstag, and then we met with a local Liberal rabbi who told us about life in Germany and what it's like to be a Reform rabbi here. He was definitely interesting to listen to, although he also had a sort of negative outlook on life in Germany, and I also was falling asleep by the end since we met at 8pm. After meeting with him we went to dinner and then bed.

Friday 3/22/13

The grave of
Lewis Lewandowski.

The grave of Leo Baeck
(and his wife, Natalie).

The first thing we did on Friday morning was go to the Weissensee Cemetery, now that it was open. This is a giant cemetery that managed to avoid destruction during the Holocaust. Many Jews are buried here, mostly non-famous, but also including some famous Jews, such as Leo Baeck (an important German and British Reform Jew), Louis Lewandowski (probably the most important Classical Reform musical composer), and others. From there, we travelled to the Wannsee Villa, which is where the decision for the implementation of the Final Solution was finalized during the Holocaust. It was a very nice building, basically a tiny mansion, among other 

Wannsee Villa

Berlin deportation center.

beautiful houses, and it's interesting that such a nice place was where it was decided to murder all of 

the Jews. Then we travelled to the Berlin deportation center, where thousands of Jews were deported from Berlin to various concentration camps.

After lunch (where we went to an American diner themed 

Street art/graffiti

restaurant), we went to a random side street which had two things. First, it had a museum for someone who hid Jews in his work-place, and second, it had amazing graffiti art throughout it. We saw a couple of other sites, and then it was time for Shabbat.

Outside the Classical
Reform synagogue.

For Shabbat, we split up and had the opportunity to choose from a few options which synagogue we wanted to go to. Sam went to a different one than I did--in fact, we often went our separate ways on this trip, which was good because we each got to do our own thing. I chose to go to a very Classical Reform synagogue with ten other FSU-ers. This place was as Classical Reform as you can get. There was an organ with a choir, which was up behind the bima (pulpit) and hidden from view; the cantor had beautiful solos and often the congregation did not join in; 

Inside the Classical Reform synagogue.

there was a sermon (though it was only 15 minutes, not an hour); and there was even separate seating for men and women! It was a wonderful 

Jeremy leading prayers during dinner
...at a restaurant.

opportunity to see some of the roots of Reform Judaism.

After services we all met up for dinner, where Jeremy led us in  the motzi and kiddush (despite the waiters having no idea why he would want two pieces of bread and a single glass of wine before eating).

Saturday 3/23/13

There were a few options on Saturday morning. Most people went to an exhibit in the Berlin town hall about Jews who had lived in Berlin before the Holocaust, and a few people went to services. I had a cold for most of Berlin, and I chose to sleep in a bit to recuperate--which was probably the best decision, since I ended up feeling better by the next day.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Then we walked around downtown Berlin for a while, and we saw from afar some classic buildings as well as some buildings that no longer exist, and we discussed: when organizing a city, what buildings do you keep as a memento to past society and which do you destroy? The no-longer-existing building that we chose to "look at" was an East Berlin, communist building, so we discussed what it would mean to keep it as a reminder that communism was a part of the city and that the city was split, vs. what it means to destroy it and move on. During this walking tour of the city we also got to see a protest against racism and homophobia, and we saw some classic Berlin buildings, such as their tomb of the unknown soldier. The interesting thing about this tomb is that it begs the question, which soldier does it represent? WWI soldiers, Nazis, Communists, or others?

Brandenburg Gate

Berlin Holocaust Memorial

Inside the Berlin Holocaust Memorial

After lunch we talked about German society, saw the famous Brandenburg Gate, and then went to the Berlin Holocaust memorial. This is definitely one of the strangest memorials I have ever been to. It is a series of cement blocks, all about the length and width of a coffin, though varying in height from a foot to about eight feet. The memorial is in the middle of the city, right up against the sidewalk, and there are barely any markers telling what it is (there is an information center, but it's behind the memorial and easy to miss). On the one hand the memorial is in your face, but on the other hand one can easily walk right by it or not realize it's a Holocaust memorial. I'm still conflicted over how I feel about (which is what I believe the designer had in mind).

The last thing we did was go to the Jewish Museum, which was a relief because we were all very cold and needed to go indoors (I was surprisingly one of the warmest people this trip, and even I was getting cold--others were having trouble feeling toes and fingers). This was an interesting museum, talking about Jewish history, especially in Germany, but again not focusing on the Holocaust. After that we went out to dinner and then got ready for Sunday--which was when we all split up for our various FSU communities!

Sunday 3/24/13

View from my hotel

On Sunday, we bid farewell to Berlin…super early, waking up to leave the hostel by 7am. We ordered a cab and eventually made our way to the Berlin airport, and then headed off to Moscow. We finally arrived, and it was still very cold…and snowing! We met our translator, Emma, and she was fantastic to work with and hang out with all week. Emma has worked with the WUPJ before, worked at GUCI Camp (a URJ camp), and is part of the Moscow Progressive community. She not only translated for us when we spoke with people, but also read menus for us, negotiated prices for cabs, helped us order meals, and more. Plus she is also studying to be a tour guide, so we learned a lot about Moscow while with her. On the first day, since we were tired and it was already evening, she took us to a local mall where we ate dinner--and where I got my first sight of how globalized/Americanized Russia is! There was a Sbarro, a McDonalds, and a Burger King, among others, and later in the week we also saw many more American restaurants. After eating, we bought water--since you can't drink the water in Moscow--then we went back to the hotel and prepared for the Seder, and finally went to bed.

Monday 3/25/13

Inside the Jewish Museum.

Monday night was the first night of Passover, but earlier in the day we toured around Moscow for a bit. After sleeping in (yay!), we went to the Jewish Museum, which is one of the most technologically advanced museums I've ever seen. There were touch screens, a 4D movie (3D plus wind/mist/moving chairs/etc.), interactive Torah scrolls and books, and more. While a lot of it was in Russian, we had a guide, so it worked out.

One of the gates to the Kremlin.

A giant cannon in the Kremlin

Inside one of the Kremlin churches

From there, we went to the Kremlin. I'll admit I did not know much about Russian history or about Moscow going into this trip, but of course I had heard of the Kremlin. The Kremlin is basically the original Moscow, an old fortress that contains within it some old and some current government buildings, many churches, and more. It was very cold and snowy on this day, but it was still worth it to see the Kremlin up close. We went in two of the Churches, and they are absolutely beautiful inside--nothing like the typical Protestant or Catholic churches which I am used to seeing in the US, or even the ancient 

Sam and I within the Kremlin

churches of Israel. The insides are absolutely wonderfully decorated, with many colors and intricate details.

Matti, Sam, and I at the Kremlin

The senior rabbi
speaking at the Seder.

After touring, we went back to the hotel, rested, and then got ready, and then soon went to the local Progressive congregation for the first night of Passover. The community center is really beautiful. It was not very big, only 

At the Seder

about ten rooms on one floor of a building, but it was still very 

contemporary and very elegant. They had one large room where we had the Seder and where they often have services, though the room can also divide into three smaller rooms. The Seder was very modern and engaging, and they used many modern techniques which I had never seen before and which I want to take with me back to the USA. For example, the leaders (two rabbis and a cantor) used a projector and had a screen behind them during the whole Seder. Most of the time there was simply a picture on display, but they also used the display to show videos, pictures, and more. For example when they called the children up for the Four Questions, they played a kids version of the song from YouTube on the screen, which had Russian subtitles. During the various sections of the Seder, they would have a picture displaying that component; for instance, during the kiddush, there was a wine cup, and after the blessing was said, there was a picture of someone drinking from a goblet.

The community was also very warm and welcoming. Many people came over to us and chatted with us, and many people spoke English. Our role was to lead a thirty minute kids' program, which we did 

Sam and Matti (left) and Emma (right)
working with the children at the Seder.

and it was great. We discussed the Seder plate, first talking about each element in Russian, Hebrew, and English, and then discussing what each thing means. Not all the kids spoke English, but a couple spoke Hebrew and all spoke Russian, so between Matti's and my Hebrew and Emma's translations, we were able to communicate effectively. After talking about it, we let the kids color their own Seder plate. Some of the older children seemed a little bored with coloring, so we also played a couple of (non-Pesach) games. Besides working with the kids, we also helped sing a couple of songs of Hallel.

Two additional fun things this community did during their Seder stand out to me. First, after the meal, they had an "Afikoman 

The adults singing "Echad Mi Yodea"

auction." Each table would bid money and whoever donated the most won a framed piece of the Afikoman, and the highest bidder overall won a special prize (a bottle of wine). I was the highest bidder at my table, so I won the framed matzah, though that's partially because a) there weren't many people at our table after the meal, b) I think that since I was a guest, we didn't have a bidding war and everyone let me win, and c) I don't think anyone else really wanted it. This was a nice activity, and kept people engaged at first because they had an MC go around to each table and joke with them to get them to bid more. The only downside is that the MC did a single table at a time, and so it took a while to get through all twelve or so tables. The other fun thing was that they had two versions of post-dinner songs, one for kids and one for adults. For the kids, they brought up a YouTube clip of "Chad Gadya" and the kids did a little presentation. The version for adults had us doing Echad Mi Yodea, but with hand motions and it kept getting faster and faster, yet was still a ton of fun.

Tuesday 3/26/13

We got to sleep in again, but then we went straight from the hotel to the airport to fly to Chelyabinsk. I was a little hesitant about flying within Russia, since I assumed we would be on an old, Soviet-era, tiny propeller plane or something. It turns out that Chelyabinsk is a big city with over a million people, so it has a real airport and we took a regular jet. The ride to Chelyabinsk was interesting, because I got to see the real Russian countryside, and some of the parts of Russia that are not quite Europeanized. Chelyabinsk itself, though, is a modern, vibrant city--it's no Moscow, but it's definitely a modern city. After landing, we met with three of the local Jewish community leaders, who were all about our age. Chelyabinsk does not have a Progressive rabbi, and these young adults are all madrichim (guides) for the Progressive movement who lead various Liberal activities. We got dinner and discussed our plans for the Seder for Wednesday night, and also just talked and hung out.

Wednesday 3/27/13

Sam and I in Chelyabinsk

We woke up and got to tour the city. Again, I was surprised by the size and complexity of Chelyabinsk. It has cool statues, modern restaurants, classical style buildings as well as contemporary ones, and more. We also went to a museum about Chelyabinsk, which began with natural 

Matt, Sam, Emma,
and I in Chelyabinsk

history (taxidermied animals, ancient human bones, arrowheads, etc.) and eventually progressed through pre-modern Russian Chelyabinsk to Soviet-era society, and then to today.

There was also a mini exhibit about the meteor that hit, including pictures and a video with interviews. Speaking of the meteor, the hotel we stayed in had a bunch of cracked/broken windows from the meteor!

An exhibit of the meteor

Inside the museum.

After touring and lunch, we went back to the hotel, got ready, and 

Outside the Jewish community building

then headed off to the Seder. The Seder was held in the Jewish community center, which holds all sorts of offices and rooms for different groups: a few Liberal/Progressive groups, Chabad, elderly Jewish caregivers, and more. There was also an art room, which had 

some amazing pieces that were created by community members, including special needs children.

The Seder itself was run by the Progressive community's madrichim, with the three of us helping out for a few specific things (and Emma translating). Sam taught about the orange on the Seder plate (which supports inclusivity of women 

At the Seder, before it started

and the LGBT community), I taught about and led the Kiddush, Matti gave an alternative teaching about the Four Sons, and we all helped sing "Dayeinu". The Seder itself was on the shorter side, though while slightly abridged it still contained most elements of a regular Seder. Like 

Beautiful art in Chelyabinsk

Moscow, they used a projector and screen to display videos, music, and pictures. Each person had what I thought was a 

Sam teaching about the orange.

Matti giving a drash
about the Four Sons

Seder plate in front of them, because there were a few types of veggies, potatoes, an egg, and a cooked chicken leg on each plate. It turns out that that was dinner, though, and while it held me over, the food was cold and wasn't that amazing. It worked out, though, because after the Seder we went out to a bar and hung out with a few of the community members, who were again around our age so it was a nice time.

 

Me, teaching about the Kiddush

The four of us, and our three madrichim.

Emma, me, Sam, and Matti

Thursday 3/28/13

Walking up to the Red Square

The "Lenin" Museum

Red Square

St. Basil's Cathedral

We had to wake up and be ready to go at 5am so that we could fly back to Moscow, and so by the time we landed we were all still quite tired and napped for a good chunk of the morning and early afternoon. After our nap, we went out for more touring of Russia. This time we went to the Red Square, where we got to see some of the most famous sites of Russia, including St. Basil's Cathedral. We also went to the Lenin Museum (it has a new name now, and is about Russian history not Lenin, but I forget the name). While interesting, it was also only in Russian, and to be honest…I have seen a lot of museums in the past year and so I was a bit bored by the end. At the end of the day Sam and I bid farewell to Matti and Emma, since 

Red Square

our official FSU trip was over (Sam and I extended our stay).

Friday 3/29/13

Approaching the Red Square at night

Red Square at night

Friday Sam and I left the hotel and went to our hostel, which was a small adventure of using the bus and metro system on our own. Eventually we got there, and then spent a good chunk of our day on a busy pedestrian street (I forget the name). It had many shops, including a bunch of souvenir shops, street vendors, and of course 

St. Basil's Cathedral at night

restaurants--including Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, Wendy's, a Johnny Rockets, and more. After walking up and down the street (which took a few hours), we eventually went to dinner, which meant walking about 20 blocks to find a restaurant that Sam found online…which wasn't there. We found another restaurant, though, so it worked out in the end. After that we headed back to the Red Square to see it at night.

Saturday 3/30/13

One of many
interesting gravestones

Saturday Sam and I again slept in, and then ate lunch at an American diner themed restaurant. From there we went to find a famous, large convent, but when we first saw it we could not find the entrance. While looking for it, we found a cemetery. I do not really know anything about the cemetery, but there were some beautiful and elaborate gravestones. We finally found the convent, which had some mini-museums as well as beautiful Russian Orthodox churches. After that we went back to the pedestrian street, and eventually got dinner there.

Sunday 3/31/13

Outside the synagogue

Inside the synagogue

Once again we slept in, and then from there we went to a large, Orthodox Moscow synagogue (once again…I'm not sure of the name). It was quite magnificent inside. While there, an orthodox man introduced himself to Sam (I was taking pictures and then joined them), and since that night was a special night of Passover, he invited us to his house for dinner. We thanked him for the invite and got his information, not sure if we could make it or not.

Outside the Gulag Museum

We then went to the Gulag Museum, which is a smallish museum about the Soviet labor camps. The permanent exhibit is sort of small but it has lots of pictures and descriptions, mostly about the lives of select individuals who were arrested and sent to the camps, plus some artwork by ex-inmates. There is also a temporary exhibit all about censorship in the USSR, which showed original and doctored pictures which were censored by the Soviet regime.

Eventually, we decided to accept that Orthodox man's offer, and so we went to services first and met him there. We then went to his house, and it turns out that he is an Orthodox rabbi. He is originally from Canada, married a woman from the UK, and together they moved to Russia, albeit temporarily (eight years ago…). His apartment was very nice, there were about 14 people there for dinner, and many people spoke English in addition to (or even instead of) Russian. The food was great, and it was nice to have some real traditional Passover food (rather than faking it as we had been).

Monday 4/1/13

Soviet symbol

A statue in the metro

This was our last day in Moscow, but our flight was at 3am Tuesday morning so we checked out of our hostel, left our stuff there, and went out for the day. This was actually the worst day concerning weather, because while on the one hand it was warmer than the rest of the trip, it was also raining (it turns out that there is something worse than snow…cold rain!). To avoid the rain as best we could, Sam and I decided to tour the metro system. The metro has some stations with the most beautiful 

A massive escalator
at the metro

artwork and décor in any subway system, and so we decided to look at it. We saw a few sculptures, many Soviet era symbols, and more. After we were done with this, we were sort of tired from walking around for a while, and since it was cold and wet out, we decided to go back to the hostel and hang out for a while. We got an email from one of the Progressive rabbis inviting us to a restaurant for an end of Passover/bread eating event, and so we 

Artwork in the metro,
with Soviet imagery

went there for dinner. We were able to talk with both rabbis from their community as well as a few other community members whom we had yet to meet. After that we went back to the hostel, and then headed out to the airport.

Tuesday 4/2/13

We hung out at the airport for a while and then took a 3am flight back home to Israel. We landed at 7, and I got to Jerusalem by 9:15, and while I missed morning services and my first class, I ended up making it to the rest of my classes. And with that, our trip was over!

*****

So that was my trip! I learned a ton about Russia and Russian Jewry, and it felt good to help these communities. Thank you to everyone who helped!

Once again, you can see pictures of the trip here: http://s1170.photobucket.com/user/EricLAbbott/library/FSU%20Trip%20-%20Berlin%20and%20Russia%20-%203-20-13--4-2-13