Our Stories

Berlin, Germany

• We started with a visit to the old Jewish neighborhood where we met with a local Jewish professor who is the only Jewish volunteer for a project called Stopelsteine or stumbling stones. This is considered a ‘counter memorial’ because it’s not a destination but rather a reminder literally embedded in the day-to-day of Berliners (among many other cities where there were victims of the Nazi regime).
  • We had the honor of cleaning the stones so that they would be even more visible to passersby and, while we did that, we read their biographies and learned about their family histories. This felt like a powerful form of service learning as we honored the victims’ memories and ensured they’d be visible to more passersby.

• On Wednesday, we visited a hostage square, akin to what’s been created in Tel Aviv but on a smaller scale. The students were deeply impacted by this experience and explored and participated in all of the exhibits. As you’ll see in the photos, our students spontaneously took the opportunity to play on the yellow piano honoring one of the hostages – this concluded with a moving rendition of HaTikvah.
• On Thursday, we spent the morning on Lake Wannsee (where the ‘final solution’ was plotted) – we reclaimed it by kayaking, playing frisbee, and picnicking at this beautiful retreat. 

• That afternoon, we headed to the American Embassy to meet the amazing Ambassador Amy Gutmann. Even though she is in the waning weeks of her time in Germany, Ambassador Gutmann shared her life story, growing up in Brooklyn as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Her father told her that “everything you do makes a difference. And everything you don’t do also makes a difference.” She emphasized the importance of never being silent or indifferent but to “stand up and speak out early and often for democracy and against antisemitism, hatred, bullying, and racism.”

• Ambassador Guttmann’s long tenure as the president of Penn informs her leadership and provides a fascinating layer to her understanding and analysis of the American experience today and the work we have to do as a society. The students were attentive, respectful, and asked thoughtful questions and the Ambassador seemed lit up to speak with them.
• Several past, present, and future MILTON parents helped to ensure this unique visit happened and we are grateful for their help – and to live in DC, the best place to make these kinds of dreams happen!

Prague, Czechia

• We all joined together at the historic Old-New Synagogue which has a particularly dramatic women’s section, reflective of the time it was constructed and renovated.
  • Since the shul was built at a time when women were not expected to attend davening, it was built without any space for women. When the community later went to build one, they had to cut through the external walls of the shul which meant that women peer through small holes cut through thick walls, making the davening challenging to hear and see.
  • We framed this as an historical and cultural experience and, in the moment and during later conversations, reflected on how this impacted each of us. Some felt spiritually moved to be in such an old and sacred space; others felt marginalized by the inequality of the separation. I remember struggling with this when I traveled there as a 20-year-old, but I had no one there to frame or reframe it for me. I hope our discussions helped our students to experience it differently.
• After Shabbat lunch, we went on a walking tour of Prague and were all stunned by its beauty. The relaxing day led to some meaningful conversations among the students and – since Prague doesn’t have an eruv – included some very intricate halachic debates about the finer details of what constitutes carrying on Shabbat.
  • For many of our students whose practice means they would only carry on Shabbat within an eruv, this was their first time experiencing Shabbat without that accommodation and learning how to make the day work nonetheless. Many of us teachers were in the same boat and shared tricks of the trade like leaving keys at the reception, wearing one’s tallit to shul, etc. And everyone learned how to find and take the stairs!

After shabbat, we toured Prague (with cameras this time) – visiting a famous statue and the grave of the Maharal (the prolific Chief Rabbi of Prague) whose legacy includes everything from the myth of the Golem (in which he is a star character) to a reinvention of the way Talmudic stories (Aggadah) were analyzed and understood. The students have been learning about him with Daniel and Liz in preparation for the trip and his ideas have been a major thread through our journey.

• To celebrate Lag B’Omer, we researched and found a kosher outpost for a classic Czech fire-roasted dessert called tredelnik (chimney cake filled with strawberries and vanilla ice cream) to celebrate – the kids loved this surprise. 
• Finally, we continued our celebration of Lag B’Omer and exploration of Prague at a concert at the unbelievably beautiful and intricate Spanish Synagogue followed by dinner, bentching, and packing for our final leg in Vienna.

Vienna, Austria

We made our way from Prague to Vienna and began touring this city filled with very ornate, intimidating, and beautiful architecture, and spent some time with local tour guides at the Jewish Museum of Vienna. We rode the 1897 Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel with beautiful sunset views before turning in for the night. We began our final day with shacharit at a local Jewish Day School followed by a mifgash (meet-up and conversation) with their 8th graders. Many students cited this time in the cafeteria with their Viennese peers to be a pivotal moment in the trip and in their thinking about Jewish peoplehood.  

We are grateful to the students for being easy travelers and wonderful friends to each other – Their relationships and connections to the broader Jewish world were an honor to witness firsthand. While we are already booking next year’s tickets to Israel, this one-time trip to Central Europe will hold a special place in our school’s history.