Thoughts....

As I look back through my high-school career I can think of no learning experience that has completely altered the way in which I view the world than my Eastern European Holocaust academic tour with a Jewish historian. I was one of fourteen students. Never have I experienced a learning intensive that has touched my heart as this trip has. I am writing this from a hotel in the Czech Republic after spending four emotional days in Poland, touring through Warsaw, Lublin, and Krakow. After walking the steps of my cultural ancestors, hearing individual tales of Jewish resistance fighters (both physically and spiritually) and witnessing the sites of pure evil, “the basement of humanity,” my worldly view has drastically changed. I am a secular Jew and I attend a Jewish Day school. I have taken for granted the ability to learn about Judaism, to study from the Torah; I suppose that I have never realized the horrors that my people went through to keep the tradition alive. I have a fire within myself to follow the lead of my cultural protectors. The portable aspect of our religion comes through books. No matter how many are banned or burned, books always sneak through the cracks and can be passed down to future generations. It was once theirs, but is now my burden to learn and continue Jewish learning and heritage so my descendants can keep the faith.

Rav Shapira instituted into the Chasidic community the practice of Daf Yomi, learning one page of Talmud every day. Although I know that this is a rather large stretch for my ability I feel it my responsibility to show kavana and make my way through the Talmud within my life. My secular eyes have been opened and the importance of my Judaism has become more and more clear. Evil has tried to extinguish my people yet the depths of my ancestor’s faith and knowledge has prevailed through the indescribable trials and tribulation. As I see the Jewish faith diminishing within the young people of the secular world I feel I can not sit back and watch it happen. I believe that the time has come in my life to take my Judaism seriously and intensely study the books of my culture so that the knowledge can pass onto the generations to come.

Slater S.
Class of 2013