Day 1 – Monday, February 16, 2009

I am pleased to be sharing with you some of my reflections of my trip to Prague – I want to thank those of you who encouraged and enabled me to attend this important mission.
On the mission are 35 colleagues from around the Chicago area, representing synagogues and organizations of differing backgrounds and denominations. The mission is led by Rabbi Yechiel Poupko, and chaired by Rabbi’s Zev Shandalov and Sidney Helbraun. We are uniquely privileged to have on the trip Moreinu Harav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, the Av Beit Din of the CRC.
After flying for approximately 8 hours, we had a brief stopover in the Frankfurt Airport. I must confess, having never taken a German airline before, or even stepping foot in Germany, the stopover was profoundly jarring for me. Just to hear announcements in German, harmless as they were, conjured up some painful images. Words that are perfectly normal in the German vernacular have become tainted for us, such as Achtung, a word that we heard blasted several times over the loud speaker. Not at all relevant for this trip, but perhaps it is a lesson about the implications of actions – a terrible act can create horrific associations for the human mind, such that, even a kind word uttered at a later date will become easily misconstrued.

One hour later, we were on a connecting flight to Prague, and in no time landed, and prayed Shacharit at the airport.

We began in the Pinkas Synagogue:
It was built on the location of an old 15th century synagogue, after the synagogue in the German town of Regensburg had been destroyed, many of its Jewish population slaughtered. This Synagogue was a response to that destruction that befell the community of Regensberg. Its founder, R. Aharon Meshulam's goal was to build a larger and more splendid synagogue in Prague as a way of stating, that Judaism is still alive and vibrant.
“During the German occupation of World War II the Nazis planned to make the synagogue and the adjacent Old Jewish Cemetery part of a postwar "Exotic Museum of an Extinct Race". (quoted from the book "Gurevich, Gurovich, Gurvich, Gorvich, Gurvitz, Horowitz and others. History of A Great Family" by Rav Shlomo Gurevitch (Haifa, 1999,)
The word Pinkas – means notebook, or journal. A Pinkas was often kept by storeowners (in the time of the Talmud and onward) to log the sales and information regarding debts. After the Holocaust the names of the Czech Jews, 77,297 of them, who perished in the Holocaust, were inscribed on its inner walls, covering the entire interior of the Sanctuary and its hallways.

We visited a few other synagogues, including the Alt-Neu Schul (Old New Synagoge), dubbed colloquially as the Maharal’s shul, as he prayed there often. We discussed the myth of the Golem for a grand total of 30 seconds, and confirmed that it was indeed a fable, though very much part of the folklore of Prague. In fact, I almost purchased a few "Golem" T-shirts for my children but was detered by the 550 Czech Crown price tag (only about $25, though the high number scared me away).

We were then off immediately to visit the first of three cemeteries, the Old Jewish Cemetary. There we met a few familiar names: including the Maharal MiPrague, Rav Yehuda Loew whose ideas we study each Shabbat at our shul, as well as the Kli Yakar, Rabbi Shlomo Efraim of Luntchitz, who moved to Prague after living in Poland, and authored many famous works in addition to the Kli Yakar, such as the Olelot Efraim, the Amudei Sheish, and the Siftei Daat. Also noteworthy in the Old Cemetery was Rav Avigdor Kara, rabbinic scholar, and poet. Not only was Prague home to such Torah giants, but many of its personalities (aside from their acclaim within the Jewish world) were celebrated figures within the secular world; David Gans, for instance, a Talmid Chacham in his own right, was close with Rudolph II, the emperor in the late 16th and early 17th century in Prague . Gans was a celebrated mathematician and astrologer and kept regular ties with Tycho Brahe and Kepler. During his time, it is no coincidence that Judaism thrived in Prague as it had never before, with over 6,000 Jews in its population. We also saw the grave of Mordechai Meisels, perhaps the greatest philanthropist in the history of Prague, responsible for the construction of several synagogues as well as other notable historic locations.

We went to two more cemeteries: the Ziskov cemetery, visiting the Noda B’Yehuda, Rav Yechezkel Landau, and the new cemetery, with Franz Kafka. Kafka, is well known of course for his work Metamorphosis, a short story about a man who turns into cockroach and spins out of control in a fit of solitude and alienation, eventually dying of his metal anguish. Rabbi Poupko spoke of the message of sensitivity towards others who suffer from alienation and suggested that according to Kafka, man would be cured from his suffering if only someone else would care.
We also saw the home of the Prague Chevra Kadisha, a group of pious volunteers who would take care of all burial needs and rituals.

Though we spent much of the day exhuming the spiritual remains of a glorious city that is no more, it was uplifting to explore such history. We ended the day with a meeting with some of the Rabbinate in Prague. The Rabbi’s hailing from vastly different backgrounds, shared the sad reality of the conflicts that remain in a community that does not have many Jews leftover.
Nonetheless, my mind was on the miraculous survival of Yidishkeit and its legacy. As in the Pinkas synagogue, which commemorates not one but two major catastrophes in Jewish history, the names remain alive and accounted for by us who will continue to build Torah Judaism, despite our detractors.

Tomorrow… it is off to see some of the harsher aspects of Pragues history, including the Terezen Concentration Camp.

Have a wonderful night,