Prague-Day 2!!
On Day 2 in Prague, we drove 1 1/2 hrs. to Thereisenstadt or Terezin, one of the major transit camps during the Holocaust. Terezin is a very eery city because of its history, but life goes on there and there is a normal town still alive there. Hitler's original idea of Terezin was to create 'the state of Terezin,' a means of propoganda to show the outside world that he was giving the Jews their own state. Much art and music did come from Terezin, but in reality, it was not a nice place considering the crematorium and mass graves. It was sickening to see the furnaces, designed to burn as many bodies as possible. A man living in Terezin discovered a small synagogue after WWII and kept it secret until 1998 because of Communism in Czech. We were able to see the synagogue, an amazing sign of resistance during the war and a place where Jews continued their traditions and wrote messages of hope on the walls. To end our day, we were supposed to have a ceremony right over the river at Terezin where the ashes of victims were dumped, but because of extensive flooding, we were not allowed down to the river. So we had it close, but not directly on the water. Some people read testimonies or sang songs. My favorite poem that was read is one that I remember my Rabbi Yael reading to us in 7th grade: "The Butterfly"
The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing
against a white stone. . . .
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly 'way up high.
It went away I'm sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I've lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don't live in here,
in the ghetto.
Pavel Friedman 4.6.1942
This poem is preserved in typewritten copy on thin copy paper in the collection of poetry by the poet, which was donated to the State Jewish Museum during its documentation campaign. Pavel Freidmann was born on January 7, 1921, in Prague and deported to Terezin on April 26, 1942. He died in Aushchwitz on September 29, 1944.
We lit candles and sang Hatikvah, the Israeli National Anthem before leaving. It also was raining and cold for the whole day, which although it was uncomfortable, it definetely set the correct mood!!
For Friday night Shabbat services, we went to the Spanish Synagogue in Prague. It was a very relaxed environment with a male rabbi and his wife leading the service. There were only a few members that came to services, so mostly the great acoustics were put to use by the 98 EIE students! It is amazing as we travel around the world and attend services in different congregations, we see how Jews are connected and how no matter the vernacular, we can understand all of the service!
At night, some friends and I met about 10 Italian guys, the traditional whistling stallions at night and talked with them for a while, although they didn't really speak English!
