Lublin

Wow it seems like an eternity ago that we were in Lublin, yet it was only yesterday. The day began when we boarded the busses in Warsaw with all of our luggage. Answer were headed to Lublin, I thought it fitting to learn a piece from Rav Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin. In the particular piece that we learnt he discusses the sensitive issues of our prayers during difficult times. What happens to those prayers? Why are they necessary? He brings a Gemara that says that G-D created our mothers (Sarah, Rivka, Rachel) naturally barren because G-D wanted to hear their prayers. What does that mean? Why does G-D need their prayers? Perhaps the idea is that our prayers are necessary for ourselves through the process of Tefilla we come to better awareness of of G-D, that is a necessary prequesite for a successful and meaningful life. Rav Tzadok explains that this why the Talmud tells us that three gifts were give with suffering Torah, Israel, and the world to come. None of these great gifts would be appreciated without an awareness of G-D prior. Therefore the suffering was neccessary for them to find and recognize G-D first. Is it possible that the state of Israel had to be founded primarily through survivors of the Holocaust and that generation who shed so many tears and screamed so many prayers first? Perhaps, they were the only people capable of making this country the wonderful [a;lce it was. Because only they would have deep appreciation for G-D in their lives.
When we got to Majdanek, we talked about Rabbi Meir Shapiro; how he basically killed himself trying to raise funds for this monumental Yeshiva because of how important he felt this Yeshiva would be. It was the first attempt a t creating an appreciation for Torah learning, not just Medical and dental schools would be housed in beautiful campuses but Torah centers as well.
The other great gift that Rabbi Shapiro bestowed to us was his innovation of the Daf HaYomi, the daily Daf, That now has joined hundreds of thousand of Jews all across the world. During his last year on this world he received a very moving letter from his sister,where his sister describes dream in which Rabbi Shapiro was surrounded by gleaming angels. She begged her brother to explain the meaning behind the dream. This great reward was probably reserved of him for these two great gifts that Rabbi Shapiro left of us; an appreciation for Torah learning, and a Daf HaYomi
Elan and Leigh then led the entire region in a beautiful learning session about the trials and tribulations that Judaism has endured Our commitment has been solidified through fire and water, and the desert . The students aptly applied these moving words of Rabbi Shapiro to the Holocaust and that painful period.
Following lunch we headed over to the most realistic and devastating of all of the camps Majdanek. Majadnek with it's very real feel and screaming black raven,s is a miserable sight. Form the scratch marks in the blue stained gas chambers, to the massive crematoria. Form the butchers block to the mound of seven tons of ashes. Majdanek is a place that one never forgets. It is also the camp tat Max's entire family perished. We said a Kel Maleh for his family by the ovens and a Kaddish by the ashes.
We had a moving ceremony and sang HaTikvah before we boarded the busses taking us to the airport and away for this depressing and blood filled land, Poland.
We are here in Israel, but the blog will have to wait until later!!
RT