Poland Seminar

The Poland Seminar, an optional ten-day program prior to the Ramah Israel Seminar, offers enrichment opportunities for Ramahniks who wish to spend additional time exploring their Jewish heritage in a Ramah framework.

Poland Seminar traces the history of some of the most outstanding and historically relevant Jewish communities. This is an opportunity to learn about the calculated annihilation of the European communities prior to and during the Holocaust. The ten-day program includes an exploration of the remnants -- and, in some cases, the revival -- of the Jewish communities in Warsaw, Krakow and Lublin, broadening an appreciation for Klal Yisrael, the global Jewish community. This journey through communities, concentration camps and an entirely different culture will add a unique perspective to each participant’s understanding of the importance and purpose of the State of Israel, and enhance the sense of Jewish meaning and identity in the flourishing Diaspora of North America.

Poland Seminar is open to Seminar applicants who are highly recommended by their local Ramah camp director, and who meet other qualifications, as listed below.

Recommendations
All six-week Israel Seminar applicants are eligible to apply for the Poland Seminar option. Applicants must receive strong recommendations from their Ramah camp directors, indicating that they were positive, contributing members of their edah at camp. In some cases, a personal interview may be required.

Special Assignments
Anyone applying to the Poland Seminar must first fulfill all Jewish study requirements for participation in the Israel Seminar (see Introduction to the Ramah Israel Seminar). In addition, each participant will have to complete two brief correspondence assignments, a combination of reading and written reflection. Prior to the trip, each participant will be asked to complete a third assignment, a personal presentation that will be shared with the group during the trip to Poland. Acceptance to Poland Seminar will be contingent upon submission of assignments at their set dates.

Space on the Poland Seminar is limited. We hope to accept participants from all of the Ramah camps. We recommend that you send in your Poland Seminar Application (with your Seminar application and deposit) no later than December 15.

Notifications of acceptance will be mailed out in March. After being accepted, you will receive further details regarding the flights, itinerary and pre-trip details.

Program Elements

The following list includes program highlights. Most sites listed are of Jewish interest; if time permits, we will also take in other sites of general interest. A complete itinerary will be presented to participants in a future mailing.

Krakow and the surrounding area: Jewish ghetto, ghetto wall, Rema synagogue, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Korczak's orphanage, Pleszow Camp, Schindler's factory.

Lublin: Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin (where the tradition of Daf Yomi, studying one page of Talmud each day, was started), Majdanek camp.

Warsaw and the surrounding area: Jewish ghetto, Martyrs Memorial, Noszyc Synagogue, Mila 18, Jewish cemetery, Janusz Korczak’s orphanage; Umschlagplatz, Treblinka camp.

TRANSITION TO THE RAMAH ISRAEL SEMINAR

When the Poland Seminar participants arrive in Israel, they have a day of relaxation, special programming and summing up the Poland Seminar experience. They then join their assigned bus group for the six-week Israel Seminar experience, although there will be opportunities to re-unite with friends made during the Poland trip.

Proposed Itinerary*
Sunday, June 19: Arrival in New York Area airport; orientation; fly to Warsaw
June 20: Arrival in Warsaw, continue orientation, travel to Lublin
June 21: Sobibor, Kranzik
June 22: Kazimirz-Dolny, Maidanek
June 23: Shtetl life: Lishansk, Tranov
June 24: Krakow sites
Shabbat June 25: Krakow
June 26: Visit Aushwitz Birkenau
June 27: Warsaw Sites, departure for Israel
June 28: Arrival in Israel, special programs for Poland Seminar
Wednesday, June 29: Begin six-week Seminar in Israel, joining assigned bus groups.

* NOTE: The dates and other particulars of the itinerary are subject to change. A more detailed itinerary will be provided following the initial registration procedure.

Cost and Tour Features

The cost of the Poland Seminar in 2011 is $2,500, and does not include the cost of the six-week Israel Seminar. The price includes: Complete pre-Seminar program of 10 days (including travel days and sessions in Israel).

Housing in comfortable, tourist hotels.

All airfares and taxes with departures from New York/Newark to Warsaw.

Security guard throughout Poland

All meals provided (kashrut observed according to Ramah/Conservative standards)

Deluxe, air-conditioned bus throughout Poland

All entrance fees; medical insurance

Tour guides and counseling staff (as indicated below)

Information regarding airlines and flights will be provided in a future mailing. Please note that Poland Seminar participants may not enroll in Seminar on a ‘land only’ basis.

* Cost is based on a minimum of 30 participants and is subject to change in case of any increase in airfare, travel taxes, radical changes in hotel prices in Europe or in the number of registrants. Cost does not cover fees for visas, which may be required of Canadian citizens.

Program Staff

The staff for Poland Seminar includes experienced and knowledgeable mechanchim (tour educators) as well as madrichim (counselors) who are trained for the physical and emotional aspects of this trip, and are with the group from their arrival in Poland through their arrival in Israel and division into Seminar bus groups in Israel. Representatives of the Ramah educational and counseling staff will accompany the group on the overseas flights. A Polish guide, experienced in working with Jewish clientele, will accompany each bus group throughout Poland.

enhance your summer seminar experience and dig deeply into your jewish roots. this meaningful journey-through-history will profoundly enrich your personal and collective jewish identity