Introduction to Poland Seminar Eligibility How to Apply Reactions from Previous Participants Program Elements Cost and Tour Features Program Staff Back to Seminar's Home Page

 

Poland Seminar

For 44 years, the six-week Ramah Seminar has proven itself to be an outstanding way for teens to experience Israel. The Seminar staff is committed to seeing that the program will live up to, and transcend, the expectations of all Ramah campers who have been looking forward to Seminar as "the best summer of their lives."

To enhance the quality of the six-week Israel Seminar program even further, we have developed a pre-Seminar option, to supplement the Israel program. This innovative program offers enrichment opportunities to Ramah-niks who wish to spend additional time exploring their Jewish heritage in a Ramah framework during this special summer.

Following the overwhelming success of the last ten summers, we are again pleased to offer a pre-Seminar journey through our collective memory as we explore our roots in Eastern Europe.

Trace the splendor of what were once among the most outstanding Jewish communities in our history. Learn about the calculated annihilation of these -- and hundreds of other -- communities prior to and during the Holocaust. The examination of the multi-faceted richness of Jewish life that existed in Poland a mere 60 years ago will enhance your understanding of the unfathomable enormity of the destruction that took place during the Holocaust. Meeting first-hand the remnants -- and, in some cases the revival -- of the Jewish communities in these countries will broaden your appreciation for Klal Yisrael: the whole Community of Israel. This journey-through-history will add a unique perspective to your understanding of the importance and purpose of the State of Israel, and will enhance your sense of Jewish meaning and identity in the flourishing diaspora of North America.

Ramah's pre-Seminar option for 2008 - the Poland Seminar - complements and enhances the six-week Seminar experience in Israel. This option is open to Seminar applicants who are highly recommended by their local Ramah camp director, and who meet other qualifications. In this booklet you will find preliminary information for the Poland Seminar.

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Eligibility for Poland Seminar
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, you will have to complete two brief correspondence assignments. The assignments will be a combination of reading and written reflection. Later in the spring, each participant will be asked to complete a third assignment, which is to prepare a topic for a personal presentation during the trip to Poland. Acceptance to the Poland Seminar programs will be contingent upon submission of assignments at their set dates.

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How to Apply for the Poland Seminar

Poland seminar application materials are available online.

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, 2007.

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

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Reactions from Previous Years' Participants

"Coming to Israel after Eastern Europe was, for me, one of if not the most incredible experiences of my life. I feel as if I somehow made a spiritual journey... To go from a place of sadness, destruction, and death to one full of vitality, building and joy really made me feel proud to be a Jew. To rise from the horrors of the Shoah (Holocaust) and build something as great as Israel is a remarkable feat. I really feel as if I have come home."

"Being in Israel after Eastern Europe is for me an affirmation of my life as a Jew and a Zionist... It makes me understand more clearly why and how people have suffered to create the State.... It also enables me the opportunity to appreciate life and its beauty and Israel and its challenges."

"Poland was eye-opening for me. I carried Poland thoughout my heart as I walked the steps of Israel."

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Program Elements

THE JOURNEY TO POLAND: The following is a projected list of program highlights. Most sites listed are of Jewish interest; time permitting we will also take in the "must-see" 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 "Daf Yomi" began), Majdanek camp.
• WARSAW and the surrounding area: Jewish ghetto, Martyrs Memorial, Noszyc Synagogue, Mila 18, Jewish cemetery, Umschlagplatz, Treblinka camp.

THE RAMAH SEMINAR IN ISRAEL: When you arrive in Israel, you will have a day of relaxation, special programming, and summing up the Poland Seminar. You will then join your assigned bus group for the six-week Israel Seminar experience, although you will still have opportunities to re-unite with your Poland friends. The context of the Ramah Israel Seminar will be a very appropriate one for relating to the experiences in Poland.

Proposed Itinerary*
Sunday, June 15, 2008: Arrival in New York/Newark; orientation; fly to Warsaw
June 16: Arrival in Warsaw, continue orientation, Warsaw sites
June 17: Tykocin shtetl, Treblinka
June 18: Warsaw Sites
June 19: Auschwitz - Birkenau
June 20: Krakow sites
Shabbat June 21: Krakow
June 22: Visit shtetls, Majdanek
June 23: Lublin, departure for Israel
June 24: Arrival in Israel, special programs for Poland Seminar
Wednesday, June 25, 2008: Begin six-week Seminar in Israel, joining assigned bus groups.

* NOTE: The dates and other particulars of the itinerary are subject to change without notice. A more detailed itinerary will be provided following the initial registration procedure.

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Cost and Tour Features

The tentative cost of the Poland Seminar is, $2,200. USD above and beyond 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 air-fares 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 air fare, 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.

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Program Staff

Specially-trained madrichim will be with the group from their arrival in Poland until their division into their respective Seminar bus-groups in Israel. Representatives of the 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.

 

Ramah Programs in Israel is thankful for the support of the Claims Conference
for the Ramah Poland Seminar

 

 

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