By Ben B.
A group of Jewish students from the Family Foundation School visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City on Monday, October 26. Rabbi Michele Medwin orchestrated the trip as a way of teaching the students about their heritage and what it means to be Jewish.
It was a day of camaraderie and real learning. The students took a two-hour tour of the museum accompanied by staff Roxi Losicco, Tammy Finch and Ed Anderson.
“I thought the trip was a success. I was very impressed by the museum in its focus on not only the Holocaust, but also on other parts of Jewish life,” said Losicco.
The tour guide began by introducing the group to a Torah that was donated to the museum from a survivor of the Holocaust. The guide then led them through the museum explaining aspects of Jewish religion, culture and traditions.
The students learned much about the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime, and the effects of World War II on the Jewish people. The students were particularly interested in how the concentration camps were run, and how, in many of them, the Jews rebelled against their oppressors and continued to practice their faith.
In many of the camps the Jews set up schools and shows, sometimes taking in children other than their own who had lost their parents. Jewish teaching emphasizes the importance of education, and adults in the camps sought out ways to educate their children, even under great oppression.
The last of part of the tour focused on the hope for the future which the Jews maintained despite the horrors of their situation.
“I had a really great time. It was very interesting to learn more about where I came from and more about my Jewish background,” said Lily G.
