MASA DC Trip 2019

On March 22- 24, 8th grade students of our post-B'nai Mitzvah MASA course traveled to Washington, DC, with Rabbi Kaiman and Director of Congregational Learning, Nancy Gorod. Thanks to the generous donation from the Alice and Jack Pasmanick Endowment for Holocaust Studies, the students were able to travel at a subsidized rate.

The objective of the trip to was to see the sights, experience Shabbat at a DC congregation and to learn how live their Judaism "out loud." They were able to meet with people from a variety of different Jewish backgrounds who work in the fields of politics and non-profit work and hear how their Jewish values informed the work they do. The students asked deep questions - always wanting to know more. A highlight of Friday afternoon was a visit with the Director of the One America Movement, where we had a workshop on the neuroscience of how we create divisions in our society. One America Movement’s mission is to build bridges and solve problems. They bring Americans together across racial, religious, political and geographic divides to address pressing social problems

The weekend was capped by a powerful, meaningful visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, where the students were able to go through the museum, either individually or with a partner, reflecting on what they experienced afterward. We ended the weekend with a tour of the National Monuments viewed through a Jewish lens. There are many Jewish connections to the memorial monuments, and we had an educator guide us through and talk about the Jewish connection to them.

It was an incredibly full weekend with balances of worship, education, discussion, socializing, and just plain "hanging out" and bonding. We are grateful for the Alice and Jack Pasmanick Endowment for Holocaust Studies for helping to create this memorable experience for our youth.