Sharings 2005

Morning Council groups:=10
Sitting at Birkenau:=10
Interfaith Services: =7
Evening Program: =9

It is hard to differentiate between different programs, because they all added something, they worked together. Given the fact that we all came from so different backgrounds, the programs worked out very well.


Lodging: =8
Meals:=6
Transportation: =9
Packets: =8
Comments:=
Organization:=9
Communication: =9
Leadership:=9
Responsiveness: =10



There were moments I would have liked something that adressed the puzzle of the holocaust: I summarize it with the question: "Where was God?" Jewish practice is totally centered on a very personal relationship with God. That is something else than relating to God via Jesus, or having no God image as in Buddhism. As a Jew, the question where was God' is painful, but it is also important to address it. I am not sure that this question should have ben adressed in a program, because it causes to many different responses and reactions. Nevertheless, there is something about the whole Jewish identity that is centered around the relationship with the creator.

For me, the sjabbos happening was very very imporant, to sing lecha dodi together, it brought my soul back to me, which was still wandering among the ruins of Birkenau. So good to sing and dance to the old texts and melodies.

After a while I lost the sjabbos mood because of the gospel type singing of the blond girl whose name I forgot, and then it became somehow painful to be there in the group, and I had to retreat. Given the fact that we were a very mixed group, moments like that could be expected. Still, in the retreat my Jewishness got amplified in unexpected ways simply by finally going to the place, and I found myself easily hurt and more sensitive to things than expected.

Okay, you all did a great job, it was a very very important week, it will take me some time to integrate it. Some of it can never be integrated.

best wishes from Amsterdam,

Daan van Kampenhout

GENERAL PROGRAM.
1. Morning council Groups....... 10 points. Mine was excellent and nourishing. It should be longer or 2 a day. No idea how this could be arranged
.2. Sitting at Birkenau ......10 points. I appreciated the change of silent sitting and other rituals. My special thanks to those who carried the heavy benches which made it more comfortable for me to sit still and concen- trated.
3. Interfaith Services .....7 points. Cannot say why
4. Evening program ...10 points Thanks again for the mindful preparations like candles etc.

LOGISTICS
1. Lodging ....10 points Very satisfying for me. Well cared of, i.e. we had every day fresh towels even though I had not put mine on the floor as requested.
2. Meals . 6 points
3 Transportation ......... 8 points. As I walked all the time from the hostel to the camp I didn't need transportation. At night, when we had only one bus provided it was sometimes a little boring (and cold) to wait, be it the first one or the second one.

4. Packets I don't know what is meant with this. If it concerns the lunch in front of the gate, it's 10 points. Enough and nourishing for this purpose at this place where thausands and millions of people who had suffered here.

RETREAT STAFF

!. Organisation .............10 points You have considered everything in advance, nothing was to be missed. This was great work.
2. Communication .... Don't know what you meant with this. the communication between staff and the participants or what. including 3. and 4. The announcements and the information were very confusing . Besides people did or listen carefully, it was too noisy so that at the back tables you could not understand what was said. It must have been boring for you all to repeat the same things all day long. The improvisation because of unforseen situations was phenomenal. This made everything lively.

Dear Andrzej, excuse this long feed back. I hadn't planned it before but suddenly I saw how detailed it had become. I hope you had the opportunity of relaxing a little after the week. I came back home enriched and strong in mind and wish to be able to continue with this, to transfer it to my life in this not very optimistic present reality we all experience just now.

Love and peace, shalom and salaam to you
Rose

Dear Andrzej

It was really a wonderful experience for me to learn and know more about all those which I only read in my past. I still feel the pain of those people who suffered in these places. It is really an unforgettable memory for me. I wish i could come there again and again. These are the places which give us strong lesson of peace and share their stories with us that why peace is necessary. Wish that all of us could learn lessons and bring/work for a bright and wonderful future not for us but also for the coming generations.

Love and peace all the way from Islamabad
Irtaza Abbas
Feb 2006