At precisely 7:00am this morning, my hotel phone interrupted my much-needed rest. But by no later than 7:02 I was fast asleep again. At 7:51 I realize that I am going to be late to meet the group for breakfast so I dash out of bed, throw some water on my face and jet to the hotel lobby. One bowl of granola, two cups of coffee, and about two-dozen yawns later we are on our way to Tallinn’s gorgeous JCC, which is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel (which is located in the charming old town section of the city). A tour of the Estonian Jewish Museum commenced the day’s activities. Here, we learned about the significant events and people that shaped Estonia’s Jewry. This experience was then dovetailed with a tour of the local synagogue. I found this to be a particularly memorable part of the day because all of the Jews in Tallinn, regardless of denomination, use it. Fortunately, a particular donor gave one million Euros to help build the temple. It was money well spent, as this was easily the most elegant synagogue I have personally come across, yet, it still retained a cozy communal feeling. Wooden cut-outs of pomegranate trees were found throughout the sanctuary and on the doors of the building, symbolizing the fruitfulness of the Jewish people and saluting the Diaspora's’ eternal yearning to the State of Israel. They even had a hand-washing station that was foot-petal activated! Thank you! Next, the group split into 8 smaller groups, each accompanied by a local Estonian student and we visited the elders in the local Jewish community in their respective homes. Everyone had a great experience with this and the locals were quite thankful. I felt a particularly strong connection to the couple I visited. The man had many interesting war stories and then became a physics teacher after he served in the Soviet navy. (I can't believe I am sharing this next bit of information on the blog). I am a total physics nerd, so we had a discussion about Mars. His wife was victimized in the siege of Leningrad and survived for about 3 years eating 125 grams of bread and water daily. After sharing each other perspectives on the attitudes of the Cold War, as an American and a former-Soviet, the man was anxious to show me his decorated military uniform. He put it on and posed for a few pictures which reminded the couple to share some family photos. After this, we presented them with a few gifts and then said a sad goodbye. After reuniting with the group, we all went out together for lunch to a comfy Australian-themed place called "The Lost Continent," which easily had the world's best butter (NOTE: it was pesto flavored). We then returned to the JCC where we facilitated the bazaar which we had previously set up for the elders in the local Jewish community to get to pick out some free clothes and even some toiletries. Group discussions on an person's niche and responsibility in a (Jewish) community followed the shop-til-you-drop shenanigan. Then, the local students joined us for a concluding discussion, which included a gift-exchange, a slide show, and snacks. Now, I am back at the hotel and have to go get ready for a last night of fun with the Estonian students. What a wonderful day. By Sasha.
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