The 2019 Keshet Russian Jewish Journey June 17 25, 2019 Sunday, 16 June Monday, 17 June Depart US Depart Israel RUSSIAN JEWISH JOURNEY 2019 PART ONE: MOSCOW A visit to the capital of Russia, both in Soviet times and in the present, with special emphasis on meeting members of the Jewish community across the generations. MONDAY, JUNE 17 Jewish Moscow Today Our touring begins at 12:00 noon. (You might want to consider arriving on Sunday to rest before we begin our very full program of touring and meetings!) Visit the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, one of the world s newest state-of-the-art Jewish museums, which tells the story of the Jews of Russia (including many of our own families!) Lunch and Orientation. Meet Jenya Michalova, first director of Hillel in Russia. Visit the Kosher Gourmet store and meet with its manager Ya akov Lev to learn first-hand about the revival of Jewish life in post-communist Russia. Visit the Marina Roshcha Jewish Community Center and meet Rabbi Berl Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia. Festive opening dinner. The Iconic Metropol Hotel Picture Yourself Here! 1
Overnight: Metropol Hotel, Moscow TUESDAY, JUNE 18 Russian Jewry in Soviet Times Visit Red Square. o Watch the Changing of the Guard at the Eternal Flame for the Unknown Soldier. o Visit Lenin s Mausoleum Tour Red Square including Zhukov s statue, GUM Department Store. Visit the Moscow Choral Synagogue, icon of the Refusenik Jews of Silence struggle for identity and freedom, on former Archipova Street. Enjoy a light lunch at the Rimon restaurant. Red Square with St. Basil s Cathedral (on the left) Meet Rabbi Goldshmidt or Rabbi Shayevich for insight into Jewish communal life in the synagogue today. Proceed to the Poklonnaya Gora Memorial Campus. Visit the Memorial Synagogue and Center for Holocaust Research to meet founder and director Dr. Ilya Altman for insight into the Soviet Jewish experience during the Great War and the Holocaust. View Moscow from Moscow University on Sparrows Hill. Dinner in the Jerusalem Restaurant in the Bronaya Synagogue. Generations I: Professor Mikhael Chlenov, Director of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress and former Soviet Jewish activist and Anatoly (Natan) Sharansky s Hebrew teacher and Professor Vicotoria Motchalova, founder and head of the Sefer Academic Center for Jewish Studies in Russia. Optional late night walk. Overnight: Metropol Hotel, Moscow Mikhael Chlenov, Natan Sharansky s Hebrew teacher 2
and Victoria Motchalova WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19 Hidden Gems of Moscow Tour the Kremlin including a visit to the Armory Museum. Visit Muzeon to tour the Graveyard of Fallen Monuments, a collection of statues of former Soviet leaders, on display. Generations II: Visit Moscow Hillel for lunch and meetings with young Jewish leaders including, Dr. Ilya Pestrikov, cofounder of Channuka in Siberia, one of the very first Jewish events in the post- Soviet Union and leader of the Progressive/Reform community in Siberia, Anna Sorokina and students. Visit the famous Moscow Metro Broken Statue of Stalin Continue to Stalin s Bunker for insight into the personality, role and legacy of this controversial leader. Visit the Izmailovo Market for souvenir shopping. Dinner on your own (kosher restaurants available on request) and free time on Arbat Street, the most famous shopping street in Moscow. Overnight: Metropol Hotel, Moscow Thursday June 20 Dr. Ilya Pestrikov and Anna Sorokina From Moscow to St. Petersburg Visit the Tretyakov Gallery, the country s greatest collection of Russian art, to view its collection of Russian artists of the 19 th and 20 th Centuries. Box lunch Travel by express train to St. Petersburg Check in to the Renaissance Hotel. Box dinner. Optional walk to Neva River and Palace Square. 3
PART TWO: ST. PETERSBURG Experience first-hand the glories of Imperial Russia and explore the role of WWII in the Russian/Russian-Jewish psyche including the siege of Leningrad; Explore contemporary Jewish life and renewal in today s Russia Friday, June 21 Pearl on the Baltic VIP tour of the Hermitage Museum The Hermitage Tour of the museum s Impressionist Collection. Options: o Extend your tour of the Impressionist Collection; o Return to hotel Lunch box. Shabbat preparations. Visit the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Richness of Jewish Life and Experience: Kabbalat Shabbat in different communities: o Introduction to the Shaarey Shalom Progressive Congregation followed by Kabbalat Shabbat and Oneg Shabbat. o Drive to the Choral Synagogue (before candle lighting time) for a Traditional Service. Dinner at Lekhaim Restaurant. Shabbat, June 22 Shabbat in St. Petersburg Optional morning services in the Choral Synagogue. Meet Rabbi Mendel Pewzner, Chief Rabbi of St. Petersburg for a private synagogue tour. Shabbat lunch at Lekhaim. Tour of St. Isaac s Cathedral and Colonnade for an outstanding view of all of St. Petersburg. 4
Interior of the St. Petersburg Choral Synagogue Statue of Nicholas I The Bronze Horseman Afternoon rest. Evening Seuda Shleshit and program Optional late night walk to the White Nights Festival on the Neva River. Sunday, June 23 The Royal Palaces of St. Petersburg VIP early entrance to Catherine s Palace to tour the grandest Tsarist palace of them all, with its magnificent interiors including the world famous Amber Room. Visit the Pushkin Holocaust Memorial - the outer limit of German control and the Shoah on Soviet soil - for a brief Memorial Service. Box lunch Visit Peterhoff, world-famous summer palace of the Tsars, including its magnificent gardens, fountains and outside vistas. Fountains in the Peterhoff Gardens High-speed Meteor hydrofoil back to St. Petersburg own. Dinner on Take part in a world class cultural event of your choice during the famous White Nights Festival. (Event not included in price). Monday June 24 St. Petersburg Jewish Life Yesterday and Today Visit the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad at Victory Square for a tour and viewing the movie (a must!). Memorial prayers for the victims. 5
Visit YESOD St. Petersburg Jewish Community Home. This showcase JCC, built with help of JDC and international donors, houses key Jewish communal institutions including Hesed Avraham, ORT, Adayin Lo Family Center, Hillel, etc. Visit each of the projects and get a feel of contemporary Jewish life - both young and old. Be prepared to sing a few songs at each stop and to give greetings in Hebrew, Yiddish, English or Russian! Lunch Rabbi Jonathan Porath: 175 Visits to the Jews of Russian Power Point presentation. Summary discussion Visit the Jewish Collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography: The Jewish People on Russian Territory Free time Farewell dinner followed by a sunset Canal Boat Ride and festive Lechayim Tuesday, June 25 Dosvedanya Transfer to the airport for departure for US or Israel. OR: Depart for Kiev for Optional Extension: INTO THE JEWISH HEARTLAND: A FIELD EXCURSION TO JEWISH UKRAINE For information click Here! The Neva River at Sunset Listed activities and speakers are subject to confirmation. Program will be staffed by senior Keshet Israel Tour Educator, Rabbi Jonathan Porath and one additional Keshet senior staff. Hotels are for illustrative purposes only. Final hotels will be on a similar or higher level. All breakfasts and underlined lunches and dinners are included in the package price. This itinerary is proprietary to Keshet and is intended for the promotion of and to inform those considering joining this Keshet trip. It is not to be transmitted to any other party without prior authorization from Keshet. 6
MOBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY Keshet welcomes participants with limited mobility. Wheel chairs are appropriate in general but numerous sites and venues have limited handicapped accessibility. Many do not have elevator service between floors. Wheel chairs are available in Russia; however Keshet does not have the available staff to push them, take responsibility to getting them from the hotel to the bus, etc. Keshet values the time of all its trip participants, and the group will not be able to wait for those needing special time or arrangements. Many tours require a number of hours on one's feet, so comfortable walking shoes are a necessity. If this might be a challenge for you, perhaps bringing along a "golf seat tripod" to help. 7