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The late, great Anthony Bourdain once said: “Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

The 60+ Beth El members who recently returned from a 10-day trip through Eastern Europe might understand what Mr. Bourdain meant. For Dr. Joanne Rief, one of those intrepid Beth El travelers, the journey to Eastern Europe wasn't always pretty or comfortable. It did hurt. Witnessing the decimation of Jewish life in that part of the world broke her heart. The visceral experiences left an indelible mark on her consciousness, memory, and heart.

But Dr. Rief also took something with her: hope. She and her fellow globetrotters witnessed firsthand the renewal of Jewish life in cities like Krakow and Berlin. The trip changed Dr. Rief, just like seasoned explorer Anthony Bourdain said it would. She returned to Beth El with a revitalized sense of Jewish identity and renewed purpose within the Beth El community.

Rabbi Schwartz described a trip centered on the Jewish history of Eastern Europe as not being "fun." Specifically, he said: "It is not a vacation that you return from feeling refreshed or recharged." How do you feel after returning?

It wasn't a vacation. It was a trip. I came back with a renewed sense of Jewishness and connection to our community. I want to go to shul. I want to connect with the people with whom I experienced so much in Eastern Europe. Some people I knew before the trip and some I didn't, but now we are all friends, so I want to come back [to Beth El] and keep discussing what we experienced, felt and saw. But more than that, I want to tell other people in the community.

Why did you decide to join Beth El for this trip? What were your expectations of a synagogue trip? How did the trip compare to your expectations?

I grew up in Annapolis and attended an Orthodox synagogue. There were only a handful of Jews living in Annapolis, so I didn't know very many Jewish people. I certainly didn't know any Jews who had been in a concentration camp. But when the cantor of my childhood synagogue wore short sleeves in the summertime, I saw tattooed on his arm the [prisoner identification] number from his time in a concentration camp. That experience resonated with me. All these years later, I had the pressing desire to visit Eastern Europe. I had been to Israel two-times with Rabbi Schwartz and Beth El, but I encouraged him to lead a trip to Eastern Europe. It's important to see what our people had been through in that part of the world; to walk the same steps and feel that we had been there.

What was the most meaningful experience of the trip for you? What moments stood out for you? 

The most meaningful experience for me was the final dinner with our group on the last night of the trip. We were in Berlin, Germany, once the geopolitical center for the Nazis, and here we are as a group of Jews, dining in a restaurant together. There was a time where a Jew would not be in Germany period, so we felt proud. We broke out singing Hatikvah. Dr. Bor broke out the clarinet, and Cantor King led us in song. 

Many other moments stood out as well. We held Friday night services at a local synagogue in Prague. Cantor King assembled a choir, which included locals and Beth El congregants. The acoustics of the space made for a special moment. Of course, Auschwitz-Birkenau was very emotional. We learned that Birkenau means birch. The camp was surrounded by birch trees, which the Nazis used to hide their atrocities. 

When touring Warsaw, we stayed in a lovely, relatively new hotel, which happened to be located in the Old Jewish Ghetto. Staying in that hotel gave me an uneasy feeling, knowing that we were sleeping right where generations of our fellow Jews lived and ultimately suffered.  

Touring the Wannsee Mansion on the last day of the trip also stood out for me. Here we are in this magnificent mansion, in this beautiful neighborhood of Berlin, overlooking a gorgeous view, and yet this is the setting where the Nazis devised their plan to exterminate our people. All of the details of the Final Solution to the Jewish Question were spelled out succinctly and deliberately in black and white ink. There were hundreds of pages displayed on a large dining room table that described the Nazi's plan to exterminate the Jews. The Nazis were proud of their Final Solution. The top Nazi officials proudly posed for a picture outside the mansion which was displayed inside the dining room. 

Also, on the last day of the trip, we visited Track 17 in Potsdam, where Berlin's Jews were deported to the death camps. Visiting Track 17 was the very last thing we did before we came home. We got down and stood on the track and looked into woods. We could see how the train would have just gone off into the woods and disappeared. Those unfortunate souls on the train couldn't see where they were headed, but they must have known. There were metal plaques along the track, detailing the day and month of every transport, as well as the number of Jews that were deported. Those last transports deported as few as 18 people, most likely Jews who were in hiding, which meant the Nazis were implementing their Final Solution up until one month before the war ended.

You visited communities, which no longer exist, that had once been centers of Jewish life in Europe. Yet you also had dinner at Krakow's vibrant Jewish Community Center (JCC). How did you reconcile the feelings of loss with those of hope? 

Jewish life is returning in some places more than others. Jonathan Orenstein, the head of Krakow's JCC, is working to rebuild Jewish communities in that part of the world. The Krakow JCC is not like Baltimore's. The purpose is different. During and after the Second World War, many European Jews converted or pretended not to be Jewish. So now you have an entire generation of Europeans who have discovered that their parents or grandparents were Jews. So, the Krakow JCC is a place for people who have uncovered their Jewish roots and need a place to explore their Jewish identity. That's how Jonathan Orenstein and Polish Jews are rebuilding their Jewish community. 

The Krakow JCC had this vibrant energy. There was so much activity, especially outside in the evening, with young people singing, dancing, selling drinks, and eating ice cream in this beautiful courtyard. People were trying to connect with one another. They were building a community. Here is an entire generation of Jews - maybe two or three generations removed from the Holocaust - who have discovered their Jewish roots and want to find out more about who they really are. Mr. Orenstein told us this was happening in cities all across Europe. It is a good feeling to know that Judaism is still alive - even if it's not as thriving as it once was.

Why is it important for Beth El to organize travel experiences for its members? 

Beth El is truly a family of families. I go to shul on Friday nights, and I love hearing the rabbi's d' var Torah because it makes me feel connected to the clergy. So to have Rabbi Schwartz, Cantor King and Dr. Bor with us on this trip to Eastern Europe added a family feel. None of them had been to Eastern Europe before so we all got to experience these things together for the first time. Having the clergy add context to our experience with their insight and wisdom made the trip that much more meaningful.  

I also felt a deeper connection to Judaism. I never used to attend Friday night services, but after returning from Israel, I've made those services an essential part of my week. Traveling with Beth El also strengthens the relationship I have with fellow members. I will see these people again, pray with them again, and get to know them even better. I think about a couple - Michael Rubenstein and Hedy From - who my daughter and I met on our first Beth El trip to Israel. We befriended them during our trip, and now they come to our house every year for Rosh Hashanah. The power of travel helps create a strong sense of community and connection. 

Dr. Bor shared his hopes that those who traveled to Eastern Europe would return to Beth El with a renewed sense of purpose and might eventually assume leadership roles. I know that when I returned from Israel, I was inspired to join the Beth El Board of Directors. Certainly, trips like this encourage members to become more involved in synagogue life. 

People experience a deeper connection to Beth El because they feel a real sense of community and family.