Spring Break was jam packed! Students traveled abroad for three Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trips in Greece, Rio de Janeiro, and Poland, each offering a different lens into Jewish history, culture, and contemporary community life.
In Greece, students explored over 2,000 years of Jewish history, from the once-thriving communities of Thessaloniki to the ancient roots of Jewish life in Athens. They walked through historic neighborhoods like Ano Poli and the Ladadika Quarter, visited synagogues and Holocaust memorials, and engaged deeply with the legacy of Greek Jewry. In Athens, students connected past and present through a visit to the Parthenon and a street art tour that highlighted the city’s modern cultural and political expression. A meaningful highlight was spending Shabbat with Athens’ historic indigenous Romaniote Jewish community, experiencing a living tradition that predates the Sephardic diaspora. The trip offered students a powerful and lasting understanding of Jewish resilience and identity.
In Rio, the trip combined visits to iconic landmarks with an in-depth look at Jewish life in Brazil. Students visited sites such as Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer, alongside Jewish institutions including museums, synagogues, and community centers. They met with Jewish community leaders, experienced elements of Carnival culture, and spent Shabbat with the Hillel Rio community.
In Poland, the group experienced both Jewish culture and history. In Warsaw, they joined Shabbat services at the Nożyk Synagogue and shared meals with local Hillel students. Guided tours of the former Jewish Quarter, Grzybowski Square, and the POLIN Museum provided historical context, while a mezuzah-making workshop offered a hands-on cultural experience. The visit to Auschwitz–Birkenau was a powerful and reflective moment, grounding the trip in remembrance.
Across all three trips, students had a great time traveling and learning about Jewish communities abroad and came back to campus ready for the Spring semester!
