1. 2 years ago 
    TALMUD TORAH SCHULE (some pics - click here) Despite the many adventures and travels in which I was fortunate enough to engage while based in Hamburg, it is important not to overlook the responsibilities that dominated my time and experiences living in that city. The purpose, or guiding focus of my latter two months in Germany was primarily the volunteering with which I was involved at the Talmud Torah Schule, otherwise known as the Jewish community center in Hamburg. There has never been a moment where I could conceivably let slip from my mind that the center is a sanctuary of Jewish identity in a country obviously burdened with an eternal stain of Anti-Semitism, but of course it has proved so much more than that. They estimate that there are between 8 and 10,000 Jews in the greater city of Hamburg, and like most Jewish communities, I hear, demographic and social politics take their toll. The community center in Hamburg primarily consists of the Jewish school, in whose Kindergarten I spent a majority of my time but which also has a larger  elementary school. The center also functions as a place for the elderly to engage in productive activities, and of course for Jews of all ages and backgrounds to be part of a larger community. That latter part has been a cause of concern in the city as the three major Jewish groups, as described by some locals, - the Persians, Russians, and the Germans - have been reluctant or have ineffectively tried to come together. Apparently the Persians prefer to function independently and the Russians struggle to assimilate as they move west from the former Soviet Union. I can’t say I was too involved with this stuff personally, but I believe I observed a few faint whispers playing themselves out at times in the Kindergarten. But onto other things. Something I certainly found to be very interesting was the routine; more notably, a routine that was shared by a vast number of local Germans who like me had to take the train to the city early each morning. It really wasn’t something I was thinking about at first - the only thing I really was thinking about was the fact that I had to leave the house at 7:50 am each morning, each colder and colder morning, to make the train to get to work on time - and so it’s significance didn’t really dawn on me until I started recognizing the same people on the train day after day. And indeed many began to recognize me as well. There was something I could genuinely share with the German people and I certainly found it to be very cool. On that note it took me far too long to realize that there were shorter ways to get to work and that I really only needed about 40 minutes from the time I left the house, but we really don’t need to go into that. I guess we’ll have to conclude that I was so busy and enthralled by things that I didn’t bother taking five minutes to look at a map of the city with a map of the u-bahn system. In fairness though that meant far more connections and I then I usually couldn’t get a seat and had to stand. So it turns out that I like kids and am actually pretty decent with them. It’s not that hard I suppose - they’re rather easily pleased and easily distracted. No, but of course they’re very charming and adorable too, whether German or American or anything or anyone. Maybe slightly less charming when they, very rarely I might add, have to correct my German - children detect even the slightest weakness - but nonetheless it was really something special to develop relationships with these kids over the course of the two months. I hope that one day in the future I’ll be able to interact with some of them again, when we are all very much different. Especially the one whom, when I say “Who da boss?” responds ‘o so correctly with “I’m da boss.” But of course there is something greater going on here. It’s very strange to think about how the children are being raised as German Jews, and neither just Germans nor just Jews. I for one almost wish I went to a Jewish kindergarten, because I really admired the focus and sense of community that the spiritual values lend to the classroom environment - it wasn’t even particularly religious, but the children know that it’s important and it’s what draws them together. I don’t know what Jewish schools are like in America, but this here very strongly impacted me. I’m truly blessed to have been able to be a part of this, even for such a short period of time. It’s incredible to know and feel and be a part of the future of a community which has been through so much adversity, and I really am referring to the German Jewish community after the Holocaust, struggling to find its feet and its home. But they’ve certainly found something, and I am honored to help build part of its future. Whether it be helping the little ones spread butter on their bread in the mornings for breakfast, teaching them how to use scissors, playing on the playground, it’s about lending a hand to a community that needs all the support it can get. Just to provide something, anything, was fantastic - indeed most of my time was spent in the kindergarten because that is where I was most needed. Fortunately I was able to earn the support and trust not only of the teachers but of the kids themselves. Thankfully everyone was very appreciative and respectful, needles to say generous, but it’s important to note that they were also my teachers and mothers for a time too. And of course despite the fact that the kids were uncomfortable with the strange man in the beginning, I’m glad to say that I really made some sort of connection with each of them, and that was important to me, to be fully accepted and a part of this. I cannot conclude without noting that one of the families at the school, a rabbi and his wife and their two young children, really took me under their wing and looked after me during my time in Hamburg. Obviously I had my host family, but really these were the people who welcomed me into their home and family and made sure I had somewhere to go for the Jewish holidays. In fact their generosity extended to a number of other young students and travelers and families who also had few other places to turn, providing a network and community for all us lonely souls. That is a family that I hope to be forever be a part of, and I cannot ever I don’t think express my full appreciation for their role in my Hamburg experience. I have never been a religious Jew, but I do know that my time in Hamburg was really something special, almost transcendental. I learned things about myself that I’m not sure I can ever put down on a piece of paper but will carry them with me throughout a lifetime. I can only hope that in my two month involvement in this most wonderful and magical of communities, I have made a positive contribution and returned, at least on some level, the sense of family and appreciation that was extended to me. ————————————————————- Included in the pictures this time around are those of the Kindergarten, just to give you a sense of where I spent many of my days. However it’s important to note that pictures of the children are not permitted to be shared due to the obvious sensitivity of the situation. Also included are pictures of the area surrounding the Talmud Torah Schule, which is actually in the university district of Hamburg as it turns out. Take what you can, cheers.

    TALMUD TORAH SCHULE (some pics - click here)

    Despite the many adventures and travels in which I was fortunate enough to engage while based in Hamburg, it is important not to overlook the responsibilities that dominated my time and experiences living in that city. The purpose, or guiding focus of my latter two months in Germany was primarily the volunteering with which I was involved at the Talmud Torah Schule, otherwise known as the Jewish community center in Hamburg.

    There has never been a moment where I could conceivably let slip from my mind that the center is a sanctuary of Jewish identity in a country obviously burdened with an eternal stain of Anti-Semitism, but of course it has proved so much more than that. They estimate that there are between 8 and 10,000 Jews in the greater city of Hamburg, and like most Jewish communities, I hear, demographic and social politics take their toll.

    The community center in Hamburg primarily consists of the Jewish school, in whose Kindergarten I spent a majority of my time but which also has a larger  elementary school. The center also functions as a place for the elderly to engage in productive activities, and of course for Jews of all ages and backgrounds to be part of a larger community. That latter part has been a cause of concern in the city as the three major Jewish groups, as described by some locals, - the Persians, Russians, and the Germans - have been reluctant or have ineffectively tried to come together. Apparently the Persians prefer to function independently and the Russians struggle to assimilate as they move west from the former Soviet Union. I can’t say I was too involved with this stuff personally, but I believe I observed a few faint whispers playing themselves out at times in the Kindergarten.

    But onto other things. Something I certainly found to be very interesting was the routine; more notably, a routine that was shared by a vast number of local Germans who like me had to take the train to the city early each morning. It really wasn’t something I was thinking about at first - the only thing I really was thinking about was the fact that I had to leave the house at 7:50 am each morning, each colder and colder morning, to make the train to get to work on time - and so it’s significance didn’t really dawn on me until I started recognizing the same people on the train day after day. And indeed many began to recognize me as well. There was something I could genuinely share with the German people and I certainly found it to be very cool.

    On that note it took me far too long to realize that there were shorter ways to get to work and that I really only needed about 40 minutes from the time I left the house, but we really don’t need to go into that. I guess we’ll have to conclude that I was so busy and enthralled by things that I didn’t bother taking five minutes to look at a map of the city with a map of the u-bahn system. In fairness though that meant far more connections and I then I usually couldn’t get a seat and had to stand.

    So it turns out that I like kids and am actually pretty decent with them. It’s not that hard I suppose - they’re rather easily pleased and easily distracted. No, but of course they’re very charming and adorable too, whether German or American or anything or anyone. Maybe slightly less charming when they, very rarely I might add, have to correct my German - children detect even the slightest weakness - but nonetheless it was really something special to develop relationships with these kids over the course of the two months. I hope that one day in the future I’ll be able to interact with some of them again, when we are all very much different. Especially the one whom, when I say “Who da boss?” responds ‘o so correctly with “I’m da boss.”

    But of course there is something greater going on here. It’s very strange to think about how the children are being raised as German Jews, and neither just Germans nor just Jews. I for one almost wish I went to a Jewish kindergarten, because I really admired the focus and sense of community that the spiritual values lend to the classroom environment - it wasn’t even particularly religious, but the children know that it’s important and it’s what draws them together. I don’t know what Jewish schools are like in America, but this here very strongly impacted me.

    I’m truly blessed to have been able to be a part of this, even for such a short period of time. It’s incredible to know and feel and be a part of the future of a community which has been through so much adversity, and I really am referring to the German Jewish community after the Holocaust, struggling to find its feet and its home. But they’ve certainly found something, and I am honored to help build part of its future.

    Whether it be helping the little ones spread butter on their bread in the mornings for breakfast, teaching them how to use scissors, playing on the playground, it’s about lending a hand to a community that needs all the support it can get. Just to provide something, anything, was fantastic - indeed most of my time was spent in the kindergarten because that is where I was most needed.

    Fortunately I was able to earn the support and trust not only of the teachers but of the kids themselves. Thankfully everyone was very appreciative and respectful, needles to say generous, but it’s important to note that they were also my teachers and mothers for a time too. And of course despite the fact that the kids were uncomfortable with the strange man in the beginning, I’m glad to say that I really made some sort of connection with each of them, and that was important to me, to be fully accepted and a part of this.

    I cannot conclude without noting that one of the families at the school, a rabbi and his wife and their two young children, really took me under their wing and looked after me during my time in Hamburg. Obviously I had my host family, but really these were the people who welcomed me into their home and family and made sure I had somewhere to go for the Jewish holidays. In fact their generosity extended to a number of other young students and travelers and families who also had few other places to turn, providing a network and community for all us lonely souls. That is a family that I hope to be forever be a part of, and I cannot ever I don’t think express my full appreciation for their role in my Hamburg experience.

    I have never been a religious Jew, but I do know that my time in Hamburg was really something special, almost transcendental. I learned things about myself that I’m not sure I can ever put down on a piece of paper but will carry them with me throughout a lifetime. I can only hope that in my two month involvement in this most wonderful and magical of communities, I have made a positive contribution and returned, at least on some level, the sense of family and appreciation that was extended to me.

    ————————————————————-

    Included in the pictures this time around are those of the Kindergarten, just to give you a sense of where I spent many of my days. However it’s important to note that pictures of the children are not permitted to be shared due to the obvious sensitivity of the situation. Also included are pictures of the area surrounding the Talmud Torah Schule, which is actually in the university district of Hamburg as it turns out. Take what you can, cheers.

     

  2. Notes

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So I, Sean Kesluk, left Los Angeles for a 6 month adventure abroad in Europe and South America. After a few weeks studying the Deutsch in Freiburg, Germany, it's two months up north in Hamburg working for the city's Jewish community center. After a brief foray into Sweden, I'll head South to Buenos Aires for some Spanish classes and volunteer work in a La Boca soup kitchen. After that it's back home to the States and national service with AmeriCorps NCCC. With a month of training at the VA medical campus in Perry Point, MD, it 's off to Baltimore for my first project, two months working for The Samaritan Women, a non-profit renovating a hundred-year-old mansion to use as a transitional home for women in recovery from heroin addiction and human trafficking, in addition to expanding a farm/urban garden to distribute produce to soup kitchens, shelters, and those in nutritional poverty. The second project will see us down in New Orleans, LA doing post-Katrina work with The Phoenix of New Orleans, a non-profit which renovates homes for Lower Mid-City homeowners who can't afford to do so.
 
 

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