The students in the RKYHS Jewish History class traveled to New York City in order to experience live some of the things they learned about in class. The trip started with a visit to two synagogues on the Lower East Side—Kehila Kedusha Yanina and the Bialystoker shul. In Yanina, the students heard from two members of the shul who told them about how the shul came into being and the story of the Greek Jewish community in both Greece and New York. The students had a chance to see pieces of the community’s history in the museum housed in the shul. They viewed personal objects that belonged to the immigrants who traveled all the way from Greece to New York, such as the luggage they used as well as some of the sacred amulets that the Greek Jews kept as good luck charms for newborns. From there, the students went to the Bialystoker shul where they had a chance to hear a history of the synagogue and the neighborhood around it, and how the shul had at one point been a refuge for runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad.
Afterwards, the students traveled to the best knish joint in the city, Yonah Shimmel’s Knishes, where they grabbed some delicious potato-filled hot pockets before continuing on to the Max Beckmann art exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The students had learned about Beckmann in class, and were able to walk around the exhibit and see the works of art that Beckmann created up close. The students were able to see the different methods that Beckmann used, such as always placing a window frame or mirror in each of his paintings to give the viewer the feeling that they are looking into the painting, as well as how in many of his paintings he has a person wearing a crown, or uses rough brushwork in order to create a more vivid image.
The day was a fulfilling day complete with fascinating history and eye opening culture. RKYHS students are lucky to have the access to New York City and some of the greatest museums and historical sites in the United States. They are also grateful to Rabbi Pecaric for bringing graduate level scholarship and programming to the students.
