The Beginning of a Journey

To begin our journey, everyone participating in BBYO's Delegation  received weekly Shabbat messages(emails) with interesting facts, educational materials and suggested books, films and websites to utilize.

For example this is the first email I received written by Sherrie Stalarow 

Since 1988, this trip has provided teens and adults the opportunity to confront the reality of the Holocaust. Participants have seen firsthand where millions of our people were killed for just being Jewish. And yet, this trip is far less about death and dying and much more about coming to terms with what it means to live as part of this world. 

International Holocaust Remembrance Day - January 27th 

Since 2005, when International Holocaust Remembrance Day was declared by a United Nations resolution, millions around the world pause to remember the 1945 liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp.

YOU can observe International Holocaust Remembrance day by lighting a candle on January 27th and adding your name to the list of people who are showing their support for international recognition of the day.you can click on this link to add your name. 

  

Jewish Observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day - Monday, April 8, 2013 

In Israel, the internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day comes from the Hebrew calendar and corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah. Our "march" from Auschwitz to Birkenau will occur on that day.

Interesting Facts of the Week:   

What is 6 million? 

• Approximately 5.9 million Jews currently live in Israel 
• 6.5 million Jews currently live in the U.S.
• If you combined all the Jews living in France, Canada, United Kingdom, Russia, Argentina,   Germany, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Hungary, Ukraine, Mexico and Belgium - it would only total 2.5 million.  
• If we dedicated a moment of silence for each Jewish victim - the silence would last 11 years, 5 months. 
• A list of victim's names would contain 24,000 pages. These pages placed in books and piled one on top of the other, would be 8 ft. high. 
• A major football stadium would have to be filled and emptied 75 times. 
• The Torah is read from beginning to end, during one full year; if every single word represented each Jewish victim in the Holocaust - it would take 75 years to read.  

Curious George

  

Curious George, the beloved, irrepressible monkey of children's book lore, is famous for his ability to "save the day." The creators of the books, Margret and H.A. Rey, fled Paris in 1940 with a Curious George manuscript in their suitcase. During a tense inspection of their belongings by a border  official, children's illustrations were found and they were allowed to continue on their way, eventually reaching the United States. Learn more, by clicking on this link (check out their story, Life in Paris & Narrow Escape, by clicking the icon on the bottom right of the page, told through an interactive timeline).

Some interesting facts about Israel   

Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population, can make claim to the following: 

• Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined
• 24% percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees - ranking 3rd in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland - and 12% hold advanced degrees.
• Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
• According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
• Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic.  

Medicine:

• Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.
• Israel's Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.
• Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with congestive heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.

Technology:

• Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita. 
• The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
• Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
• The technology for AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.