Moving Visit to Europe of Old

By Karen Schwartz, Chabad.org
Photos: Ilan Ejzykowicz

Mauricio Costin, 23, recently returned from his second trip with Projeto Alicerces—Portuguese for Project Foundations—which took some 100 Brazilian youth to Europe in July.

In preparation, students spent the better part of a year learning about Judaism at local Chabad houses around the country; those who lived too far from a Chabad center studied online. The program also included several seminars and weekend Shabbat events.

Participants went to Frankfurt, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Belgium, Amsterdam, Paris, Minsk, Moscow and, quite appropriately, the town of Lubavitch in Russia.

“The trip was amazing. I strengthened my friendship with my old friends and made new ones,” said Costin of the several weeks abroad.

They visited Prague, where he prayed at the synagogue of the Maharal—Rabbi Judah ben Bezalel Loew—and went to the mikvah in Lubavitch. The part that impacted him most, he said, was their visit to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, where more than 14,000 Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

“I had never been to a concentration camp before,” said Costin, “and standing there hearing the stories of Jews being made to carry rocks up huge stairs to build the place of their demise really affected me.”

The group was in tears, he recalled, as Rabbi David Weitman spoke at the memorial there. The group also toured the Terezin ghetto and concentration camp.

In 2009, Weitman founded Projeto Alicerces, geared specifically for 18- to 29-year-old students; in that time, he has overseen three trips that draw young men and women from around the country who are connected to many of the 15 Chabad centers throughout Brazil that serve a national Jewish population of 120,000.

Integrating Experiences Into Life

The experience made Costin think about Jewish traditions and the possibility of integrating more of them into his life, he said. “Ever since the trip, I’ve been putting on tefillin and going more to synagogue because if they could risk their lives to pray, why can’t I do it in a risk-free environment?”

The trip also changed his connection to the Jewish community. Costin noted that he came away with Jewish friends and also met his girlfriend, Léa Boiko, during a Shabbat in Venice on his first trip with the group two years ago. She lives in Curitiba, the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Paraná.

“I learned a lot during the trip, about myself and about Jewish history,” said Costin. “I’ve learned to cherish our traditions and to thankG-d every day for the life he has given me.”

Film director and book editor Marcio Pitliuk has been documenting the trips since they began, making each one into a book and a film on Jewish immigration to Brazil.

“We go different places, see different things. The main objective is to show Judaism—its roots in relation with young people,” he said of the program.

Ariel Gandelman, 22, from Curitiba, said he appreciated the content leading up to the trip and knowing that the classes were being given simultaneously around the country.

“This made for a very good feeling of unity between the participants during the year,” he said. Participants got to know one another better when they spent Shabbat together prior to their journey.

“We spoke about it on Facebook groups,” building enthusiasm for the approaching trip, added Gandelman.

During their time abroad, students visited the places that had come up in their studies. Guided by Weitman, with participation from other area rabbis, the tour deepened their appreciation for their heritage and their history, and inspired some personal transformations.

“When I returned home, the way I saw the world and everything changed. I could understand that I am part of eternal chain,” said Gandelman. “And I have a great responsibility to keep Judaism alive, no matter where I am.”

Samuel Gabbay, 26, enjoyed the opportunity to be with Jews from all over Brazil and to recharge his batteries. He hopes to remain involved with Projeto Alicerces, which effectively helps young people seek answers for themselves about their identity and roles in the Jewish community.

“A program as fantastic as this gives strength,” he said. “It rekindles the faith that exists within every Jew.”