April 24, 2026 | 7 Iyyar 5786 Candle Lighting in Miami 7:30 pm

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Two weeks ago, Miami teens and staff traveled to Poland as part of CAJE’s Leo Martin March of the Living.

Students described the experience as “life changing,” “meaningful,” and “unforgettable,” with nearly all participants sharing that the journey had a significant impact on them.

In Kraków, students walked through once-vibrant Jewish neighborhoods, encountering the richness and diversity of Jewish life before the war.

At Majdanek, Auschwitz, and Birkenau, they bore witness to the realities of the Holocaust, standing in the very places where history unfolded.

One student reflected, “The experience of being in multiple concentration camps while being with holocaust survivors was incredibly unique, and I will never forget it.”

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At the Rapoport Memorial in Warsaw, our teens joined the Miami Adult March of the Living delegation, led by Mel Mann, Mark Baranek and the Friends of the March of the Living, for a powerful intergenerational ceremony honoring both resistance and loss during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

We were honored to be accompanied by two Holocaust Survivors, Allan Hall and Laszlo Selly, whose presence shaped the experience in profound ways.

Being with Survivors, hearing their stories, and walking alongside them brought a depth to the experience that cannot be replicated.

As one student shared, this was “one of the most life changing trips that I’ve been on.”

Students visited the location in Warsaw where Allan was hidden as a child, hearing his story in the very space where it unfolded. It was an unforgettable moment that brought history off of the page and into lived experience.

Throughout the journey, students demonstrated a deep sense of reflection and responsibility.

They shared takeaways such as “Never again. Silence is dangerous,” “We are stronger together,” and “How important it is to continue my Jewish legacy.”

Many also expressed a growing sense of responsibility moving forward, including a desire to continue learning and to speak up in support of the Jewish community and Israel.

During the closing program, students reflected on what they are carrying forward from this experience, considering their own legacy and the message they want to bring into their lives and communities.

On Yom HaShoah, our delegation joined thousands from around the world in the march from Auschwitz to Birkenau. Wrapped in Israeli flags and walking in solemn unity, their steps affirmed memory, dignity, and Jewish continuity.

Alongside the teen journey in Poland, CAJE’s March of the Living partnered with Beth Torah Early Childhood for the powerful “My Survivor & Me” program, an intergenerational experience that brought together young children, families, and Holocaust Survivors.

In many ways, this program brought the central question of the March of the Living journey full circle, creating a space where memory is not only witnessed, but shared, lived, and carried forward across generations. This meaningful connection between generations is something we hope to continue to build in the years ahead.

We are especially grateful to our March of the Living Chair, Marian Kruss, whose leadership, vision, and deep commitment helped shape and bring this meaningful intergenerational opportunity to life, ensuring that memory is passed on in meaningful and lasting ways.

From now on, both our MOTL teens and our ECE students are not only participants in this journey, but witnesses, carriers of memory, and voices for the Jewish future.

AROUND CAJE

Striving to be Human with Rabbi Leah Cohen Tenenbaum & Rabbi Douglas Kohn | Wednesday, April 29th, 7:00-8:30pm Learn More & Register at https://wisdomwithoutwalls.org/Doug-Kohn-Leah-Tenenbaum

Mikveh Volunteers Training Program with Rabbi Lauren Berkun | April 16-May 7

An Evening with Rachel Goldberg-Polin in discussion with Dr. Noam Weissman | April 27

Israel Tech Week (ITW) 2026 | April 27-30

Israel Education at an Inflection Point: Complexity, Conviction, and Community with Spertus Institute | May 11

WORDS OF WISDOM

Years ago, Nina Yarus introduced me to the study of Mussar; I had never heard of it, and I had been a rabbi for at least 15 years already!

When I mentioned Mussar to my Orthodox husband, he rolled his eyes. Apparently, in the Orthodox world it’s often used by teachers to lay on the guilt, or parents to give textual support for their parental disapproval.

Most of the Mussar texts were written in pre-modern times and in very medieval language and style – probably why so few liberal Jews even know about it, let alone study it.

With Nina as my guide, we explored the curriculum developed by The Mussar Institute to overcome those hurdles and recast the wisdom of these texts in ways that modern Jews could relate to.

The study of Mussar was transformative for me because it’s all about refining one’s soul and becoming more holy - just as the Torah enjoins us to do in Parashat Kedoshim.

Think about it - if someone asked you the question: “I want to become a better person and improve my character. Where is the curriculum in Judaism to do that?”

The answer is Mussar.

We all know halachically very observant Jews who are not good people and do not have good character, so observing halacha alone cannot be the answer to the question.

That’s why Rabbi Yisroel Salanter developed the Mussar movement, particularly among the Lithuanian Jews, in 19th century Orthodox Eastern Europe.

The Hebrew term ‘mussar’ (מוּסַר), is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct. The term was used by the Mussar movement to refer to disciplined efforts to further ethical and spiritual development.

Alan Morinis tells us: The starting point for understanding Mussar is the verse in the Torah that tells us- ‘You shall be holy’ (Leviticus/ Vayikra 19:2).

The Torah here reveals in no uncertain terms what a human being’s job description is.

In essence, we are here on earth for no other purpose than to grow and blossom spiritually- to become holy.

Our potential and therefore our goal should be to become as spiritually refined and elevated as possible…

How many hours every day go into fixing, cleaning, upgrading, improving, reconfiguring, and maintaining the things and aspects of your life?

You commit so much time, thought, and effort because you are born with an impulse to improve.

Since we live in a time and place that emphasizes the material, we commonly give rein to that impulse in material ways…

The Torah’s advice is to recognize that, at heart and in reality, the inner impulse to improve that you feel is a spiritual urge, an innate drive toward spiritual refinement that is squandered when it is spent on your clothes or your car…

While the goal of holiness is the same for everyone, the path each of us has to follow in pursuit of that goal is unique, as each of us is unique…

Each of us has our own personal strengths and weaknesses.

This means that you have a unique spiritual curriculum to master on the journey toward holiness.

Sometimes the Mussar teachers say that the purpose of Mussar practice is to help us move in the direction of sh’leimut, which translates literally as “wholeness.”

The great Mussar teacher Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto wrote: ‘The one stone on which the entire building rests is the concept that God wants each person to complete himself body and soul…”

He is telling us that we are created incomplete so that we can complete the work of our own creation…

The other way the Mussar teachers describe the goal is a simple Yiddish notion: you are supposed to be a mensch, which means ‘a decent human being.’

To which the Chassidic teacher known as the Kotzker rebbe said: “Fine, be holy. But remember first one has to be a mensch.”

In sum, Mussar means working on yourself, but not for the sake of your self.

By refining and elevating your inner life and nourishing the soul, you clarify your inner light and thus become a lamp shedding light into the world.

This is why Mussar is not self-help.

Its purpose is not that you will gratify all your desires but that you will become the master of your desires, so that you can fulfill the potential of your higher nature.

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