Thank you to Kira Pollard and Bailey Lisker for putting together this recap video of day 1

DAY 2 | Pivoting to Vienna

Friday was an experience. We davened shacharit at our Chabad Center and were set to have a day of fun with a group of refugee teenagers. About 5 minutes before we were about to depart for our paintballing activity, we received word that the group of teenagers was unable to make It and they sent their regrets. So we had to pivot and transform our outing from a refugee chesed activity to a group building activity In preparation for the rest of our trip. We leaned Into today's activities becoming more focused on learning about ourselves as a group and the city of Vienna. We enjoyed lunch at a dairy restaurant In the Jewish neighborhood of Vienna followed by a guided tour of historic Vienna. As Ms. Schneider demonstrates, electric scooters are a ubiquitous part of Vienna life. We are ready for a meaningful shabbat with our refugee friends, and the tables are already set as you can see.

DAY 3 | Shabbat In Vienna

Shabbat was an Incredible experience for all of us In Vienna. On Friday night we helped create a lot of ruach with the refugees during Kabbalat Shabbat. The dancing was electrifying and there's really nothing quite like seeing the smiling face of a Ukrainian refugee dancing wildly In the middle of a circle with an SAR student. During the meal, students were able to develop some really nice friendships with refugees of all ages. As we sang shalom aleichem for a very long time, we noticed tears flowing down the face of a woman from Ukraine. This was no ordinary woman. This woman recently celebrated her 100th birthday. When we asked her she was crying, she responded, "when I see Jews sing, I always cry." Let's just says that at that point, her tears became a bit contagious. After leading the community In song and conversation, we finally went home after midnight.

This morning In shul (10AM start time- thank you Chabad!) we had another Incredible SAR community experience. As we walked Into shul, we heard someone say, "Rabbi Kroll, Is that you?" And of course we found an SAR alumnus (class of 2010) who Is now working In Vienna! Students really enjoyed getting to bond with the refugees over lunch. Their harrowing stories provided something of a reality check for all of us. One example: Leah described her journey with her stepdaughter from Dinipro to Vienna In early March. They took a train to Lviv with 24 people packed Into a compartment meant for 6. From Lviv, she eventually crossed the border Into Poland which took 19 hours. Finally, they made their way to Vienna. Leah's husband was able to join them just two weeks ago. Now that Leah has been In Vienna for two months and adjusted to her new life, she dedicates her time to helping newer refugees find apartments.

In the afternoon, we were Introduced to another part of the Jewish community. We walked tot eh Mizrachi shul and learned about the history of Jewish Vienna from Professor Awi Blumenfeld. We then took an extraordinary walking tour of Jewish Vienna, guided by an 18 and 19 year old brother and sister. Benya and Moriah are part of a program called Likrat which Introduces Austrians and visitors to Jewish life In Vienna. After the tour we learned more about Mauthausen from Professor Blumenfeld and enjoyed singing with members of Bnei Akiva. Then at sedua shlishit, we had another SAR community encounter. Who do we see at the Mizrachi shul seuda shlishit? Rav Harel Gordin, who served as SAR High Schools' Rosh Beit Midrash from 2007-2010. SAR seems to be everywhere.

Havdalah with Bnei Akiva was spirited. And our students really appreciated how we have a shared language of songs with our Bnei Akiva friends In Vienna. Havdallah In Vienna felt like a havdallah on an SAR Shabbaton.

Following havdallah, we walked to the home of the community member who serves as point person for the Russian speaking community. Maxim and his wife made pizza for all of us along with a number of refugees who joined us.

Tomorrow morning we are headed for Mauthausen. Wakeup Is at 5:30 which Is 4 hours from now! Laila Tov and Shavua Tov.

DAY 4 | Mauthausen

Today was a very heavy day. We made the two hour bus ride to Mauthausen this morning along with several families of Ukrainian refugees. When we planned our trip to Vienna we had not realized that today was the official day of recognizing the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Mauthausen. Upon realizing this two weeks ago, we made sure to join the official Jewish delegation from Vienna. SAR participated In the ceremony alongside Vienna's chief rabbi and the movements of Bnei Akiva and Hashomer Hatzair. Tyler Fischman and Bailey Lisker spoke as part of the official Viennese program which was attended by several hundred participants. The entire program consisted of several thousand and Included delegations from all over the world. Some students commented that the presence of the International delegations added prominence to the day. Others felt that there was something Incongruous and upsetting about countries like Germany and Austria sending their soldiers In dress uniforms carrying their countries' flags In celebration of what was ultimately their defeat. We were able to spend a couple of hours walking through Mauthausen and being moved by the exhibits. Students commented that even though they knew about much of what they saw, It just hits much harder when you see It with your own eyes and you walk the grounds with your own feet.

Later In the day once we returned to Vienna, we met with students at the Lauder Business School. LBS Is a degree granting Institution that provides Jewish students with a Jewish environment and opportunities for Jewish learning. The students there, come from many countries Including those of the former Soviet Union and a number of Latin American countries. We davened mincha/maariv at LBS and spent some time learning together with their students. Ms. Schneider and Rabbi Kroll taught a class about the Intersection of economics, morality and halacha with respect to Incentivizing kidney donations. It was nice to learn with the range of International students. And It was especially nice to do so while eating sushi.

We ended our evening with a stop at the recently completed Shoah Wall of Names memorial. The striking memorial lists the names of the close to 65,000 Austrian victims of the Shoah. It was a powerful way to end the day as we reflected on what we experienced and learned.

DAY 5 | Refugee Centers In Vienna

On Monday, we saw what most of us considered the most Inspirational part of our trip. We began our day at the Lauder Chabad School of Vienna. The school covers nursery school through 12th grade. Two months ago their enrollment was under 400 students. Now that the school has absorbed close to 150 students who are refugees from Ukraine, the enrollment Is over 500. Imagine adding the equivalent of an entire grade of students to SAR HS in March. We had the privilege of meeting with Rabbi Yisroel Wolosow who talked about his school and Introduced us to his new students from the Ukraine. In the past two months, the school has Installed 4 mobile classrooms, added several new classes, hired many new teachers, consulted with psychologists and social workers, and with great joy admitted all of the refugee children free of charge. Rabbi Woloslow explained that Chabad's mission has always been to serve the underprivileged and refugees and that he considered It the greatest honor to continue to do so. The students we visited were smiling and appreciative. Rabbi Woloslow explained that It's so Important for school to be a stable and secure environment given all of the Instability and unknowns In the lives of their parents. We left the Lauder Chabad School with a real appreciation of כל ישראל ערבין זה בזה and an appreciation of the heroic figures who are saving the lives of our brothers and sisters from the Ukraine. אשרינו מה טוב חלקנו!

In the afternoon we took a break for some fun and went go karting. A good time was had by all and It has been really wonderful to see how this previously unconnected group of 24 students has really bonded.

In the early evening we went to the new JRCV community center site and helped to decorate It. The current site which we have also been using as our base Is just too small not the community of refugees has grown so much. The new space has more than than 4 times the square footage as the current space and will make It possible for the community to offer more services for the refugees. We had a great time expressing some creativity and painting a mural on the wall, under the guidance of two artists from the Ukraine.

We look forward to our last full day In Vienna tomorrow.

DAY 6 | Closing Events

Our last day was a wonderful exclamation point at the end of this week of activity In Vienna. We began our day with a fun activity along with a few of our friends form the Ukraine. Together we soared to new heights as we enjoyed Indoor skydiving.

The physical thrills of the Indoor skydiving were nothing compared to the spiritual thrills that followed when we returned to the Lauder Chabad School. Rabbi Woloslow welcomed us back with open arms and our students spent quality time with Ukrainian refugee students of all ages. It started as we joined together for pizza (we've come to expect that pizzza here Is fleishig) and then continued with basketball games, soccer, conversations and lots of Inspiration. We heard from one teenager who described her family's escape from Kharkiv. She explained that when they heard Russia was to attack Ukraine, she thought It would be a border skirmish that would not affect those living In big cities, but then the missiles began to fall. When a rocket destroyed the apartment building across from her home on a Saturday morning, her rabbi told her family to get In the car on shabbos and drive as far west as they could. Rabbi Woloslow discussed the idea of shlichut and feeling like your life is mission. Hel also shared a moving video highlighting the challenges that Ukrainian refugees face. Our students loved playing with their new friends and were Inspired by the bravery and heroism of the many characters we met at the school.

Afterward we went to the beautiful Stadt Temple, the main synagogue of Vienna. The chief rabbi of Vienna met with us and gae us a tour of the shul. The Stadt Stmple was the only synagogue In Vienna which was not destroyed by the Nazis. Some theorize that It Is because the shul Is In a densely populated building complex and that the risk In bombing It was very great. We davened mincha and maariv there and were Inspired by the majesty of the soaring ceilings and exquisite architecture.

We closed out the evening with a celebratory dinner at Yudale's restaurant. As we arrived were greeted by some of our Ukrainina friends who were eating there as well. Together we began singing and dancing. Other restaurant goers joined In and we had a large group of people singing Acheinu , Vehi She'amda and Am Yisrael Chai. Apparently the singing and dancing was a little too noisy, as some Viennese policemen came to Investigate a noise complaint. We were much quieter the rest of the evening, At the end of our meal, our newly bonded group reflected on the trip and on what we learned form the experience. We all feel very grateful for being able to give and receive .