The Celebration of Pesach for this year has been quite different, and Shavuot and other future holidays might also be spent indoors. Quite different from how we traditionally celebrate them, but for the safety of our family and friends, we have to reduce the spread of the current pandemic.
The new normal of 2020 has been stressful for some, and enforcement of social distancing can be frustrating for others. However, one thing to keep in mind is that like all earthly things, the current pandemic will one day pass, either through natural means or via a vaccine. When this happens, we can all celebrate Pesach freely once more, and go on Jewish travel vacations with our loved ones. You can even plan out your own travel itinerary so that you always have a future post-COVID-19 in mind, a future when this pandemic subsides.
What are some interesting places to visit?
The Iberian Peninsula
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| Discharge of the Douro into the Atlantic Ocean near Porto. Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_Peninsula |
This is a very broad category, encompassing many great locales of Jewish heritage in Portugal and Spain. Iberia was once where the Golden Age of Spanish Jews took place, with various advances in Jewish scholarship from the 7th Century to the 10-12th centuries. There’s Porto, Portugal and it’s Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue, Salamanca where Abraham Zacuto once dwelled, and other locales of note to visit.
Budapest, Hungary
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| Budapest Chain Bridge |
The Danube river connects several capital cities in Europe. One of them is Budapest, in Hungary, a place with a long and complex history with Jewish people. From the 11th Century onwards, the Jews of the towns of Buda and Pest experienced shifting levels of tolerance, being allowed to trade and thrive for a few decades, then facing expulsion for a few more. When Buda and Pest unified to become Budapest, the Jews of the newly-unified city gradually entrenched themselves in its culture, to the point that today it has the largest population of Jews in Eastern Europe. This old Hungarian city would be a great place to visit on your future Jewish Heritage tours.
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