Visiting heritage sites means learning about the past, and understanding how people lived before and how it relates to life today. Jewish heritage sites are scattered across the world and you can visit them aboard a kosher river cruise too. These heritage sites include synagogues, cemeteries and museums that showcase Jewish culture. where we have been and who we are now as Americans.
As you plan your vacations in 2022, consider visiting some of these heritage sites and others like them around the world.
Wailing Wall, Jerusalem
The Wailing Wall (or Western Wall) is the most important religious site in the world for the Jewish people. Built-in approximately 520BC, it was part of a large complex known as the Second Temple, which has since been destroyed. The wall is holy because it represents a remnant of the temple itself, which was also considered holy ground by Jews and Christians alike.
The wall is perhaps best known as a place to pray or make wishes—people from all over the world travel here to write notes on scraps of paper and place them in cracks between stones in hopes that their prayers will reach God more directly. While it's thought that these notes will likely be collected and discarded every few days, visitors nevertheless leave hundreds of thousands each year. The act is often said to be more meaningful than writing prayers down at home, simply because you have made an effort to go out of your way and visit God personally if only for a short time. People often come here for long periods at once—sometimes even a couple weeks—in order to focus solely on spiritual matters without distraction from their daily lives.
Joseph's Tomb, West Bank
Joseph's Tomb is located in the city of Nablus, in the West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territory. It is one of Judaism's most important and holy sites because it is said to be the burial site of Joseph, a son of Jacob and an important figure in the Bible.
Today, Joseph's tomb still welcomes visitors who wish to pay their respects. However, due to ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis over territory ownership—as well as recent demonstrations by Palestinians against Israeli occupation—visiting this site may be difficult for tourists or other travelers.
Be sure to check local news reports before traveling there; if it is safe to do so, you are required to travel with a military escort and only between dawn and dusk. While some tours may include a stop at Joseph's tomb, the best recommendation for visiting there safely would be to arrange for personal transportation via car or bus directly from Israel; from there you can meet your military escort at the checkpoint outside Nablus where they will escort you into town for your visit.
Masada, Israel
The beautiful, ancient site of Masada is located in the Judean Desert in Israel. Masada is the place where Jewish rebels made their last stand against the Romans. It’s also the place where, rather than surrendering to the Romans, 960 men, women and children killed themselves.
It’s a place rich in history and deserves to be on this list. It’s so important to Jews that we have an army oath sworn at its foot: “Masada shall not fall again”.
Visiting Masada is one of those incredible experiences you won’t forget for a long time. You can hike up or take a cable car ride. Either way you go, you will reach the top and never want to leave!
Bergen Belsen, Germany
Bergen Belsen is a very important site to visit for those who want to understand the Holocaust. This concentration camp was one of the first ones liberated in 1945, and it had been used as an internment camp for political prisoners, Jews and other people that were deemed enemies of the Nazi state. When it was liberated, there were more than 70,000 prisoners in Bergen-Belsen; most of them had already died from starvation or disease. The British forces ran the camp for about two years until they moved everyone out in 1947. In the 1950s, a memorial was built on some parts of the camp and visitors can see where mass graves are located through informational signs all over the grounds.
Even though Bergen-Belsen is not as well known as Auschwitz or Dachau, it is still a very important place to visit because it will help you gain deeper insight into Jewish history and heritage during World War II.
Auschwitz Birkenau, Poland
Auschwitz (also known as Auschwitz-Birkenau) is an infamous concentration camp located in the Polish town of Oswiecim, about 70 miles west of Krakow. It was built by Nazi Germany around 1940, right after the invasion of Poland and the start of World War II, to be a place where political prisoners would be held and worked to death.
To learn more about Jewish heritage, history and places, book your trip aboard kosher cruises and take advantage of the amenities.
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