Marni Loffman and Cantor Jenn led a trip to New York City for eight teens from our BAI teen program this past Sunday. Read below to learn a little more about what we did!
Our group started their morning bright and early at the Schuylkill Ave bus station in Philadelphia along the river, and we took a public bus to Hudson Yards in New York City. We then made our way to the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side where we heard the stories of two immigrant families, one Lithuanian Jewish and one Italian Catholic. We walked through the apartments where they lived, heard the recorded voices of their neighbors describe what it was like living with each other, and discussed how their lives changed over time as conditions in the US evolved.
We then got lunch on the go from Kossars and headed for Battery Park where we boarded a ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Teens had time on their own to choose whether to explore the Statue of Liberty via audio tour or visit the museum, and at Ellis Island we explored the museum exhibits about the history of immigration, the Ellis Island experience, and immigration today. As a group, we then visited the wall of honor where a couple of our teens located family names.
After a rainy and windy afternoon on the islands and a cold ferry ride back to Manhattan, the teens unpacked their day with Marni and Cantor Jenn over warm drinks at a coffee shop, sharing which parts of the day surprised or resonated with them. Each of us had a chance to share their own family’s immigration story and wonder what role Judaism played in our grandparents and great-grandparents journey to America.
We then finished up the day at a kosher vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown called Buddha Bodai before boarding our megabus back to Philly, arriving back at spring garden station 15 hours after we left that morning.
Our teens experienced an important piece of Jewish American history, formed some great bonds and memories with friends, and learned how to navigate from Philly to New York entirely by public transit (bus, subway, ferry, and LOTS of walking!) We had an amazing time and look forward to more teen excursions in future years.
