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The Little Liar, Mitch Albom’s latest novel, opens in the city of Salonika (formally, Thessaloniki) in Greece, not long before almost the entire Jewish community is loaded in boxcars and sent to their deaths in Auschwitz-Birkenau. In the initial pages, Albom notes: “This book is a work of fiction,” and “references to real people, events, establishments, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity.” However, the author unquestionably knew the devastating history of the Jews of Greece during the Shoah, a dreadful and dark chapter in the story of our people that 32 members of Temple Sinai who traveled with me to Greece now understand as well.

It was one week ago today that we returned from a highly impactful congregational journey during which we explored the rich, vibrant, and sadly tragic history of the Jews of this region before and after the Shoah, an essential part of our history that all - including two who are docents at the Breman Museum - agreed far too few of us know. In Athens, Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Corfu, and finally Rhodes (from which numerous Atlanta Jewish families hail), we walked the neighborhoods, visited the remaining synagogues, met with a few local residents, spent time in Jewish museums, paid homage at memorials and sacred sites, and immersed ourselves in the stories of the bustling Jewish communities that once added color and life to the region. Of the approximately 80,000 Jews who lived in Greece prior to WWII – the vast majority in Thessaloniki - only 12,000 remained after the Shoah. Today, Greece’s Jewish population is estimated to be just 5,000 people, 3,500 of whom reside in Athens and the rest scattered throughout the country.

While our journey was understandably emotional and heavy at times, there were also spiritually impactful experiences such as observing Shabbat in the beautiful Romaniote synagogue in Ioannina and being able to read from a 625 year old Torah! And, it is also impossible while traveling through Greece not to appreciate and enjoy the country’s spectacular beauty (google “Meteora” to see the jaw-dropping ancient mountaintop monasteries), colorful and bustling markets, abundance of amazing cuisine (the trip was an eating fest), warm hospitality expressed throughout the trip, and overall sense of safety. Although appropriate security measures are in place, Greece – unlike most other European countries - presently enjoys a positive relationship with Israel and we encountered no expressions or signs of antisemitism and felt completely at ease as Jews traveling the country.

History and life have taught us of the necessity of holding and balancing a range of emotions and feelings – sadness and delight, sorrow and joy, remembrance and celebration – simultaneously. Our truly memorable congregational journey to Greece presented each of us with the full continuum of human experiences and emotions, and we are richer for the experience.