Farewell Dinner

After one afternoon of fun, we gathered again for a wonderful
farewell dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel. This picture was
taken after our travelers had chosen from a smorgasbord of homemade
desserts!

I made some final comments that I want to share with you. Walls, we
have seen all kinds of walls during the past two weeks: ghetto walls,
the Berlin wall, camp walls, wailing walls, prison walls, and walls of
remembrance inscribed with victims' names. Walls made of cement,
barbed wire, concrete slabs, tombstone fragments, bricks, wood.

Walls symbolize the brokenness of the 20th century: they displaced
people, inflicted pain, created otherness, enabled disrespect and
stereotyping; walls separated, isolate, tore through, and instilled
fear of contamination by "subhumans." I urged our travelers to tear
down these walls and to help repair the world. Tikun Olan! I hope I am
spelling these wonderful words right. Repair the world. The other Dr.
Carls ended with an oecumenical prayer and we all adjourned to go
packing and be ready for tomorrow's trip home.