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Dear Bulgaria,
Our time with you began in the misty mountaintop monastery of Bachkovo, the burial site of the two Bulgarian priests who risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbors from deportation. It was a deeply spiritual experience saying kaddish for the guardians of Bulgaria's Jewry in the ornately painted church, lit only by ritual incense candles, with our hearts warmed by the memory of the Bulgarian people’s bravery. We were impressed by how your small yet thriving Jewish community challenged our assumptions of about Jewish identity. Youths not much older than ourselves, along with the elderly generation who lived before Communism, keep the rich Bulgarian Jewish heritage alive together. Our hotel in Sofia was situated next to the “square of tolerance,” an architectural oasis in contrast to the communist overtone of the rest of the city. The buildings' respective designs borrow from one another — the synagogue has a trinity symbol, the mosque has a star of David — reflecting centuries of cultural osmosis and peaceful coexistence. Bulgaria, you opened our minds to new ways of being Jewish, and opened our hearts to the human potential for good.
Love,
KIVUNIM ‘18-’19