Records show the presence of Jews in Central Europe under the reign of Emperor Constantine in 321 and in the centuries that followed, Ashkenazic Jewry spread over much of Europe. Jews are often imagined as historically “a people without a land.” Although until very recently Jews had limited political freedoms in the places in which they lived, they called the landscapes of Central and Eastern Europe home for centuries.
While Europe was many times a difficult and hostile place for Jews, for a millennium it was more often their beloved home: the birthplace of their language, traditions, and customs and the source of Jewish creativity and culture. Join us as we will travel to the Heartland of Jewish Culture through the homeland of the Litvaks — the historical Grand Duchy of Lithuania — including Poland, Belarus (White Russia) and Lithuania. The Heartland of Culture Expedition will be traveling to Europe October 2018.
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Sephardic Balkans
We offer intellectually invigorating Jewish heritage tours across the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Our primary focus is on the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities of the region. In lands of the former Ottoman Empire — Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Thessaloniki (Greece), Sarajevo (Bosnia), and Belgrade (Serbia) — we encounter a strong Sephardic presence. In parts of northern Serbia, Romania, and Croatia, on the other hand, we speak about the predominantly Ashkenazi make-up of Jewish life.
Jewish Heritage River Cruises
We’re proud to offer a collection of itineraries that enable you to explore Jewish history and culture with our Jewish Heritage Program, the only one of its kind on the rivers. Our in-depth itineraries dive into Central Europe’s enduring Jewish legacy with visits to museums, memorials, synagogues and more.
The 2,000-year-old history of the Jewish people in Europe is an inspiring one, rife with tragedy and discrimination, as well as the endurance and profound sense of community that survived it all.
Uniworld’s Jewish Heritage cruises pay homage to this legacy. Our distinctive program showcases Jewish communities, highlighting positive developments and locals who are helping Jewish culture grow and thrive in the modern day.
While visits to Holocaust memorials, Jewish museums, and WWII sites are an important part of this journey, our aim is to tell the whole story—the story of a culture that flourished for centuries despite the odds.
We’ve designed our Jewish Heritage theme cruises to serve as cross-cultural “bridges of understanding,” both for those looking to explore their roots and anyone who would enjoy an immersive journey through an integral aspect of European history.
Nora Kaplan Sephardic Tours
Nora Kaplan Learn-in-trips started in 2009 as a family business in Salamanca, Spain, where after moving from South America, Nora with her husband Victor Mizrahi and son Sebastian founded a company specializing in language studies and cultural trips abroad. At the beginning of the pandemic, when physical traveling became almost impossible, Sebastian co-founded Qesher with Dora Koranyi, an initiative that features weekly virtual tours about the different Jewish communities from around the world.
It was during this period that a close collaboration started between Qesher and Moises Hassán-Amselém, scholar and owner of Jewish Spain Tour, a travel agency with more than 15 years of experience in the field. Moises has been one of Qesher’s main speakers on the subject of Sephardic Jewry. Learn-in-trips is proud to present the result of its cooperation with Qesher and Jewish Spain Tour: an all-inclusive journey through the main highlights of the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry.
Yivo Study Tours
YIVO is dedicated to fostering knowledge of the ongoing story of Jewish life, with a focus on the history and culture of East European Jewry—the ancestry of a significant proportion of Jews in the world today. This story has played an important role in shaping the times we live in.
It’s a story that’s still unfolding and still being told.
Scholars continue to uncover new layers of the story in our archives and library, one of the world’s most important resources on Jewish life and history in Europe; Yiddish language, literature, and folklore; the Holocaust; and the American Jewish immigrant experience. We bring you our discoveries, insights, and treasures from our collections through our programs, courses, exhibitions, award-winning publications, and websites.
JRoots
A JRoots Journey is a chance to connect with your Jewish heritage in a rich and meaningful way. Jews have built their lives across the world for thousands of years and we ensure that our journeys rekindle some of that life even in the darkest places where the Jews themselves do not remain. See some of our destinations below.
Road Scholar
At Road Scholar, we develop learning adventures for those who want a depth of perspective not found on standard travel excursions. Working with expert faculty, we create one-of-a-kind experiences—rich, multifaceted investigations into every topic and destination. On a Road Scholar trip, you get privileged access to places and experts that we have developed through our extensive global network, a network built over four decades of research and experience.
Baltics Jewish Heritage Tour
The Baltics – a region that is home to over 1,200 years of Jewish heritage. Both Lithuania and Latvia have produced an abundance of scholars and thinkers and Rabbinical greats- such as the Vilna Gaon, a world-renowned Talmudist scholar. Many North American Jews can trace their family roots to this part of the world that at one time was the birthplace of the top Jewish writers, scientists and scholars. Yiddish was widely spoken and the tour includes a visit to one of the few remaining Yiddish institutes in Vilnius, once called the “Lithuanian Jerusalem.”
Both Latvia and Lithuania were part of the Nazi occupation and we will visit memorial sites and interactive museums such as the Zanis Lipske Museum- the “Underground Railroad” where numerous Jews were saved.
This tour takes you back in time to immerse yourself in the Jewish culture of past generations visiting shtetls, synagogues and other historic sites.
Israel Jewish Heritage Tours
Experience it all with our Israel In Depth Tours! Join one of our classic Jewish Heritage Tours to Israel – fully escorted with a professional guide throughout. These Israel tours are designed to engage participants from a Jewish perspective – exploring the historical, political, and religious sites and institutions that make Israel such a unique destination. On-line booking is available for all our Jewish Heritage In-Depth Tours to Israel. Explore the itineraries below or call us at 800-237-1517 to find the right tour for you! Our Jewish Heritage Tours are currently open for booking through February 2023. You may book for Israel Tours after this date by completing the Contact Us form at the bottom of this page.
Uzbekistan Jewish Heritage Tour
Journey with us through one of the World’s most endlessly fascinating countries, discovering experiences far from well worn tourist routes. Sometimes it feels as if you have stepped back in time for a few centuries. Join us in Eurasia for good food, traditional cultures and a simpler, slower life. Follow the footsteps of Great Silk Road tracking indigenous heritage and ancient ways of living.
Uzbekistan is a young nation, but its roots are ancient, steeped in the legends of the steppe. From the West came Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan erupted from the East, while Tamerlane made his home the heartland of Central Asia, the remarkable historical and architectural legacy inherited by modern-day Uzbekistan.
We love nothing more than designing unique trips that last with people a lifetime. If you’d would like us to do the same for you, just drop us a line with your rough ideas, and we can start the process. We’ll work out an initial itinerary based on what you tell us, and then, once you’ve let us know what you think about that, we can talk together, by phone, skype or email and really come up with the holiday of a lifetime for you.
