Migdal International Jewish Family Retreat Halom is one of the most popular Migdal’s programs and is loved by all of its participants. As of the start of 2023, we had 24 retreat seasons since the beginning of the first Halom. Each Halom’s season was always filled with beautiful, bright, and fun memories that families and children brought back home with them.
Halom is our special signature retreat since it is focused on arts and creative development, which is at the very center of all Migdal’s events. Each season offered different themes, such as “Incredible adventures of Jews in the desert” and many others. Halom’s arts and entertainment programs coupled with Jewish education, excursions, tours, and other attractions are all part of its unforgettable experience. Halom also provides four kosher meals a day, a beautiful place to stay, typically at the seaside with deluxe and economy classrooms, transportation to and from the retreat, and all other accommodations.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine, everything changed drastically, and we had to make very quick decisions under extreme circumstances. For the first time in many years we could not conduct Halom during the peak of the pandemic. Fortunately, we were able to restart Halom 24 in July of 2022 and for the first time took our community out to Romania in the midst of the raging war in Ukraine.
Halom 24 in Romania started on July 4, 2022 and it would not be possible without the help of many wonderful people. There were difficulties all along the way, including choosing a place for negotiations with the hotel, language barriers, cultural differences of another country, and almost total uncertainty about everything. It would be difficult to name everyone who helped us to make it happen, but with their help Halom 24 was made possible and started as smoothly as possible under the circumstances. Kindness, desire to help and support in every detail of every matter meant so much to everyone!
Halom 24 was not just a retreat, it became an oasis outside of a war zone, a breath of freedom, and an opportunity to recharge during the war and try to forget it at least for a little while.
Once everyone arrived, we mastered the territory and admired the views from the beautiful hotel’s windows overseeing the Black Sea and the pool. We also just simply enjoyed a peaceful, quiet life after hearing sounds of endless sirens from where we came. Our many initiatives included lessons, master classes, and, of course, fun activities, watching cartoons, and having exciting conversations together.
On the first Friday since our arrival to Halom 24 we had to figure out how to celebrate Shabbat. There were so many of us and not everyone could fit in one room! The solution was found quickly, because we had a corridor, and in the evening we gathered at the door of one room, because we all had to wash our hands after Kiddush. The kids held their breath once blessings were read with full responsibility for the moment. Cups of juice and then plates with chopped challah and salt were passed from hand to hand. At the end of our Shabbat meal, we got sweet kosher treats, and stayed with little children for an evening fairy tale. Something magical was happening, because it was almost impossible to organize all this without breaking something!
During Halom 24 we lived in a real fairy tale by the sea, the pool, comfort and safety. Could we imagine that in the midst of the war in Ukraine, we can begin to recover psychologically? What has happened in Halom 24 was a real miracle! And there are no words to express how grateful we are for being able to experience this miracle. Our gratitude brought the desire to continue this great experience and to share what we can. Everyone’s contribution, even the smallest, in total gave a fantastic result.
During the day, Denis Rosenwasser gathered everyone around him in a real chess and checkers club! We loved to learn the names of defenses and follow the pieces, plan a strategy and move the convolutions! Children were ready in a hurry to go down to the hall with the board, because it was time to participate in the tournament! How great it was to be in a world where everyone was open and ready to share knowledge, energy and time due to the warm family environment created by the Migdal people.
Another very special part of the Halom 24 experience was a visit by Dr. Eugenia Steingold, psychotherapist who came to Romania all the way from New York, USA. She came with the mission of helping children and families that were traumatized and psychologically affected by the war in Ukraine. Dr. Steingold stayed and worked with us, provided psychological and mental health support to all in need, really admired what we did in Halom, and became one of Migdal’s Friends after her visit. She also became our fundraising partner after she came back to New York and helped us with our fundraising campaigns. We are very grateful for all her contributions to Migdal!
Halom 24 became a real success story. We are very excited to announce our plans for Halom 25 in March of 2023 in Hungary, and hope to celebrate Purim there!
