2008

From: חיה אורי 
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 2:26 PM
Subject: מחיה אורי

שלום דני,
שבנו אתמול ממסענו אבל רק היום נחתתי באמת.
בשם כולנו אני רוצה להודות לך על ההדרכה, האירגון והמידע שהענקת לנו.
למרות ה"חריקה" הקטנה בערב הראשון (שלדעתי הייתה יכולה להמנע אם היינו קצת יותר סבלניים) היתה לנו חוויה נעימה, מעניינת ומעשירה בזכותך. לכולנו ישארו זכרונות טובים מהמפגש אתך, עם ארצך ועם העבר וההוה שלה.
מאחלת לך שתמשיך בעבודתך החשובה, ולנו שנוסיף לשמור על קשר ואולי להיפגש שוב.
נשמח לארח אותך כשתהיה בארץ.
מסור את תודתנו גם לאביך.
שוב תודה ולהתראות
בשם כל משפחתי
חיה אורי

From: יגאל פרלמן
Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2008 1:20 PM
To: Yulik
Subject: מיגאל ודליה

ליוליק,
הגענו בשלום, הכול היה נפלא, מודים לך על הטיול הנפלא.
מצורפות כמה תמונות לפי בקשתך..
בידידות מדליה ויגאל.

Dear Daniel,
 
Thank you so much for making our trip so special.  We appreciated the preparation for each place we visited. It was informative, interesting and relevant to our reason for being in Lithuania.  It was exciting to walk the streets where Judaism once flourished and sad to see where they perished.  Our hope is that  the Jewish community will regain the vibrancy it once had.
 
I am pleased with our visit to Riga.  It is a beautiful and fascinating city.  Since it is unlikely that Art and I will be returning, we are pleased that our daughter was with us who was very moved by this experience.  I know there are younger relatives who are planning to visit and I certainly will encourage them.  
We are deeply appreciative.  Please give our best regards to your father and to Lena.
Sincerely,
 
Alice

From: Dr. Benjamin Bedzovski
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 5:55 PM
To: daniel@jerulita.lt
Subject: תודות

דני שלום רב,
 
הרשה לי להודות לך על הדרכתך המרתקת והמקצועית.  יישר כוח!  מאד נהנינו מההדרכה המלמדת והמרתקת.
זוהי תחושתי ותחושת משפחתי שטיילה איתך בליטא.
שוב תודה עבור התמונות שצילמת.  הן יפהפיות.
מקוים לראותך בארץ,
 
כל טוב,
 
             בני בדזובסקי וכל שאר ילדי האחיות שר.

2007

Dear Yulik,

We would like to take this opportunity to appreciate and thank you very much for the great privilege we have all experienced in the two days visit in Vilnius during our ‘family root journey’ in Poland and Lithuania ended last week. Any additional word had left to tell you our deep recognition on the efforts you have ‘put on track’ to make for us this “one time in life event” in an unpredictable form of scenery. Your exceptional talent, proficiency and wide knowledge in all aspects of history, culture and the Jewish heritage made this unique travel absorbing and delightful. All of us will never forget the uncommon experience of searching for the local sites in the wake of our mother at the beautiful and impressive streets and sceneries of Vilnius.

All the best,

Ayala, Noga, Iftach, Ronit and Amos.  

From: Batya Dashefsky [mailto:batya_d@netvision.net.il]
Sent: 2006 m. spalio 18 d. 08:23
To: Daniel
Subject: Re: Visiting Vilna

Dear Daniel,

I wanted to take a few minutes to express my deepest thanks for your work with us in Lithuania. You can't imagine how important it was and how moved I was by what you showed us. You were patient, knowledgeable, supportive and caring. I can't thank you enough.

Please, next time you are in Israel let us know. Let me offer you hospitality. I expect to move to a bigger apartment in two months and I should have lots of room.

Warmest regards to Lena, little Michael and of course to you, Batya

Ralph and Wayne

Dear Danny.

I'm sorry that I've immediately forgotten that You were suppose to leave us-and didn't say a proper "good bye" and "lehitraot" and "thank You"....

I travel since 1975 and during those years I've met all sorts of guides-but Your Father and You are so very special-You were our friends and coleages-not just guides!

I've already recommended You to my friends-I do hope that they will contact You and that their opinion will be exactly as mine.

It was a privilege to meet You.

                                                        All the best-Rimma Kaul-Israel   

                                                                    (Ora's group-August 8-18.2007)

2006

From: Karen Gordon - Lakin [mailto:kareng@netvision.net.il]
Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2006 2:26 PM
To: daniel@jerulita.lt
Subject: Tremendous Thank YOu

Dear Daniel -

 ... Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!.  

You were a wonderful introduction to Vilnius and the area and started our whole trip off in the best possible way - interesting, sensitive, moving but relaxed and  personal, leaving us both (Batya and I) wanting to do an expanded  return trip to all the areas we visited.  One of the things we really wanted to try to understand was something about what it's like to live a Jewish life today in the areas we visited. I knew nothing about this and the effects of Communism . Throughout the whole trip I had my eyes opened.  You were the perfect person to begin ,  even Hebrew and an Israeli lunch...

 ...ou were part of something very special for me, really a long-time dream.

Shalom and my best to Lena and Michael.

Karen Gordon-Lakin

Jerusalem

From: Paul Zimmerman [mailto:paul@whchc.org]
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 12:12 PM
To: My Travel Find
Subject: Re: How was your trip?

The trip went better than expected. It is impossible to describe the last two weeks in a short email. But, let me start by saying that we were completely satisfied with our guides. Yulik, in particular, is a real find. He is a tremendous resource for anyone interested in Baltic Jewish history and culture. All of the arrangements went very smoothly. All of the accommodations were satisfactory.

I hesitate getting into the content of the trip, because we saw and learned so much. I don't know quite where to begin. We did find the general location of my grandparents place of birth, which was very important to my mother. If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask. Thanks again for all of your contacts & arrangements.
 
From: Blithe, Diana (NIH/NICHD) [mailto:blithed@exchange.nih.gov]
Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 12:51 PM
To: 'My Travel Find'
Subject: RE: How was your trip?

Our trip overall was wonderful. The guide in Vilnius, Yulik, was
fabulous! He was so knowledgeable and so accommodating that our stay in
Vilnius was as perfect as we could imagine. The Hotel Conti was also
fabulous. The accommodations and staff were simply wonderful. I think
the hotel deserves more stars and Yulik is an absolute treasure!
....
Thank you for all your help in making our travels to eastern Europe a
great experience.

With best regards,
Diana
 
From: Ilona Shechter
To: yulik@delfi.lt
Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2004 2:16 AM
Subject: thanks and a question!

Dear Yulik,

Well, I finally made it back home to California after spending 10 days in Israel, after the course was over. I don't have words adequate enough to thank you for all you taught us and shared with us when we were in Lithuania with you.

This is a trip I don't think I will ever forget. It was so interesting as well as difficult to visit the country of my family origins. Being in the Kovno ghetto was exceptionally hard as that is where my family were captured and where they died, is still a mystery today. I wish we'd had the time to go to Ponevyzh, as well. That is where my grandparents came from. I learned so much from you beyond just the history. You are an extraordinary teacher and mensch. And it was a real privilege for us to have you as our guide and mentor.

When we finally got to Israel, after 4 crazy days in Moscow, where we all decided that Lithuania and Vilna is far more beautiful, we studied about the 2nd Aliyah. And the question that constantly came up was "who are the Revolutionary Jews today?" Who will be the ones that will make their mark on the world. One evening while sitting on the shores of the Galilee, we were dicussing so much of what we had seen and learned with you, and we decided that you are a truly revolutionary Jew. Doing what you do for the Jewish remnant of Lithuania makes you a hero in our eyes.

I look forward to hearing from you very soon. I have a heart full of words of thanks for you and somehow can't find the right ones to say! Please thank Daniel for an excellent tour of Ponary, which was sad beyond belief. He was wonderful!!

B'Shalom and zei gezundt,

Ilona Shechter.
 
From: Mona Sade
To: Yulik
Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2003 5:25 AM
Subject: Thanks

Dear Yulik!

I got home yesterday and cannot stop thinking of the unusual expereince I have gone through thanks to your devoted and intelegent guidance.

Your knowledge and patience going through my search after my roots and finally your empathy with my feelings made it even more meaningful to me.

You have been an excellent and devoted guide, you could "read" every one needs, and made my visit an unforgettable experience.

Many Thanks
Mona

 
From: NEHAMA COHEN
To: yulik@delfi.lt
Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2004 5:45 PM
Subject: חזרתי לארץ הקודש

שלום יוליק!
חזרתי הביתה לפני מספר ימים.
אני רוצה להגיד לך שוב תודה על רכישת הכרטיסים.
אני חושבת שאתה בעל ידע רב, לב רחב ושגריר מוצלח של היהודים בווילנה.
היה לי כבוד גדול להכיר אותך.

אשמח לעזור לך פה בישראל.

להתראות נחמה.