May 29 -30: After the sunshine of Zürich and Sofia, the early dullness of Dublin was a somewhat unpleasant welcome. But we were, at least, greeted by a friendly face at the airport - Rabbi Lent came himself to meet us. 
To put the things in context for a moment: this entire tour arose from a conversation between our good friend Tali Lowenthal and his son-in-law, Zalman Lent, about David. Rabbi Lent then contacted me and we discussed the possibility of an ECJS tour...and so it all began.
As we arrived very early in Dublin we had a chance to explore the city. And amazingly, the Irish sun came out for the occasion. Despite my own ancestral connections to the Emerald Isle (how Irish do I look here?), neither David nor I were
especially enthusiastic about Dublin. In many ways, it suffered from its similarity to the UK - walking around Dublin felt much like walking around London - and so it was not as new or exciting for us. Having said that, we still
explored some of the local attractions: Trinity College, Grafton Street, the River Liffey...The talk in the evening was to one of the larger crowds of the tour - as one would expect as it was in the only English-speaking country on the itinerary - and was well received.
But we were able to see for ourselves that the Jewish community of Dublin is but a shadow of its former glory, despite all of Rabbi Lent's warmth and commitment.
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