Yad Vashem; The Holocaust museum and memorial in
Jerusalem. Sitting at the bottom of Mt.
Hertzel it is so extensive that it would take 4 whole days to see the whole
thing. We only had about 2.5 half
hours. So, while we did not see the
entire complex as a group it was an educational and moving experience. We did
not have Sara to guide us, but our guide was from Yad Vashem and he was very
knowledgeable. The architecture was
meant to be unsettling. It is a heavy
structure all cement built into the ground.
The light shines in from on high.
You must criss-cross throughout the exhibits; some areas are narrow and
some wide. Our journey began by
watching a video of the story of Hanna, a survivor who had come from Hungary. What really touched me and made me cry was
her telling of the remorse she felt by not allowing her mother to delouse her
and give Hannah, her portion of rations.
That guilt was so deep. After
that we entered the museum where there is extensive information on the
propaganda from the Nazi party, as well as the military history of the European
theatre of World War II. There was a section
dedicated to the explanation of what it meant to be a Jew in Europe. Our guide told us that in Israel many people
did not know what European Jewry life was.
How they lived, how some acclimated and how some did not. That was surprising to me. As we journeyed further down the path we
entered the area about the ghetto and how the Nazis took time to finally decide
what the “final solution” was going to be.
Then we entered the area about the concentration camps. It had real rail road tracks used for transportation
of millions of souls. We saw a portion
of the exhibit that showed the shoes of people who had been exterminated. From this we learn that these millions were
individuals. Woman who wore high heels,
men who worked in a factory and children just beginning to walk. We finished Yad vashem with a chasm built
into the mountain with water at the bottom.
This water works as a reflecting pool.
Above it is a dome with the names and faces of people lost to the
Holocaust. Around it are shelves filled
with names of people who were exterminated.
They have found 4 million names but will never find all of them. So this reflecting pool serves to not only
remember the ones we know we lost but the ones with no name. The people who were completely wiped from
history due to war, racism and a man, an elected official who had a vision to
wipe out one race. The water also
reflects the faces of the people who come to visit. Whether they are Jews or not they are the
future, the people who must carry the lesson forward to ensure that such a
tragedy never happens again. It is about
hope and remembrance.
Despite the torrential
downpour we ventured outside to visit the memorial dedicated to the 1.5 million
children who perished in the Holocaust.
You walk through the dark silently with the light from 5 candles
reflected from mirrors to appear as if it goes on forever. From speakers names of children are spoken
and the city they were from. I identify
as ethnically Jewish. But for the Nazi’s
none of the religious divisions mattered.
They had their Nuremburg laws and if they defined you as a Jew you were
subhuman and only good to work or be killed.
It was fitting that this memorial was built into the mountain dedicated
to Hertzel. He envisioned a state where
Jews would be free of oppression. This
was one of the darkest times for Jews and many of the ones who survived found
salvation in the land of their ancient ancestors, Israel.
After this moving experience we traveled to Machen
Yebuda for a taste of a modern Israeli open air market. It was something out of a novel or
movie. The spices, nuts and fruit were
on display. The vendors were shouting
and the people were pushing, talking, smelling, and tasting. It was Shabbat so
we welcomed it in the lobby of the hotel as a bus. Juliana read the blessing. We had dinner and
then there were services. I personally
went to the alternative one where we had a discussion about modern Shabbat in
modern Jewish American life and the importance of rest. Later there were Hillel conversations on
everything from tattoos to the discussion I went to about sex, love and
relationships in relation to Judaism. It
was led by Esther the head of birthright for Hillel and it was really
interesting to debunk the myths and learn what the Torah really says. The topics ran the gambit from contraception
to having children. We then exchanged
our gifts with our visiting IDF soldiers and saw the baby pictures of everyone
in the group.
Rachel Manela
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