L'Etz Go To Israel!: Day Four: Memory and Renewal

Day four was a day full of mixed emotions--tragedy and pride, sorrow and joy, death and life.

We had some extra time in the morning before out planned itinerary really got under way, and used it to go see the beautiful Chagall windows in the shul at Hadassah hospital. Hadassah hospital in of itself is an amazing facility. As we pulled up, Iddo noted that all that we see above ground is also available below ground. In the event of a terrorist attack, the entire hospital can be relocated to the safety of an underground shelter. As we walked through the hospital, we were taken aback by all the shops, kiosks, and restaurants--essentially a shopping mall within the hospital. Iddo's comment was that such a happy environment is an ideal atmosphere for recovery. The Chagall windows were breathtaking--we've all seen facsimiles in a variety of different media, but there's no comparison to seeing them in person, with the sunlight of Jerusalem filtering through the vividly colored stained glass. Each of the twelve windows is dedicated to a different tribe of Israel, and each is replete with symbolism and imagery depicting the nature and personality of each tribe. Sorry--photography was not permitted!

We then headed to Yad Vashem--the holocaust museum. Stopping at the visitor's center, Iddo guided us through a model of the museum's campus. The main building of the museum is a long, triangular tunnel, built into the heart of the mountain on which the museum stands, and extending beyond the mountain on either end. This represents a knife that has been stabbed through the very flesh of Jerusalem itself. The museum contains an enormous amount of material and artifacts relating to the years of the Holocaust, with screens throughout showing interviews with survivors. At the very end of the main building is the Hall of Names--a circular room whose walls are full of binders containing information about victims of the Holocaust. Most of the shelves are already full--with information about four million victims having been collected thus far.

We also visited the Children's Memorial. The purpose of this memorial is to give visitors a sense of the magnitude of the loss of one and a half million Jewish children. The memorial is completely dark, lightened only by the presence of one small flame which is then reflected by mirrors placed throughout the hall, giving the impression of one and a half million flames which were snuffed out by the Nazis.

One end of the main building, jutting out from the "flesh" of Jerusalem

A monument marking the Garden of the Righteous Gentiles

Our next stop was Har Hertzl--the national military cemetery that is also the burial site of Theodor Hetzl, Yitzchak Rabin, and other Israeli dignitaries. We heard about the ceremonies that take place on Yom Hazikaron (Israel Remembrance Day) and Yom Haatzmaut at Har Herzl. We visited Herzl's grave and spoke about the need to react to the tragedy of the Holocaust by building a better home for the Jewish people. We sang Hatikva together, and recited a Kel Malei Rachamim for the fallen soldiers of the IDF. As we left, a school group arrived, with young Jewish children streaming towards Herzl's grave to pay their respects. It was a beautiful site of rebirth following the destruction we had seen that morning.

At the entrance to Har Herzl

Jewish children at Herzl's grave

From Har Herzl, we continued to our last stop--Machane Yehuda, the Jewish marketplace. It was bustling with activity as people were beginning to shop for Shabbos. We visited the Marzipan bakery, renowned for the best chocolate rugelach on earth, then continued to wind our way through the market. The sights and sounds of the marketplace are captivating--fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables, restaurants, fresh baked bread and pita, huge heaps of pickles and olives. We all picked up some goodies for our Shalosh Seuodos at the hotel tomorrow and thoroughly enjoyed this only-in-Israel experience.