Today has been a very exhausting yet powerful day. We began at the Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority. 
It was an emotionally challenging morning, although it was made uplifting by the large presence of Israeli soldiers who were also visiting the memorial as part of their education training in the army. We spent the afternoon touring the Old City of Jerusalem in the City of David and the Davidson Archaelogical Park. To stand at the kotel with us, click on this video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq1lEAtG97QThank you to Sally and Richard Krugel, who
somehow managed to have a case of freshly baked cookies delivered to our hotel for us to take on our long bus trip up north tomorrow. Todah Rabbah for your thoughtful generosity!Also, our guide Muki suggested that if anyone wanted to own a kippah like his,
they should visit:http://www.jdc.org/p_ee_bul_ps_build_manos.html
It was knitted by the Manos Bendichas (Ladino for "blessed hands") of Jewish women in Bulgaria as a means to support their struggling community.
Posted by Mark Bello
Today (after breakfast of course), we began our morning listening to a fascinating presentation. Rachel Korazin, an Israeli scholar and expert on the Shoah and its’ aftermath, spoke about the new Yad Vashem and the conflicts between “native” Israeli vs. Survivor, Zionist vs. Religious, and the historical factors (religious and secular)that lead to the declaration of a Yom HaShoah observance. Rachel is the child of survivors (including a survivor grandmother); she also shared her own experiences, detailing how different family members managed the aftermath of the Shoah. The presentation was fascinating and provided a unique prequel to what we were about to experience.
After her presentation, we traveled to the new Yad Vashem. The building is made of concrete, not Jerusalem stone; the only new building not following the mandate that Jerusalem stone be used. The reason is that the Shoah is not an Israeli experience; it is an out of Israel experience and thus should be made with “out of” Israel material.Having just visited Poland, I must confess that I am feeling a bit of Holocaust excess with our visit to this place. I am fascinated with the exhibits and the time seems to fly by, but I can’t shake the feeling that enough is enough. I wonder if anyone else is feeling this way.
The testimony of the various survivors is an excellent way of personalizing the experience and several bring me to tears. The expansion of this experience outside of that of the Polish Jews (that we have focused upon) to other regions of Europe is probably the most interesting “new” information we receive. We learn that the Nazis first try to isolate us into ghettos and we don’t die fast enough for them. A second exhibit reveals the second step, the systematic slaughter by weapon of 1.5 million Jews between 1942 and 1943. Poor Nazis, they just can’t kill us fast enough; we learn that bullets are expensive and the activity takes a toll on soldiers who must carry out the murders, so the Nazi hierarchy decides on the so-called Final Solution: Create Concentration camps; concentrate the Jews and isolate them, creating the perfect killing environment.
Near the conclusion of our visit, we gather in the community section of the museum, a stark stone structure, divided into the communities of Jews exterminated in the Shoah. We recite memorial prayers and sing Hatikvha adjacent to the Polish community.
We conclude our visit with a walk through the Children’s section. There is a stone edifice that is all glass inside, with memorial candles for 1.5 million children murdered in the Holocaust lit in almost complete darkness, while a voice calls out the names of each one. I am brought to tears during my short walk. What could these children have meant to modern Jewry? What kind of life were they deprived of? They never saw High School, never got to date each other, never experienced true love, and, most importantly, never got to have children of their own or realize their dreams. The thought is overwhelmingly sad.As we leave this place, after our Hatikvah performance, Muki advises that we have a “booking” in the Old City. I jokingly inquire whether someone has heard us sing. I am admonished by one of my travel mates for making a joke at Yad Vashem. I disagree; humor is necessary everywhere, especially in this place.
My blogs have detailed several ironies that I have witnessed in our travels. As we are leaving the museum, I notice a group of Muslims waiting with their tour guide to enter the premises. I wonder if learning about Eastern European Jewish life as it was and what happens when one race or religion hates another will help create a feeling of tolerance and peace in these people. I am doubtful, but these things can happen one person or one tour group at a time.
Next, we visit the City of David, the Jerusalem Walls National Park. We learn that Israel has its’ own underground spring and that this is the only large water supply in the Middle East. This has
made Jerusalem a very powerful force, historically, a fact that continues to this day. We journey underground and view the ancient, elaborate tunnels and caverns leading to the spring. It is an exhausting journey and we learn that, in ancient times, this journey was made mostly by women who lived to serve their men. This sounds good to me! Having ventured downward into the depths of Jerusalem, we now have to climb back up. I am surprised by my energy as I ascend, although some of my travel mates are having trouble with the uphill climb.Next, we visit the Jerusalem Archeological Park, endowed by Bill Davidson. The natural rock sites are a welcome sight as they make for great seating after our climb from the City of David. We learn that this is the site of an archeological dig around the temple mount, the support system for the 2nd temple. The site is magnificent, and the visitor can truly feel and experience the Bible, first hand. More irony occurs when, as we descend to the mount, a Muslim call to prayer is heard from the Mosque above our location. There is a well defined open area on the grounds, and we learn that this was a mikvah, with a wide entrance so that the pure can pass up while the impure pass down.
We are shown the Temple’s entrance and exit and Muki asks which one is which, the larger or the smaller. One closes out from the Temple and the other closes in. He theorizes that the entrance drops in, because people who go to services do not all arrive at once; they tend to dribble in. Of course, the one that drops out is the larger one, because that is the exit; everyone can’t wait to leave after a long service and they all leave at the same time! We stand on the Temple staircase and look out at the beautiful hills of the City.
The Bible’s reference to these beautiful hills; “I lift up mine eyes…” is referenced by Muki and it certainly is a strong reference. Muki finishes our visit with a story about Neal Armstrong, the first astronaut to walk on the moon. Apparently, Armstrong visits Israel and the Temple site about one year after his moon walk. He asks his guide whether Jesus might have walked on these steps and the guide responds that he would have. Armstrong reaches down and touches the step. He remarks that it means more to him to step on these steps than it did to step on the moon. The religious significance of this place belongs to all, not just to the Jews. To hear the Muslim call to prayer in the old city, click on this video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6zzYIsSdHkWe leave this marvelous place and finish our day with Old City shopping and a wonderful dinner with several of our group members at Olive, a popular Kosher restaurant. A good time is had by all.
Posted by Bonnie Seligson
I am so exhausted from today....my thoughts will be random. It is late in the night, but I just want to express a few things that stick out in my mind.........these will not be in order of the sequence from today, but anyone reading this blog has our itinerary, so I have no need to go in order. Instead, I will give a few impressions as they pop into my head.
To those of you who know me and my mother.......I must admit I am very glad she wasn't on this trip today. The sites we visited in the City of David were incredibly hard to navigate. My mother would have been telling me to BE CAREFUL all day. I would have been worried about her....but she would have been more worried about me....So instead of having my one mother along, I had 20 mothers who watched over me every step of the way. To them I am truly grateful.
PS I had no more problem than the rest of the group. Often today I thought of the mothers and daughters in the Holocaust...and how frightened and worried they must have been for each other.
We started off the day with an incredible lecture from Dr. Rachel Korazin. She explained the philosophy of the new Yad Vashem.
The old Yad Vashem dealt mainly with the destruction of the Jews and the power of the Nazis.. the focus of the new museum is to show the vibrancy of the Jewish life that existed before the war all over Eastern and Western Europe. The theme of memory has been talked about throughout our trip. We had a Yizkor service at the site of the Lost Communities and this is one of the readings handed out at the site. "We are a single people with a single memory. Just as the Diaspora's main task is to protect and shield Israel, Israel's task should be to strengthen the Diaspora, in the sense of making its Jews more Jewish, more creative, more responsive." To see part of our memorial ceremony in the Valley of the Communities at Yad Vashem, click this video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULGuVDsQqQgAt the area of the old temple in Jerusalem, our guide Muki was giving us the history of the area chronologically....and he again said something that sticks in my mind when recalling the day. He said it is easy to lose your keys, your wallet, your glasses, your purse in a cab in Boston which he has done invariably at one time or another, but how do you LOSE THE TEN TRIBES!
Muki told us when Neal Armstrong visited the old temple site in Jerusalem, he knelt down and touched the stone. Being a deeply religious man, Neal Armstrong said touching those stones was more exciting than when he touched the moon. Muki told us that Neal Armstrong understood that sometimes touching history can be greater than making history.
I'm going to sleep now......but I wanted to let everyone know this is just a minute of what we learned in the last 8-9 hours. LAILA TOV!
Posted by Leonard Borman
My golf game was interrupted. I had practiced twice weekly during the winter seeking to improve the timing of my swing for the upcoming summer season. Instead, I am in Israel and not giving a golf game a second thought. Playing sounds less important.
The memory of Poland has not left me. What about all those families whose lives were cut short. Within ten minutes after stepping off the trains in Birkenau, they died. It took generations to establish family life. One would expect a lengthy period to erode it. Instead, ten minutes. It was difficult to comprehend prior to this trip; very believable now.
I imagined families that were strong that still suffered from family betrayals: divorce, alcoholism, abandonment. Yet, if wanted, time allowed for the damage to be repaired. The same could be said of personal betrayal of inner strength.
The Nazis perpetrated the biggest betrayal, one from where no one could return: Loss of human freedom.
Here is a link to pictures from today: http://picasaweb.google.com/jonberkun/Day7ISRAELJerusalemYadVashemHolocuastMemorialTheOldCity
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