Birthright Israel: Day 8

So, I neglected to make a big deal about this in my last post: we finally made it to Jerusalem! Jerusalem is now one of my favorite cities in the world - there is just a special feeling to it that can't be explained.  I wound up staying in Jerusalem for a week after Birthright ended, but, that is a story for another entry.

This was our "heavy" day - we spent most of the day at Mount Herzl (the big political / military cemetery in Jerusalem) and at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum).  I decided to shoot pictures in black & white to preserve the mood, and it worked really well, outside of the ability to capture the beauty of the nature and greenery throughout the cemetery.  The calm peace and beauty is what struck me the most during out time in Mount Herzl - in this city that is so contentiously fought over, that many aspects of the modern world and world relations seem to center on, we were surrounded by peace and quiet and serenity.  It was very moving.

 A typical grave in the military section

 A small patch of the military section

 Golda Meir's tomb

 Yitzhak Rabin and his wife

 Theodor Herzl, founder of the modern-day Zionist movement, who first had the idea for a Jewish state

Yad Vashem is connected to the cemetery by a nice outdoor walkway, and we walked downhill to the museum.  There were no photos allowed inside, unfortunately, but it is a really great, well-put together museum, from the architecture to the way the layout forces you to wind your way through art and displays.  We were rushed through, unfortunately, due to time, but it was still a beautiful experience.  The best part was at the end, where there was a reflecting pool at the bottom of a well, which reflected up to both us, circling the pool, and then above us where there were pictures of those who came before us.  The pool is located in the records room, which is part of a project to find, identify, and remember every single victim of the holocaust.  It is an ongoing project, as an attempt to give a voice and identity to every single life lost.

After our tour of the museum, we were fortunate enough to be able to hear a survivor talk and give us an account of his experience.  It was very moving - I had never heard a Holocaust survivor speak before.  He had survived Auschwitz, and was able to tell us his story very smoothly, and even took questions at the end. I was astounded at his bravery to be there speaking to us.

 View over the back hills of Jerusalem, seen from outside Yad Vashem.

Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations - honoring non-Jews who made great sacrifices to help Jews during the holocaust.

After this powerful day, it was time to go back to the hotel, light our Chanukkah candles, then light the Shabbat candles before going into the Old City for a very special Shabbat - we were being taken to the Kotel for the first time.

 Lighting Chanukkah candles!

The guides wanted to make our first time at the Kotel extra-special.  We were driven to the Old City by our bus driver while it was still light, so he could make it home in time for Shabbat with his family.  We were given a little bit of a tour / talk by our rabbi, as we waited for it to get dark.  We were then taken to a small little enclave, lined up, and told to close our eyes.  We were then lead to an outlook to have our first view of the Kotel.  I didn't bring my camera with me because none are allowed in the area on Shabbat (since it's a holy place), so here is a photo I found on the internet of what that first view approximately looked like as dusk set in:

It was breathtaking, and there was a special energy in the air.  Not only was it Shabbat, which is magical every week in Jerusalem, but it was Chanukkah! There was a big menorah ablaze on the northern (left) part of the wall, and there was a HUGE crowd.  After having our first overlook, we were finally taken down to the wall to sing, dance the horah, have private reflecting time at the wall, etc.  We wound up dancing with a group of middle school girls from a kibbutz near Tel Aviv who were in Jerusalem for their first time, members of our group over on the boys side got lifted on chairs, it was such a fun, incredible evening.  Afterwards, we had a nice long walk back to the hotel for dinner and sleep.  The streets of Jerusalem are empty on Shabbat - the entire city shuts down, there are no rail services, busses, and almost nobody driving. It was eery but really neat to experience.

[As always, I do not put every single picture I take into this blog.  To see the entire album of photos I took while on Birthright, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke /sets/72157628872433827/ When I get to my extended, post-Birthright part of the trip, there will be a new album for those photos as well.]