"To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial..."
Today was my last full day of freedom, as tomorrow I head back to yeshiva after my weeklong furlough. I really enjoyed my time with my family, but I also feel that it's time to get back to my year of studying. Wow, I can't believe that I'm saying that.
Today we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum of Israel. It is an interesting archetictual structure: the main building is shaped like a prism and is made of concrete; the exhibit snakes its way from one end to the other, causing people to walk back and forth to see it all. The exhibits themselves were informative and meaningful, but I suspect that I did not register the power of the display as I did when I was on the March of the Living. In Poland, I was there; Yad Vashem was a taste of there, albeit a very strong taste.
Though the articles and artifacts were interesting, the part that struck me most was the interview tapes of the survivors. The personal his stories brought what I had learned to life. On the March we had Nandor Markovic, and while he taught us many lessons and recounted many stories, he was but one voice. Yad Vashem has taken great care to ensure that the personal stories of many more survivors will be kept for generations.
The other part of Yad Vashem that left an impact on me was the hall in memory of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust. Entering the hall, I vaguely remember some photos of children, but once inside, I was dazzled by what I saw. I stood in a room of lights whose arrangement made me feel like I was in outer space; infinite blackness-- and a great multitude of stars. Someone whispered to me that there were exactly 1.5 million reflections of the lights off all the mirrors. For a moment, I just stood in the darkness, feeling small and alone and helpless in the raging universe of impersonality. Then, I gripped the handrail and felt my way to the exit, and sunlight.
I'll conclude with some more people I ran into, as more proof for the Jerusalem Mentality:
Ilan Caplan, Amanda Lazar, Shira Wolkenfeld, Dvorah Reichman, Leah Kassebaum (Shalhevet teacher), Aaron Korda and Aaron Shultz, Zvi Friedlander and Hedi of YMG. Also, my uncle ran into Josh Tal in a taxi, and my parents ran into Yoni Schwartz at the mall.
Today we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum of Israel. It is an interesting archetictual structure: the main building is shaped like a prism and is made of concrete; the exhibit snakes its way from one end to the other, causing people to walk back and forth to see it all. The exhibits themselves were informative and meaningful, but I suspect that I did not register the power of the display as I did when I was on the March of the Living. In Poland, I was there; Yad Vashem was a taste of there, albeit a very strong taste.
Though the articles and artifacts were interesting, the part that struck me most was the interview tapes of the survivors. The personal his stories brought what I had learned to life. On the March we had Nandor Markovic, and while he taught us many lessons and recounted many stories, he was but one voice. Yad Vashem has taken great care to ensure that the personal stories of many more survivors will be kept for generations.
The other part of Yad Vashem that left an impact on me was the hall in memory of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust. Entering the hall, I vaguely remember some photos of children, but once inside, I was dazzled by what I saw. I stood in a room of lights whose arrangement made me feel like I was in outer space; infinite blackness-- and a great multitude of stars. Someone whispered to me that there were exactly 1.5 million reflections of the lights off all the mirrors. For a moment, I just stood in the darkness, feeling small and alone and helpless in the raging universe of impersonality. Then, I gripped the handrail and felt my way to the exit, and sunlight.
I'll conclude with some more people I ran into, as more proof for the Jerusalem Mentality:
Ilan Caplan, Amanda Lazar, Shira Wolkenfeld, Dvorah Reichman, Leah Kassebaum (Shalhevet teacher), Aaron Korda and Aaron Shultz, Zvi Friedlander and Hedi of YMG. Also, my uncle ran into Josh Tal in a taxi, and my parents ran into Yoni Schwartz at the mall.
posted by Yoni Bain | 7:37 AM
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