Friday

The entire group boarded buses to visit the newly remodeled Yad Vashem. This memorial to the six million Jews who were exterminated by the Nazi’s in the Holocaust is now housed in a building designed by noted Israeli architect Moshe Safti. The building is a long triangle shaped cantilevered space. Purposefully uncomfortable, the architect has created a space that pushes one through ten halls of artifacts and personal accounts about the Holocaust. The journey through the building ends at an area where the space overhead displays never-ending photos of the victims. The walls surrounding the space house thousands of books filled with names of those who are known to have perished and empty shelves reserved for those who fate has not been discovered. Below, in the center of the room is a pit similar to a cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.  Within the pit is a pool of water, which reflects the photos of the deceased as well as the living that are standing above. The building ends with a terrace that over looks the rich Jerusalem Valley and the thriving modern city. 

The Children’s Memorial

Jews observe Shabbat Shira during mid-winter. During this Shabbat, children come to synagogues with breadcrumbs to feed birds who have little to eat due to the weather. After 1945, when Jews from Europe came to Israel, one Rabbi from Helm, Poland landed in Haifa with crates of birds. The officials laughed at the Rabbi and said, “Rabbi, Israel has plenty of birds. Why did you bring crates of birds on your journey?” The Rabbi replied, “I know that there are birds in Israel but Poland has no children left to feed the birds.” During the Holocaust one quarter of the six million who were killed were children. The Children’s Memorial, designed by Safti is a visual and audible experience. One enters a darkened cave while hearing the chirps of birds. Once inside the space faces are displayed in pitch black among a starry backdrop.

Mount Herzl is the Israeli equivalent of Arlington Cemetery. Buried here are leaders such as founder of the state Theodore Herzl and prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Golda Meir. Mount Herzl is also home to soldiers who have died during active duty.

For lunch we headed to Emek Refaim Street in the Germany Colony. This is one of Jerusalem’s upscale neighborhoods and home to diplomats and members of the Israeli government. I had falafel again!

Dinner tonight followed an open-air Shabbat service led Shira Kelman, a rabbi at Hebrew Union College. San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsome finally arrived just in time for dessert and a wonderful performance by the Essev Bar Band.