Yad Vashem: The Holocaust History Museum

The first time I came to Israel, the group I was with had the privilege of meeting Professor Dina Porat, Head of The Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and Chief Scientist of Yad Vashem, one of the key people responsible for the museum and its exhibits. She spoke so eloquently about the passion behind the memorial, the reasoning behind the exhibits, and the symbolism of the building, all in a compelling invitation for our visit the next day.  

Yanush Korzack
and His Children

I haven’t been to any other Holocaust Museums, but I’ve read accounts, I’ve heard the stories, and I’ve seen the movies.  A wide variety of documentaries are readily available, some of which I’ve watched again since I’ve been in Israel. Even with a pretty fair understanding of the events surrounding the Holocaust and the “Final Solution”, each time I visit, the impact is startling.  I think I know what I will see, and in large part I do, but the way it is presented, the personal way the stories are told, makes it impossible for me to come away the same person who walked in.  

It is difficult to rush through this place.  As you enter, to the left, projected on the wall are movies, salvaged and pieced together of people who likely ended their lives in the Nazi death camps. Home movies of families, towns and villages, merchants and shoppers laughing and waving, students at their desks, children playing.  Each time I’ve visited, the faces and places have been different.  Towns and villages that are no more and the people who lived in them. 

Even the most callous might walk by these faces, these stories, without stopping to look, but the building its self is designed to slow you down.  From the outside it looks merely like a large, long, formidable, triangular building, a huge prism, which it is, but the interior sets before you a meandering path that leads diagonally from one side room across to the other side and another room and back across to the next room.  Each room is crafted to tell another chapter. Bits and pieces of lives, pieced together.

And yet this is more than just a memorial to the dead, it is also a tribute to the spirit of those who struggled to endure, those who found the courage and strength to fight back, and of those who did what they could to stop the death, even if it was only one family, or one person.  The Garden  of the Righteous stands as a reminder that not everyone looked the other way. Many put their lives on the line, often losing them, because they could not stand by silently.   

And then, finally, at the end, past the Hall of Names and the Epilogue, is one of the most spectacular vistas in the country.  The symbolism obvious, a view to the future, open and clear. A relief and a promise after the sadness of the past.

You all know that I am here at the Hand in Hand Schools, Yad b’Yad.  When I looked up Yad Vashem the literal translation was Hand in Name which of course made me think of  Isaiah 49:16, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…” never forgotten, and that might be enough, but there is more.

The newspaper, Ha’aretz Word of the Day on Apr. 28, 2014 was actually Yad Vashem.

“Although the primary meaning of yad is indeed “hand,” it has additional meanings as well, including the Even-Shoshan definition of “tall memorial monument that rises like a hand.” As a phrase, yad vashem refers to an "enduring memorial" or a "memorial monument."  Indeed, Yad Vashem, which was established in 1953, describes itself as “the Jewish people’s living memorial to the Holocaust.”

This use of yad, which means “power” and “strength” as well as “monument,” can be seen in the biblical description of a memorial to Avshalom, King David’s rebellious son: “Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale; for he said: ‘I have no son to keep my name in remembrance’; and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Absalom’s monument [yad Avshalom] unto this day” 2 Samuel 18:18.

When you come to the land, do not skip this enduring memorial because you think you know what you will find, or because you know it will be hard.  Given the opportunity, this is a place we should all walk through at least once, if for no other reason than to honor the people whose stories are kept here, whose lives are not forgotten here, and whose memories become ours here.  The horror that made this museum and research center so important, can help lead us to that vista at the end.  A promising future, open, clear and beautiful.

To learn more about Yan Vashem and their research activities visit http://www.yadvashem.org/#!prettyPhoto

http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/museum/overview.asp

http://yadvashem.org.il/yv/en/about/friends/christian/index.asp

For the full Ha’aretz Word of the Day Article visit

http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/word-of-the-day/.premium-1.587771

Leapin’ Lizards

Judean Hills dweller 

I could sense that some of you were secretly hoping for a post about the many lizards that inhabit Israel? Right?

Well you are forewarned, this is that post.

Bethsaida Buddy 

It’s kind of funny actually.  It doesn’t matter who I am with.  Kids, highly educated professionals, graduate students, our tour guards or tour buddies, if a lizard makes an appearance, whatever your reason for being in that place goes right out the window and you either duck and run, or start taking pictures!   I mean, you come back to your original purpose of course, but there seems to be something compelling about the little guys that we spook out of hidey hole or comfortable sunny spots.

Garden of Gethsemane 

And it’s not just us.  They made it into Leviticus 11: 29-30, “Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon…” as non-kosher "creeping things", all of which I have seen, and clean or not, none of them created a desire in me to fire up the bar-b-que.  Fortunate, I know.

Say no to lizards?

Proverbs 30:28 mentions a tiny, pink lizard, "The shmamit climbs with her hands, but dwells in the palaces of kings". These little buddies are commonly found inside Israeli homes and I have also seen them, here and in other places of the world.  This little guy gets around.

I actually like lizards, certainly more than I like their favorite menu item, bugs.  Geckos in particular like moths, my most hated flying bug-creature, and the bigger guys like rodents, some of which I like, like hamsters and rabbits, but most of the wild variety belong somewhere far, far away from me, thank you very much. 

Fortunately I’ve seen no lizards larger than those I’ve photographed, and no snakes, poor snakes, they do get a pretty bad rap straightaway in scripture, "You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life."  Genesis 14. 

 
 And no turtles or frogs, but that’s ok, I seem to have enough distractions as it is.

St. Peter's Fish and the Temple Tax

“After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"  "Yes, he does," he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes--from their own sons or from others?"  "From others," Peter answered. "Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him. "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."  Matthew 17: 22-27

Keep in mind that Peter had just recognized Jesus as Christ, the son of the Living God, so, well, he’s family, right?  Be that as it may, it would not have been helpful to push the point, and would only have made life difficult for the “revenue officers”, so provision was made to pay.  There in the mouth of the fish was a shekel, just enough to pay the tax for the two of them.  

Along the way, some marketing genius decided to cash in, if you will, on the story, so you can find the Saint Peter’s Fish on menus across Israel, or as the only course in some restaurants, particularly in the Galilee.  The whole fish (fillets are available and easier to eat, but not the same ) and in some places, sometimes, a coin in its mouth.  I've had it three times, each time whole, each time delicious. 

So yummy! 

All the recipes I found called for fillets, but if you want the real experience, just use a whole fish. 

For a good recipe, visit http://cookingwiththebible.com/reader/Default.aspx/GR3410-3463/recipe/   

Archaeologist for a day!

Normally I'd be busy at the school today but, Surprise! no school, as it is the day that the Eastern Church celebrates the Ascension of Christ.  So what would any red-blooded American girl with a day off in Jerusalem want to do? Why, hose down and sift through the archaeological refuse from the illegal excavations for an additional access to Solomon’s Stables, dumped in the Kidron valley of course.  I mean really, was there any doubt?  Seriously, when I learned that truckloads of dirt were unceremoniously taken from the temple mount area, and dumped in a variety of spots without any regard to the history it contained, I decided that if I could spend some time helping sort it out, I would.

This morning I walked down from the dorm, around the university and down again into the Tzurim Valley, between the Mt. of Olives, Mt. Scopus and the Kidron Valley, where the temple mount sifting project has been going on for several years.

Solomon's Stables circa 

Upon arriving, there is a brief tutorial, explaining the project and the temple history with a focus on the Templar Knights who named Solomon’s Stables Solomon's Stables (no one is exactly sure why, but the Templars did use the area for their horses), and the later decision by the Muslims in power to build a mosque in that underground area and still later to excavate an “exit” which is the beginning of the story of the sifting project

Archive photo 

In two days’ time, in a clandestine operation, an area was cleared away to open the archways to the underground mosque.  (I didn’t even know there was a second mosque on the Mount) Truckloads of dirt were dumped in various locations, including the spot I visited today which is now part of the national park system.  

archive photo

Fortunately, the excavations were brought to a halt, but the archaeological damage was done.  Layers and layers, years and years of history is now all a jumble, much of it lost forever in unknown dump sites

This project, is collecting, dating, and documenting for publication all man-made objects in an attempt to piece together the past.  Amazing items have been found already including a first temple seal with the name of a  priest mentioned in Jeremiah 20:1,  “When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the Lord…”    And coins, lots of coins, from the first temple onward, including the half shekel that was required as the temple tax mentioned in Matthew 17:24-27. 

Buckets of potential treasure

So how do volunteers help?  First be ready to get dirty. Buckets are staged in the center of the tent with about 2-3 inches of rescued dirt and covered with water to soften the years of soil build up.  You begin by selecting a bucket and taking it to a boxed screen that is set up at about waist level and equipped with a hose.  Dump your bucket contents onto the screen, hose out the bucket to be sure nothing remains, hose off the contents now in the screen and go to work sorting out the man-made objects into, metal, ceramic, special stones, bones, glass, and pieces of mosaic.  (I just noticed bones, and I guess buy definition they are man-made, but did that look odd to anyone else?)  

And where are my photos? Sadly, while I took some spectacular photos of the stairs leading down into the valley, the people at the project site, especially my new friend Reut who was assisting the volunteers and said I was excellent at finding ‘just a rock’ (remembering this is archaeology, not geology) but was impressed with a large piece of marble that I found, and apparently an unusually large number of bone fragments.  My camera, however, neglected to alert me that the sim card was still here in the computer. 

Yeah, been there, did that and actually got the tee shirt. 

I think the photos I found and the video below will give you a good feel for the adventure, you’ll just have to take my word for the HUGE piece of marble I found.  Ok, so it was only about the size of a quarter pound of butter, but it wasn't ‘just a rock’ after all.

To learn more about the Temple Mount Sifting Project visit: http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/en/tours/mount-olives/temple-mount-sifting-project

Click on the Video Experience for a pretty great explanation of the process.   

The El-Marwani Underground Mosque

A small section of the many steps, maybe a 1/3. 

Peacocks!

Ok, this is just for fun, and to lighten up a bit from the last post.










I recently had a short stay at the Ma’agan Kibbutz in the Galilee.  It was spectacular in so many ways and I highly recommend it. The food, the view, the surrounding sites that made scripture come alive, and then there were the peacocks.

You may have noticed, I am easily distracted by fuzzy creatures and lizards, but I’m also a sucker for birds who know that they are all that and aren't afraid to show off for an audience.

This guy makes a regular morning appearance outside the dining room, prancing and strutting, showing off his finery as well or better than any Paris runway model.  He knows what the ladies want, and the human visitors as well.

Aren't I lovely?

Peacocks have a reputation as great watch ‘birds’, and these were true to their calling.  They seemed annoyed by cars and buses driving onto the property, and were on constant guard

Watching guests check in

starting outside the lobby, from their roosts in the branches of trees, roofs, and generally patrolling the grounds.  When disturbed, the have a disconcerting shrieking, scream like cry, or they run at you and hiss, much like a goose.





I learned that peafowl (what a sad name for such a beautiful creature) are not particularly friendly with other birds, but they do like the company of other peafowl, and just for your trivia fact sheet, groups of them are called parties.  How fun!

Are we really safe anywhere? Random thoughts.

As I was watching Baltimore burn, I got an instant message from a friend who saw I was online and wondered if I was safe here in Jerusalem.  

I have shared some but not all of the incidents, many in my ‘neighborhood’ that have occurred since I arrived last summer, for many reasons.  One, I don’t want my friends and family to worry any more than they already do about my safety, and two, while they are hideous, these days, here and there, they are pretty common and in a way, unremarkable.  I’m sorry if that sounds hard.  It’s not that I don’t care about the injured and sometime killed.  I do.  It’s not that I think it is ok, I certainly don’t. But it begs the question, are we really safe anywhere anymore?

Remember when you could walk into a store and not see a display of missing children? Or when you could go for a walk at night and not worry about being mugged. I do. But times have changed.  We live in a dangerous, fallen world full of people with evil intent.

Several months ago, a terrorist ran his car into a light rail station, injuring several and killing a toddler. Now there are barricades on the road into the station making a recurrence impossible.  After that, a terrorist at the next station avoided the barricades for the road, hopped the curb with his car onto the tracks and careened onto the passenger platform.  Those intent on harm seem to find a way.



Last week, a terrorist turned across two lanes of traffic and plowed into a bus stop, killing one and injuring another, now we have these accessories appearing at the bus stops throughout the city.






Then there was this in my morning email: The Israel National Police advised the U.S. Embassy that a demonstration planned by members of the Ethiopian Israeli community is scheduled for today…This demonstration has the potential of drawing large crowds. A similar protest held in Jerusalem on Thursday lasted several hours and turned violent, resulting in injuries, arrests, and property damage. We advise U.S. citizens to avoid the area and to monitor local media for updates…Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.  You should avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations.

Right after I read that, I saw a news report about a May Day protest that turned violent on the West Coast of the United States.


And then from my little home town of just under 13 thousand, on May 7th, "..a 22-year-old woman was reported missing after she didn't return from an early morning walk Thursday, according to the Herrin Police Department."  Happily she was found uninjured, but what the heck?









So, thank you all for worrying about and praying for me.  Please don’t stop, either for me, or for the region or for the world.  I’m sure I've said it more than once, I covet your prayers.  I appreciate them and am sure I am safer for it.  




(The photos of the military and police are for a friend who asked for pictures of handsome Israeli men.  You know who you are, and you're welcome)

Warm and Fuzzy? Maybe.

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Bethsaida; according to tradition the home of Peter, Andrew and Philip, Zebedee and his sons.  It is part of the ongoing archeological studies in Israel and an official national park site, so it is an interesting presentation both historically and spiritually.

The display includes (surprise) a spectacular vista, a home and synagogue and all kinds of interesting, valuable historic information but after a day of history and boulders and spiritual connections, what got my attention?

You got it, the local wildlife.  The Rock Hyrax.  Who can resist fuzzy little creatures?  Not me apparently.  And if I must relate it spiritually, I'm sure you will all remember that they are mentioned in scripture three times. 

 

Leviticus 11:5 (NIV) “The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.”

Deuteronomy 14:7 (NIV) “However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you.

And famously:

Proverbs 30:26 (NIV) “Hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags.”

Sadly, “...around Galilee the animals are no longer behaving in a "biblical way" - making their homes in the rocky hills and cliffs of the countryside.  "They're coming into the villages and eating everything they can find.”  Arik Kershenbaum, Haifa University Research team .http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/ )

Like cats, who I don’t remember seeing mentioned in the Bible, the Hyrax seems to be becoming a nuisance, but they are local indigenous residents, were cute and mostly posed for us, until we got too close, so I decided they needed a mention. 

A vista!

And a lizard. 

There are no Bibles on Bible Hill (Unless you bring one)

Right in the middle of Jerusalem, there is an open space that was designated by the Municipality as an Urban Nature Site in 2010.  It is about 8 acres, which include the St Andrews Scottish Presbyterian Church a little further up the hill.   It offers a stunning display of wildflowers throughout the year, save the hottest summer months which leave it “high and dry” (that’s a desert joke) and looking much like the rest of the vegetation throughout the country.

Just across from the First Station, just past the bus stop is a sign in English, Arabic and Hebrew naming the site Givat HaTanakh – Bible Hill.  Next is a precariously crude stairway that will take you to the top and a view worth the effort.  If you’ve come during any but those withering summer months, be ready for a visual feast.  The grassy mesa will be adorned by the appropriate seasonal offering, from Buttercups to Poppies, Anemones and Saffron.  (Keep in mind not to pick the wildflowers, all of which are covered by law as protected species)

photo Credit: biblewalks.com 

If you can stop looking at the floral show for a bit, you’ll see full circle the city on display. All the architectural beauty and diversity, the surrounding neighborhoods, if the weather cooperates, the Hills of Moab, and wait, I can see my dorm on Mt. Scopus from here!

But why is it called Bible Hill?

Some say because it is mentioned in Joshua 15:8, a Bible reference to the boundary of the tribe of the people of Judah: “Then it ran up the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem). From there it climbed to the top of the hill west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.”

Others suggest it is because excavations there uncovered the foundations of a Byzantine Church and tombs dating to the second Iron Age.

Whatever the reason, it’s a beautiful spot to spend some time in the middle of a crazy busy city in quiet contemplation, without the distraction of handouts, historic signs or shops, tour guides or chapels, just you and creation and what a view!   Open 24 hours a day (sunrise and sunset views also recommended) 7 days a week, 365 days a year with no exceptions and is free of charge.   It is not handicap accessible, so be warned, good shoes for sure, and some minimal climbing ability may be called for, and remember to bring water.

Right here in the middle of Jerusalem, who would have expected to find this little piece of paradise, or maybe, this is exactly where we should expect to find it.