Israel 2015-- The Key

5/17/15

Well, the kids are up in their rooms packing. Tomorrow we check out of the Jerusalem Tower Hotel and spend our last day in Israel. Our suitcases are literally and figuratively overflowing. They are literally overflowing because we’ve just come off of a 2 ½ hour shopping spree on Ben Yehuda St. They are figuratively overflowing because of the many experiences we’ve had these last two weeks. Today was certainly no exception because in addition to visiting Ben Yehuda Street (on Yom Yerushalayim no less) we also visited Yad VaShem and Har Hertzl.

Much like the stories of the people that either survived or perished during the Holocaust, no two tours of Yad VaShem are the same. Today all three of our groups were blessed to have exceptional guides. In turn, our guides were blessed to have exceptional groups. They were all overwhelmed by the Cavod and knowledge that emanated from our kids. Many people are responsible for instilling a sense of Cavod in our kids, but when it comes to their knowledge about the Shoah and their readiness to visit Yad VaShem, Ms. Schwartz’s 7^th Grade Jewish Studies class deserves special recognition.

Yad VaShem confronts you with unanswerable questions. If you were stripped of all your possessions except for what you could carry in your pocket, what would you take with you? What depths and what heights are humanity capable of achieving? How could there have been a soup kitchen and no fewer than 6 Yiddish theaters in the heart of the Warsaw Ghetto? These and others. In a particularly poignant moment Mr. Frank asked us to think back on our Israel trip. He then pointed out that if we were to say the name of 1 child per second the entire length of our trip wouldn’t be enough to recite the names of all the Jewish children that were murdered during the Holocaust.  

Among the many stories and facts that were shared on our tour today,two stand out. First, there is, at Yad VaShem, a Hanukkiah that is on permanent loan from a family that lived in pre-war Germany. Alongside the actual Hanukkiah there is a picture of the Hanukkiah in the family’s window in Germany. Defiantly displayed for all to see with a huge Nazi flag looming in the background. The Hanukkiah is on display year round at Yad VaShem except for the two weeks of Hanukkah when the descendents of the family reclaim their Hanukkiah and use it for their celebration. Second, our guide pointed out a photograph. Just one of the hundreds on display. She asked us to look at the Jewish woman in the photograph. It was a photograph of a woman with a Nazi gun pointed at her. Possibly her final moments of life. She asked us to describe how the woman looked. Defiant, proud, confident, unafraid. There are some things that others can never take from us.

The journey from Yad VaShem to Har Hertzl is a journey from sacrifice to sacrifice as well as a journey from bravery to bravery. At Har Hertzl, like at Latrun, Israeli men and women are buried alongside one another with no attention paid to rank. We visited the graves of famous Israelis as well as the every day men and women who represent the “silver platter” upon which Israel is given to us. Without a doubt the most sobering part of Har Hertzl is the journey to the newest graves. There’s at least an entire row of graves that weren’t there last year. On the way to the newest graves we passed through a courtyard that will, with almost complete certainty, one day be the final resting place of more Israeli boys and girls. Among the newest graves we visited the resting place of an American born young man who joined the army after his first visit to Israel on a birthright trip. His parents had never visited Israel until they came to attend his funeral.

Ben Yehuda aside, today was anything but an enjoyable day. But we didn’t come to Israel only for the fun moments and the joyful sites. We came to connect with Israel. With the land, with the people, with the stories, with the cultures. We came so that the Homeland we’ve dreamt of and imagined could become real to us in all of its complexity, tragedy, and triumph. Many families have noted that the Israel trip is the metaphorical key to understanding the entire Davis Academy experience. In a sense, Yad VaShem and Har Hertzl are the key to understanding the entire Israel trip. In that respect our visits today were well timed. Tomorrow we will visit a few final destinations with our eyes fully open to the complexity of life in Israel. Then we will begin the journey home to Atlanta to see how our time here translates back into our lives at home. If you haven't considered it already, take a moment to prepare for the fact that your child will come back changed. Sure they'll still be the same (usually) great kid you sent to Israel, but each will be, in some small or large way, transformed. Tomorrow I'll give my two cents about how to help them transition back to life in the States. For now, let yourself imagine how this trip has left an indelible imprint on their lives.