it's the last night in J-lem and we're feelin bad
As I walked back to our hotel today from Mahane Yehudah, the Jewish market, I felt a great exhilaration. To be here in this old/new city, filled with the wise and the wicked, the good and the bad, the whole and the broken, I can hardly even explain how amazing, how profoundly intense it all is. It's the confluence of opposites, the yin and yang blurring boundaries.
The mystical presence of the Holy One can pervade one's consciousness, even at a felafel stand. Really!
Today we began with a late wake up call. This makes the group very happy. We went to Yad V'Shem, the national Israeli memorial center to the Holocaust. What a spectacular place... It's been completely re-designed, and to great effect. The exhibits, the interviews, the graphics, the flow of the architecture, it's all stunning. And so sad, so painful. One gets just how close to the soul the Holocaust remains for the Jewish people. And one sees just how much it still plays a part in Israeli life and politics.
It was gratifying that our kids on the trip -- and their parents, wanted to take time at the beginning to hear from me and from our guide just how it all began. And while it's impossible to give a true answer, because there is no answer to the questions how and why, we must struggle to become familiar with the facts as we have them.
After a long time at Yad VaShem, we had a quiet service and left. We went across town to the old Jewish market, Mahane Yehudah and had a blast. All the spices, nuts, fruits, tchachkes, it's wild! After Yad Vashem we appreciated jumping back into life and its excitement.
Sadly it's time to leave J-lem. I could come to Israel and stay here for 2 weeks -- even with the rain. There is just so much to do and not enough time to do it. We're bound for the Dead Sea tomorrow, so no one's complaining. But I am sad to be leaving my favorite city in the world. At least i had lunch in one of my favorite old haunts: the Shemesh restaurant. So take care my beloved readers. See you at the lowest point on earth tomorrow.
The mystical presence of the Holy One can pervade one's consciousness, even at a felafel stand. Really!
Today we began with a late wake up call. This makes the group very happy. We went to Yad V'Shem, the national Israeli memorial center to the Holocaust. What a spectacular place... It's been completely re-designed, and to great effect. The exhibits, the interviews, the graphics, the flow of the architecture, it's all stunning. And so sad, so painful. One gets just how close to the soul the Holocaust remains for the Jewish people. And one sees just how much it still plays a part in Israeli life and politics.
It was gratifying that our kids on the trip -- and their parents, wanted to take time at the beginning to hear from me and from our guide just how it all began. And while it's impossible to give a true answer, because there is no answer to the questions how and why, we must struggle to become familiar with the facts as we have them.
After a long time at Yad VaShem, we had a quiet service and left. We went across town to the old Jewish market, Mahane Yehudah and had a blast. All the spices, nuts, fruits, tchachkes, it's wild! After Yad Vashem we appreciated jumping back into life and its excitement.
Sadly it's time to leave J-lem. I could come to Israel and stay here for 2 weeks -- even with the rain. There is just so much to do and not enough time to do it. We're bound for the Dead Sea tomorrow, so no one's complaining. But I am sad to be leaving my favorite city in the world. At least i had lunch in one of my favorite old haunts: the Shemesh restaurant. So take care my beloved readers. See you at the lowest point on earth tomorrow.
posted by rebhayim at 7:27 PM
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