Today was a huge day in Jerusalem for us.

 

Before I tell you about that, I’ll tell you that last night, we all sat around in a circle and prepared for today’s visit to Yad Vashem. We talked about the Holocaust, and heard stories from people who’s family members were directly involved. After that, a few of us stayed in the room to watch a movie about a guy from Philadelphia named Michael Levin that went to Israel on Aliyah and joined the IDF at 21. He died during the Lebanon War in 2006, and his story is really intense.

 

So we woke up today and got to Yad Vashem. For those that don’t know, Yad Vashem is the Holocause Memorial and Museum in Jerusalem. I knew it was going to be emotionally draining, but I definitely didn’t realize how intense it was going to hit me. We were asked on the ride over to write down our biggest accomplishment and our goal for the future. When we arrived, we made a circle, and everyone who wanted to shared what they wrote down. I think it made us all feel so comfortable with each other, and it definitely made us all bond.

 

We got to the museum, and just stepping into it felt so crazy. Going into all the different rooms and seeing the pictures made me tear up more than once. Seeing the burnt shoes, pictures, and other things recovered from some of the concentration camps made it all less distant. I still am in awe that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust. It was probably one of the most intense experiences of my life thus far. We watched a film about a Auschwitz survivor that met his wife while they were both being tortured at the camp, and that just put it all into perspective. The last thing we did was go through the children’s memorial, and the faces, names, and ages of the 1.5 million Jewish children that died during this were read as we walked through.

 

We ended our experience at Yad Vashem by taking the notes that we all wrote, putting them in a cup, and burning them. This was done to symbolize that even though they may try to burn us and ruin us, we as Jews owe it to the people who died and the children who never even lived to celebrate our accomplishments and achieve our goals. This really brought me to tears.

 

After that emotional experience, we were brought to Mt. Herzl National Military Cemetery. This was such an amazing thing to see. For those that do not know, all Israelis are required to serve in the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) from age 18 to 20, and continue if they so choose. The great part about going here was that, since yesterday, we have had 7 Israeli soldiers (4 men, 3 women), all our age, added to our group until Thursday. It was amazing to think about the commitment they have to doing this, and also to see them in uniform walking around this cemetery. We saw the grave of the Philadelphia born Michael Levin, who I mentioned died in 2006, and it brought me to tears. After hearing his life story in the movie last night, it was insane to see his grave right in front of me.

 

We explored the rest of the cemetery, seeing graves and hearing stories of soldiers that had died. At one point we got to the section of the people that died in the Independence War. Our amazing Birth Right guide, Avi, told us that the majority of the men that were buried here had survived the Holocaust. He said that some of them didn’t know their names when they came to Israel because their entire families died. One thing he said struck me. He said that he felt being in that section was one of the most important things on this trip because, to these particular men, we were their family. We are the ones that come to visit them. Their real families don’t because they were taken away from them during the Holocaust. We were their family. That was truly amazing. We ended the visit by going to the highest point on Mt. Herzl – the grave of Theodor Herzl. He was the man responsible for coming up with the idea of the state of Israel. He dreamed of a place where all Jews could be a nation, and in his will, he wrote that when this state is established, he would like his bones to be moved there. He died in 1904. In 1947, the state of Israel was officially declared a nation by the UN, and his body was moved to the top of Mt. Herzl.

 

Overall, today has been emotionally draining, but rewarding at the same time. I’ve always felt more connected to my Jewish root than anything, and since I’ve been here, I finally know why. I am so proud to be a Jew. This is the land of my people. This nation was created for us, and it feels so good to finally come home.

 

Off to bed….have to be up in 4 hours to hike the Masada to watch the sunrise.