The Israel entry...
well, this is the last half of the march of the living: israel.
---keep in mind, i have been with the march for about a week now...throughout poland, where millions of my own people perished. they had absolutely no place to call home, as their homes were all destroyed or taken over. they had absolutely no place to turn. after seeing death for a full week, it was time to see what the jewish people did as a result of their attempted destruction.
As we enter the airport from the plane...we see this sign. It mean's "welcome" in Hebrew. Hebrew!? how could a country's official language be Hebrew? this is Israel. the home that we have made, because we didnt have one. from the second we stepped off of the plane, we could breathe easier, change our attitudes, and feel that incredibly warming feeling knowing you belong on the ground you are standing on. Welcome.
From the airport we went to a Bedouin camp in the Negev Desert. This is where we had our first taste of Israel...literally. We had our first good meal in a week. In Poland, our diets consisted of hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers, and tomatoes for breakfast, frozen orange turkey (yes, orange) for lunch, and smiley faced fries cooked in old oil, and chicken fingers for dinner. Here, we had food. We had Israeli food. leben, hummous, techina, pita, lafa...ok enough about the food.
Also at the camp, we had our first service in Israel. It was Rosh Chodesh...the first of the jewish month. Its hard to fathom what it is like to be able to pray, and not be looked at funny. People know what you are doing, as they are doing the same. It is not unusual to see someone alone davening minchah in the afternoon...its a beautiful thing...to be free and accepted.
We then went on a long safari around the Negev Desert to a small Oasis. We passed by the most amazing structures in the barren desert. Even though it was only a dry desert land, it held incredible beauty with its golden shimmer and perfectly shaped hills of sand.
The next day we climbed Masada-- When the Romans occupied jerusalem, and the rest of israel, they wanted israelis to assimilate into the roman ways of life. Many refused, and went off to the desert to find Masada by the Dead Sea. The stayed there to practice their religion freely. the romans eventually came and built a long ramp on the side of the mountain to eventually climb to get to the top of the fortress.
Upon the Roman's ascending of the ramp, the jews up top assembled in this temple. They decided that they would rather die as jews, than to give themselves up to the romans, and give the romans the satisfaction of forcefully assimilating them, or killing them. They chose numbers, like we are doing here. The men with numbers 1-10 had the jobs of going around the top of the mountain, killing the people with their families in arms. once they were done killing everyone else, they had another lottery, to see who would be the one to kill the last 9, and then eventually themselves.
This is Ein Gedi. This is in the middle of a desert...a total random Oasis. And yet, its incredibly beautiful. There were waterfalls everywhere, and plant life and animal life...it was just an amazing sight to see.
Then we finally got to Jerusalem. The place we've longed to be in since we started the trip. This city has more history to the jewish people than any other city in the world. Here, the aura is different. You know there's something special about this place just by stepping foot there.
And then the Wailing Wall. The holiest spot to every jew in the world. Being at the center of all prayer was like rising up to a point i have never been to. after a week in poland, i layed my hands on the cold stones, and reflected on everything i, and the rest of my people have been through. All i could keep saying was "take care of israel...never forget."
Again, i was amazed by the beauty of this country. This was in Herzelia. I stayed in this spot for about half an hour, and just wrote.
These two pictures were taken in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel. We only went into the childrens memorial though. In there, they were reading the names of the children that died. On the right, you could see a bunch of little lights. These lights were endless. In actuality, it was only a few candles that were lit, with mirrors all around the room to give it the effect of an infinite number of lights. To me, it meant that every single child that died could have left a legacy...with an infinite number of generations to be born after them. But their lives were cut short. So this infinity turned into nothingness. Around one and a half million jewish children were killed during the Holocaust.
Yom Hazikaron...Israeli Memorial Day. The one day Israel has set aside for its fallen armed forces. Here during Memorial Day, we go out to the beach and see a movie and go out to dinner, because it's a day off of school. There, it is a true day of remembrance. On the right, was a ceremony the night before. They lit flames for many of the soldiers that died. The next day, when the sirens rang, everyone stopped whatever they were doing, whether it be working or walking or driving, and stood in place to listen to the sound of the sirens for 2 minutes, while reflecting on what it really took to become the state of Israel. Nowhere in the world will you see a country stop like that for 2 minutes.
Then we all went to Mount Herzel, the memorial sight and cemetary of fallen Israeli Soldiers, Prime Ministers, Zionists, and other people who helped to make the state of Israel. At the end we had a cermony at this memorial pool.
The day after Memorial Day was Yom Ha'atzmaut...Israeli Independence Day. At night, the whole country become one party. Here, we went to a small village for the party because the march was too afraid to take us into the streets of Jerusalem. In this little town, there were thousands of people with shaving cream, and a concert for us to dance, and ahh...it was such an amazing night. I was celebrating something so right. I felt so right being cheerful again, and dancing and having shaving cream fights. There was such pride.
The day after we had our final sharing session, where we made our final committments and recieved our "Zachor" pins and march t-shirts. I made two committments. one of them was that i promised to always teach the untaught about the experiences i had on the march, and to make sure that nobody ever forgets....and 2. i promised to come back to israel after high school.
Ok...that night there was another party. All of the March of the Living groups that were still in Israel came to a party outside of Tel-Aviv. Apparently, i didnt have any shame going up to random people and saying hi. i mean, we've all been through the same stuff...we're all looking to meet new people. so why not. the top two are from australia, and the bottom ones are from canada.
Here there was this concert. It was sort of this man singing jewish songs all poppy-like. It was so so much fun. people were singing and dancing...it was such an intense atmosphere. we all knew every song, no matter what country we were from.
And at that last moment, we sang Hatikvah...the Israeli national anthem. I was standing with my friends arms around eachother, and someone from another country looked at me. Immediately we interlocked our arms, as has everyone else in the entire March. over 40 different countries were singing Hatikvah as one people. The March has taught me that there is unity...and here we see it physically and emotionally. We all knew eachother...somehow. We were all brothers and sisters...and had such a love and connection towards one another. And with one last verse of the hatikvah "eretz, tzion, yerushalayim" the fireworks started, marking the end of our March of the Living. We all stood there in awe at the fact that we as one people did the things we did in two weeks. Weve experienced the strength of the human heart and will. And we are all ready and willing to share that with everyone.
My March was over...and I wont see Israel for at least a few years. All i could do is dream and hope that i can fulfil my commitment to return, and share my experiences, like i am now. I experienced an extreme variety of emotion between Poland and Israel, and after seeing my state, i was never going to be ready to go home. I dont think i will be all home for awhile...
---keep in mind, i have been with the march for about a week now...throughout poland, where millions of my own people perished. they had absolutely no place to call home, as their homes were all destroyed or taken over. they had absolutely no place to turn. after seeing death for a full week, it was time to see what the jewish people did as a result of their attempted destruction.
As we enter the airport from the plane...we see this sign. It mean's "welcome" in Hebrew. Hebrew!? how could a country's official language be Hebrew? this is Israel. the home that we have made, because we didnt have one. from the second we stepped off of the plane, we could breathe easier, change our attitudes, and feel that incredibly warming feeling knowing you belong on the ground you are standing on. Welcome.
From the airport we went to a Bedouin camp in the Negev Desert. This is where we had our first taste of Israel...literally. We had our first good meal in a week. In Poland, our diets consisted of hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers, and tomatoes for breakfast, frozen orange turkey (yes, orange) for lunch, and smiley faced fries cooked in old oil, and chicken fingers for dinner. Here, we had food. We had Israeli food. leben, hummous, techina, pita, lafa...ok enough about the food.
Also at the camp, we had our first service in Israel. It was Rosh Chodesh...the first of the jewish month. Its hard to fathom what it is like to be able to pray, and not be looked at funny. People know what you are doing, as they are doing the same. It is not unusual to see someone alone davening minchah in the afternoon...its a beautiful thing...to be free and accepted.
We then went on a long safari around the Negev Desert to a small Oasis. We passed by the most amazing structures in the barren desert. Even though it was only a dry desert land, it held incredible beauty with its golden shimmer and perfectly shaped hills of sand.
The next day we climbed Masada-- When the Romans occupied jerusalem, and the rest of israel, they wanted israelis to assimilate into the roman ways of life. Many refused, and went off to the desert to find Masada by the Dead Sea. The stayed there to practice their religion freely. the romans eventually came and built a long ramp on the side of the mountain to eventually climb to get to the top of the fortress.
Upon the Roman's ascending of the ramp, the jews up top assembled in this temple. They decided that they would rather die as jews, than to give themselves up to the romans, and give the romans the satisfaction of forcefully assimilating them, or killing them. They chose numbers, like we are doing here. The men with numbers 1-10 had the jobs of going around the top of the mountain, killing the people with their families in arms. once they were done killing everyone else, they had another lottery, to see who would be the one to kill the last 9, and then eventually themselves.
This is Ein Gedi. This is in the middle of a desert...a total random Oasis. And yet, its incredibly beautiful. There were waterfalls everywhere, and plant life and animal life...it was just an amazing sight to see.
Then we finally got to Jerusalem. The place we've longed to be in since we started the trip. This city has more history to the jewish people than any other city in the world. Here, the aura is different. You know there's something special about this place just by stepping foot there.
And then the Wailing Wall. The holiest spot to every jew in the world. Being at the center of all prayer was like rising up to a point i have never been to. after a week in poland, i layed my hands on the cold stones, and reflected on everything i, and the rest of my people have been through. All i could keep saying was "take care of israel...never forget."
Again, i was amazed by the beauty of this country. This was in Herzelia. I stayed in this spot for about half an hour, and just wrote.
These two pictures were taken in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel. We only went into the childrens memorial though. In there, they were reading the names of the children that died. On the right, you could see a bunch of little lights. These lights were endless. In actuality, it was only a few candles that were lit, with mirrors all around the room to give it the effect of an infinite number of lights. To me, it meant that every single child that died could have left a legacy...with an infinite number of generations to be born after them. But their lives were cut short. So this infinity turned into nothingness. Around one and a half million jewish children were killed during the Holocaust.
Yom Hazikaron...Israeli Memorial Day. The one day Israel has set aside for its fallen armed forces. Here during Memorial Day, we go out to the beach and see a movie and go out to dinner, because it's a day off of school. There, it is a true day of remembrance. On the right, was a ceremony the night before. They lit flames for many of the soldiers that died. The next day, when the sirens rang, everyone stopped whatever they were doing, whether it be working or walking or driving, and stood in place to listen to the sound of the sirens for 2 minutes, while reflecting on what it really took to become the state of Israel. Nowhere in the world will you see a country stop like that for 2 minutes.
Then we all went to Mount Herzel, the memorial sight and cemetary of fallen Israeli Soldiers, Prime Ministers, Zionists, and other people who helped to make the state of Israel. At the end we had a cermony at this memorial pool.
The day after Memorial Day was Yom Ha'atzmaut...Israeli Independence Day. At night, the whole country become one party. Here, we went to a small village for the party because the march was too afraid to take us into the streets of Jerusalem. In this little town, there were thousands of people with shaving cream, and a concert for us to dance, and ahh...it was such an amazing night. I was celebrating something so right. I felt so right being cheerful again, and dancing and having shaving cream fights. There was such pride.
The day after we had our final sharing session, where we made our final committments and recieved our "Zachor" pins and march t-shirts. I made two committments. one of them was that i promised to always teach the untaught about the experiences i had on the march, and to make sure that nobody ever forgets....and 2. i promised to come back to israel after high school.
Ok...that night there was another party. All of the March of the Living groups that were still in Israel came to a party outside of Tel-Aviv. Apparently, i didnt have any shame going up to random people and saying hi. i mean, we've all been through the same stuff...we're all looking to meet new people. so why not. the top two are from australia, and the bottom ones are from canada.
Here there was this concert. It was sort of this man singing jewish songs all poppy-like. It was so so much fun. people were singing and dancing...it was such an intense atmosphere. we all knew every song, no matter what country we were from.
And at that last moment, we sang Hatikvah...the Israeli national anthem. I was standing with my friends arms around eachother, and someone from another country looked at me. Immediately we interlocked our arms, as has everyone else in the entire March. over 40 different countries were singing Hatikvah as one people. The March has taught me that there is unity...and here we see it physically and emotionally. We all knew eachother...somehow. We were all brothers and sisters...and had such a love and connection towards one another. And with one last verse of the hatikvah "eretz, tzion, yerushalayim" the fireworks started, marking the end of our March of the Living. We all stood there in awe at the fact that we as one people did the things we did in two weeks. Weve experienced the strength of the human heart and will. And we are all ready and willing to share that with everyone.
My March was over...and I wont see Israel for at least a few years. All i could do is dream and hope that i can fulfil my commitment to return, and share my experiences, like i am now. I experienced an extreme variety of emotion between Poland and Israel, and after seeing my state, i was never going to be ready to go home. I dont think i will be all home for awhile...