Day 9 Tuesday

My brother Damien emailed me and said that I probably wouldn't "enjoy" the Holocaust  Museum in Jerusalem and he was right ... But I sure was moved by it.

First things first though and the day stared at 1 am with a Skype conversation with my birthday Girl daughter Rose before she went off to school. That was great - I hope I didn't look too bleary eyed for her.

 An early morning preparation lecture for our visit to the museum known as Yad Vashem - a name taken from the Book of Isaiah meaning a name memorial - helped us get in the somber mood of the mornings expedition. Our guide gave us a full run down of what we could expect to see at the museum as well as filling us in on a few facts. One thing he said that really struck me was today - Wed 9/11 - we remember how shocked we were that 3000 people were killed on that tragic day 12 years ago ... And yet it is harder to believe that towards the end of the war, 6000 Jews were killed in the gas chambers in Auschwich every single day. Also to get you head around the number who died, each person killed at 9/11 represents a Jewish community of 2000 people killed in the Holocaust. These figures simply blow my mind.

First stop was the haunting Children's Memorial - a clever combination of hundreds of candles lighting a room of mirrors as some of the names of the 1.5 million Jewish children killed in the war. This is a photo of a sculpture situated just outside this memorial showing the care of one man who stayed to be with Jewish orphan boys as they prepared for their fate. 

The museum itself was brilliantly set up. It is divided into at least a dozen different sections with the first two setting the scene. The first room had us watching a cinematic mosaic sculpture of home movies continuously rolling through scenes of Jewish people living everyday life before the holocaust. It was quite mesmerising. This was followed by a simple display showing two photographs depicting Jewish bodies and logs stacked up ready for and the aftermath of the Nazis trying to burn the evidence before the Russians arrived at the end of the war. This stark contrast was very effective and was followed by room after room of exhibits , photos, video testimonies and documentaries that told the complete story simple yet succinctly in chronological order. No photo taking was allowed - which was good as it allowed me to really experience this display without being able to hide behind the camera.

One of the most moving rooms was at the end - The Hall of Names . Here is a picture taken from the net for you.... However the most moving part for me was the sheer number of folders surrounding the walls of this round room that contained the testimonies of the victims.

I find it hard to express in words how this experience made me feel but it was an experience I will never forget .... And probably not suitable for a blog this anyway.

We debriefed after lunch, which was very necessary as it affected all of us. Late afternoon allowed   us a bit of space and six of took the chance to explore what is known here as Downtown Jerusalem. That is the fourth title for areas of Jerusalem I have heard since being here: the Old and New Cities of  course, Ancient Jerusalem ie. The City of David and now Downtown which is the modern city  not far from here ... a 20 minute walk perhaps. Nice place, cool tram/ train / light rail type things and a good place to go for an ice cream. The ice cream was a revelation however I managed to get it all over my shirt and my wallet which I indelicately licked off in the street as I left the shop. 

This is what the train thingy and the main street looked like...

And here is a picture of a fellow pilgrim Tony trying his hand at busking in Jerusalem...

 I'm a bit tired now so I'll sign off. Tomorrow morning we start our serious study of the Book of Matthew in the morning and we have the afternoon off. A great opportunity to do some more exploring.

cheers

Pilgrim Peter