11/30 | Yad Vashem

Today, I had the opportunity to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority.  I have been here twice before and every time I return it is extremely emotional.  This time, however, I did not visit the main exhibition hall.  Instead, I went to the Yad Vashem Visual Center in order to view my grandmother's testimonial as recorded by Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation in 1998.  My grandmother, thank G-d, is still alive, but she very rarely speaks openly about her story, so I felt it was necessary to view her testimonial in order to better understand my own family history.  Approximately two and a half hours in length, my grandmother's story was absolutely incredible.  Of course it was a tragedy, but it included aspects of a love story (meeting my grandfather in the woods) and a drama (immigrating to the United States) and above all, it ended with a triumph as she sat with her three daughters and one granddaughter.  I won't go into details because it would take too long, but it really was necessary for me to see.

My grandmother, Betty Ruf, told her story over the course of two and a half hours.

My aunts Susie and Miriam, my grandmother, and my mother Linda.  My sister Julia is in my mom's lap.

My sister Julia was only three years old in 1998 and she is still the youngest in the Ruf family line.  This will change soon with the birth of my cousin Jason's baby in January.

Here are some pictures from Yad Vashem:

The entrance to Yad Vashem quotes Ezekial 37:14 in saying, "I will put my breath into you and you shall live again, and I will set you upon your soil..."  This basically tells the story of the Jewish people from death (the Holocaust) to rebirth (the modern State of Israel).

A view of the Yad Vashem visitors' center.  All of the buildings in Yad Vashem are painted an austere grey color.

Yad Vashem is surrounded by beautiful views of the forests of Jerusalem.  It serves as a reminder of the miraculous rebirth of the Jewish nation after nearly complete destruction during the Second World War.

The Garden of the Righteous honors the thousands of non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

 The tree of Oskar and Emilie Schindler.

This sculpture depicts the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.  The uprising was incredible in that it took almost a month to put down, which is nearly the same amount of time that it took the Nazis to invade all of Poland.

This sculpture depicts the mass deportation of Jews to the death camps.

The outside of the imposing Hall of Remembrance.

The Hall of Remembrance includes the names of some of the many Nazi killing sites.  An eternal flame constantly burns next to a crypt containing ashes of victims brought from the extermination camps.

11/27 to 11/29 | Hebrew Midterm and a Trip to the Archeological Excavations in the Old City

Following a relaxing shabbat weekend with the Elbaum family in Modi'in, Sunday was completely spent studying for my Hebrew midterm--bachinat emtzah--on Monday.  This test covered everything learned in level aleph as well as everything learned in level bet so far.  To prepare, I had to look back at hundreds of vocabulary words in addition to reviewing all the grammar rules, especially tense conjugations and prepositions.  Hebrew is much more complex than English, so there is a lot more to keep in mind as a beginner.  In English for example, saying "I will think," "you will think," "he/she will think," "we will think," and "they will think" all end in "will think."  This is not too complicated as long as one remembers the proper pronouns.  In Hebrew, however, "I will think" is "achshohv;" "you will think" is "tachshohv" for a male and "tachshvee" for a female; "he will think" is "yachshohv;" "she will think" is "tachshohv," which is the same as "you will think" for a male; "we will think" is "nachshohv;" and "they will think" is "yachshvoo."  Confusing enough?  It is not easy to remember which prefix to add, when to add a suffix, and when to drop the letter vav.  Multiply that for hundreds of different verbs, and it is possible to see why this is such a complex language!

Today, I went on a field trip to the archeological excavations in the Herodian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.  After Israel captured the city form the Jordanians in 1967, Israeli archeologists began excavating the destroyed Jewish Quarter.  During this process, hundreds of First and Second Temple ruins were exposed.  Today, several of these excavations are still available for the public to view in the restored Jewish Quarter.  Here are some images from my trip:

As we drove by Al-Aqsa Mosque, we got a taste for some of the Second Temple period ruins we would be looking at later.

We entered the Old City through Zion Gate, which bears the battle scars of the 1948 War of Independence.

The Broad Wall is a First Temple period city wall dating back to King Hezekiah.  The blue and white measuring stick to the left shows the original height of the wall.

Ruins of the home of a wealthy family underneath a modern-day yeshiva.

Steps into a mikveh led archeologists to believe this was the home of a Jewish priest, or kohain in Hebrew.  Notice the small bowl at the top of the stairs for cleaning one's feet.  Also, the edge of a mosaic--a sign of wealth--is visible in the top left corner of the picture.

Remains of various types of columns.  The ornate design to the left is of the Corinthian order, the middle design is of the Ionic order, and the simple design to the right is of the Doric order.

Signs of wealth: In addition to a mosaic, this house included fancy pottery and a stone table.

A model of what the excavated house (really a mansion) would have looked like in the days of the Second Temple.

Evidence of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE include burnt remains and charred walls.

When we were done with the excavations under the yeshiva, we arrived at the Golden Menorah.  This menorah is a rough recreation of the menorah found in the Second Temple.  It is based on the design carved into the Arch of Titus in Rome, which celebrates Rome's conquering of Jerusalem by Emperor Titus.

Here I am in 2007 in front of the Arch of Titus.

A beautiful view of the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock.

The second half of our trip consisted of a tour of the Jerusalem Archeological Park.

The path into the archeological park features a timeline of the rulers of Jerusalem, from the Caananites to the modern-day Israelis.

A ruin of the Second Temple featuring a swastika.  Little did the designer know that millions of his descendants would be murdered under this symbol thousands of years later.

The corner of the Temple Mount, looking in the direction of the Western Wall.

Al-Aqsa Mosque, looking towards the Mount of Olives.

Robinson's Arch used to be a stairway that carried traffic from the street-level market to the basilica, known as the Royal Stoa, on the Temple Mount.

 An excavated mikveh that still functions when it rains.

 During the destruction of Jerusalem, stones from the Temple were pushed down below, where they remain today.

 A replica of an inscription found that says, "To the place of trumpeting..."  This is thought to have pointed to the place where priests needed to go when it was time to alert the city that shabbat was coming.

Steps for pilgrims to enter the Temple Mount esplanade.  The partially exposed door lintel is a portion of the Double Gate; the rest is covered up by a Crusader-era building.

 A fantastic view of the Mount of Olives, featuring the burial sites of thousands of Jews.

A giant hanukkiah in storage until Hanukkah, which is only a few weeks away!

11/25 to 11/26 | The Israel Museum and Shabbat in Modi'in

On Friday morning, I had a field trip back to the Israel Museum with my Archaeology of Jerusalem class.  This time, instead of looking at the model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, we walked through the archaeology wing in the main exhibition hall.  Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take pictures inside the museum, so I only have images from the outdoor exhibits.  The archaeological treasures inside the museum were incredible, though, and it is a shame we were not allowed to bring in cameras.  The museum is home to thousands of artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods, ranging from ossuaries to restored mosaics, from column capitals to stone inscriptions.

Preserved pieces of an ancient synagogue in the Galilee.

A sculpture of the core of an apple, or tepuach in Hebrew.

 The famous Ahava ("Love") Statue.

The view of Jerusalem from the edge of the Israel Museum.

When we were done at the Israel Museum, Esther and I headed to the Central Bus Station.  I made plans to spend shabbat in Modi'in with the Elbaum family, who I met at the Beit Tal event last October, while Esther had plans to spend the weekend with family in Givatayim.  No busses came, though, so we decided to walk.  Fortunately, this is one of the best walks in Jerusalem because it passes by the Knesset and the Supreme Court among other major landmarks.

 The Knesset is right across from the Israel Museum.

 The Supreme Court of Israel.

 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in the foreground; the Bank of Israel is in the background.

Flags of the State of Israel and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A strange sign for a one-state solution to the conflict.

The cantilever Chords Bridge near the Central Bus Station.  Some think it looks like King David's harp, while other think it resembles a bow and arrow.  Regardless of what it is supposed to represent, it is distinctively modern in a city dominated by the ancient.

Unfortunately, there are no Egged busses to Modi'in, so it took me a while to find the proper sheirut (shared taxi).  In Hebrew, the word modi'in means information, so when I asked someone how to get to Modi'in, I was pointed in the direction of the Egged information desk.  Funny enough, all of the ticket booths say, "cahn loh modi'in," which basically means, "this is not the information desk."  At first glance, though, it looks like there is no Modi'in.

The path from Jerusalem to Modi'in, which is halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  The full name of Modi'in is Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut.

I eventually arrived in Modi'in right before the sun set and shabbat began.  Shabbat with the Elbaum family was fantastic.  As I mentioned earlier, I met Leiah and Jason Elbaum at the Beit Tal event last October.  They told me I could come for shabbat one Friday, so I gladly took them up on that offer this past weekend.  In honor of Thanksgiving, dinner and lunch were Turkey-themed.  The food went above and beyond anything I had expected.  In all, we ate:

• turkey poulkas and wings in barbecue-style marinade
• corn chowder
• chilled Thai-style pumpkin soup
• green beans in onion sauce
• cornbread
• mashed sweet potato
• squash with marshmallow topping
• green salad
• roast turkey breast in herbs
• homemade pickled cucumbers
• vanilla-cinnamon challah
• cranberry sauce
• pumpkin pie
• maple syrup candy

Jealous?

It was a great honor to spend the weekend with the Elbaum family at their beautiful home in Modi'in.  It is always nice to spend shabbat in an authentic setting and I was not let down.  Good food with good people; what could be better?

Beautiful Modi'in.

11/24 | An Israeli Thanksgiving

Tonight, I had the opportunity to attend a Hebrew University Thanksgiving party hosted by the Office of Student Activities and sponsored by Hillel and the Jewish Federations of North America. Contrary to what I had expected, this party turned out to be an absolute blowout. Not only were there gifts, flowers, and an assortment of food for everyone, there was an open bar, too! It was a really interesting take on Thanksgiving, but certainly nothing like how it is in the United States.

As we entered the ballroom of kibbutz Ramat Rachel, there were greeters on stilts handing out roses to everyone. This led into a cocktail hour with an assortment of hors d'oeuvres ranging from tacos to little cups of soup. When this part of the evening ended, everyone made their way to tables around a huge dance floor. At every seat were ceramic chamsas to take home and programs detailing the night's activities. After a few short speeches, the first course was served and, perhaps more importantly, the main bar opened up for the night. Shortly after, there was a fire twirling show and a mini-concert put on by singer Din Din Aviv of the Idan Raichel Project. At one point, Aviv started singing Hava Nagila and almost every single Rothberg student participated in a giant hora! This was proceeded by the main course--turkey and brisket--and an evening of dancing.

Tonight was a night to remember. The party was so much fun and it truly made everyone forget about their holiday homesickness. As I said, it was nothing like an American Thanksgiving, but it was certainly one that I won't ever forget!

Thanksgiving dinner was sponsored by the Jewish Federations of North American and Hillel.

Greeters on stilts handed out roses to everyone.

Sandy, Fara, and Esther before the evening's events began.

Rachel and I at our table.

The dance floor.

The first course: ravioli, salad, and a meat boureka.

The fire twirlers.  Yes, the smoke alarm did go off at one point.

Din Din Aviv of the Idan Raichel Project gave us all a private concert.

The main course: turkey and brisket!

A surprise appearance by Professor Weiner.  Sapir, another student in my Business Ethics class, is to the right.

Fara, Esther, and I on the dance floor.

Esther and Rachel dancing.

The dance floor starting to fill up with people.

At midnight, Esther turned 21.  Happy birthday, Esther!

After the party, I got to video chat with my family back home. This marked a truly great end to an absolutely incredible Thanksgiving. There really is a lot to be thankful for this year!

My grandma Betty and my sister Julia in front of my dad and my two cousins, Scott and Jason.

My cousin Jason, my sister Julia, my mom, Jason's wife Emily, and my aunt Miriam.