Another Busy and Exciting Day in Jerusalem

What an incredible day today was. The last morning before the conference officially began, this was a day to run around and get things done you want to do in your free time. The day started with a visit to the Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem, home of the famous Marc Chagall stained-glass windows. By coincidence, we ended up with a private visit as the only ones there. The windows are a beautiful interpretation of the blessings given by Jacob to each of his twelve sons before he died. What I thought was most incredible was the way Chagall repaired four windows after they were damaged by a bomb in the Six Day War. He incorporated pieces from the damaged windows into the new designs, so that they would serve as a reminder of what had happened. In Israel, even something new has within it remnants of the old as well.
We went from there on to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and Remembrance museum. I have been to Yad Vashem several times (the first time was immediately after a preview screening of “Schindler’s List” before it was released to the public--- talk about a powerful moment,) and every visit is special and moving. This, however, was my first time to the museum since its complete expansion and renovation. It is, simply put, an unbelievably overwhelming experience. The new Holocaust History Museum walks you through the entirety of the Jewish experience, from life in Europe before the Holocaust, through the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party, to Kristallnacht and the ghettos, to the concentration camps and the gas chambers, until you finally reach liberation and resettlement following the war. As you leave the museum, a grand landscape of the Judean Hills and JNF forests are displayed before your eyes. It simply took my breath away. After the history museum, we spent some time at the Hall of Names, where Pages of Testimony are stored for 2.5 million victims of the Shoah. You should know that you can search the archives of the Pages of Testimony, and add one yourself for a loved one who perished in the Holocaust, on their website, www.yadvashem.org. Our final stop was the Children’s Memorial. It is a haunting experience as you walk through a darkened room, lit only by a few candles reflected through dozens of mirrors, so it seems as if there are a million sparkles in the sky. As you pass through, the names and ages of child victims are slowly recited, in a never-ending memorial to the 1.5 million children who perished.
We made our way back to the hotel, which is no easy feat these days. If you have ever been to Jerusalem before, you know that traffic here rivals New York City during rush hour, though Israelis drive even more dangerously. Making things worse, Israel is installing a light rail / train system. Many of the major roads in the city are reduced to one-lane in each direction. It is a scary experience to drive or be in a cab in Jerusalem.
The Conference began with a welcome dinner at the beautiful Mercaz Shimshon, a conference center attached to the rabbinic school with beautiful views of the old city. It was great to see so many friends and colleagues from around North America. Over 300 rabbis are here for the conference, and we always look forward to catching up, and learning best practices from one another (I’ve gotten some great ideas to share another time!) Perhaps the highlight of the night was our special guest, a welcome and address by Nir Barkat, the dynamic new, young mayor of Jerusalem. Having recently retired from the tech world, Barkat brings a different approach to leading the city. He asks everyone to view issues from the side of the “other”: ask Orthodox views to understand the secular point of view, the liberal to understand the conservative, etc. He embraces the Reform movement and encourages our participation in Israel. He is pursuing an agenda of change that will bring Jews back to Jerusalem (the Jewish population is shrinking in Jerusalem 1-3% per year due to high costs and low job availability,) and wants to invest in Jerusalem’s tourist industry, hoping to increase tourism to 10 million visitors within 10 years. To be honest, I was tremendously impressed with Mr. Barkat, and I hope he has tremendous success with his endeavors.
Tomorrow promises to be another exciting and long day. Since it is nearly 1 AM here, I better get some rest.