And life goes on… | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

And life goes on…

Last night we wandered through the winding alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem and visited the Western Wall. As I placed my hand on the Wall, listening to the women singing around me, I felt incredibly connected the millions of Jews who have sent prayers to that very spot for thousands of years. The power of being in the holiest of holy places was sobering. It felt peaceful to stand alone in reflection and prayer while shoulder to shoulder with others doing the same.

When we arrived today at Yad Vashem, I easily returned to a quiet place of introspection. We started the tour with a video testimonial by a man from Greece who was the only in his family to survive. As he cried over his sister’s grave and asked why it was he who survived and not others, the first tears rolled down my face. We were led through the museum, and through our painful history-- from the concentration camps to the death walks to the death camps and finally to the end of the war when people were left psychologically in pieces with no place to call home. And so it was both fitting and powerful to walk out of the museum to a breathtaking view of Jerusalem. I am still struggling to find words to go with the complex feelings and questions that the museum evoked and am looking forward to the good conversations with my trip mates tonight to sort things out.

We left the past and suddenly arrived for lunch at a shopping mall (I had pizza with corn on it) on our way to an after school program in Kiryat Gat, JUF’s Partnership Together city. Kiryat Gat is laregely home for low income families, many of whom have immigrated from Northern Africa and Ethiopia. I held a baby with the cutest, chubbiest cheeks and watched boys break dance. Later a four year old named Orel sang me Old McDonald in Hebrew and together we drew pictures of flowers. Some of us played soccer and basketball while others did arts and crafts. Few kids spoke English, but this did not stop us from connecting and laughing together. Playing with kids is one of the best ways to return to joy and to feel hopeful for the future.

-Nikki Goldwater