Remembering the Past, Celebrating the Present
After a day of leisure and relaxing, Bus 909 returned to our early morning wake up call. The day's activities began with a visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. Before embarking on our journey into the past, we each shared what emotion is personally evoked when we think of the Holocaust. Following this time of reflection, we met our tour guide Marcy and descended into the museum entrance, preparing to relive the greatest atrocity in Jewish history.
We've all learned time and time again about the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Six million is a staggering amount, almost to the point of being beyond comprehension. As such, Yad Vashem is designed to honor the memory of the millions of Jews murdered, each with a name, a face, a story, a way of life. Traversing the halls of the museum, we bore witness to the immense suffering of our Jewish kinsmen, reliving the horrors of the Holocaust as they unfolded. From initial identification to displacement in ghettos to trains to death camps, the emotional toll grew continually as we saw the evils of the past. Tears in our eyes, pits in our stomachs, hearts with despair, we exited the museum to a stunning view of Jerusalem. As we gazed upon the capital city of the Jewish State, we were reminded of the responsibility of Israel and Jews everywhere to uphold the memory of the millions who died and to always remember: never again.
With heavy hearts, we departed Yad Vashem and travelled to Tel Aviv, where we immediately descended on the beach. What a way to brighten the day! With the sun beaming down from a beautiful blue sky, we enjoyed an afternoon of crashing into waves, soccer, sun bathing, and even beach yoga. After a dinner of chicken and potato blintzes, we had the great fortune of enjoying a private musical performance by Udi Krauss, an Israeli drummer and song writer. Udi's passion and enthusiasm for Israeli music quickly infected our entire group, and by the end of the show Bus 909 was singing and dancing to Salaam, a song for peace. The celebration continued late into the night as we enjoyed a night of dancing and merriment out on the town.
