We began our third day on a train to Mount Herzl where sits at the summit is Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to victims of the Holocaust. We walked through the long but exceptionally well done history museum that told the story of the Holocaust from it's beginnings in Pre-Nazi Germany to the aftermath of World War II. The exhibits focused not only on memorializing the six million who perished, but also to celebrate the many forms of resistance, from ghetto uprisings to desperate escapes to reach Israel. After the history museum we visited several other memorial sites Yad Vashem had to offer: The Hall of Names, the Righteous Among the Nations, and perhaps most moving, the Children's Memorial-an immersive, dark space in which thousands of mirrors reflect off of three burning candles, creating a seemingly endless universe of individual stars representing the 1.5 million children lost in the Shoah.
The final two stops in the late afternoon were at the Churches of St. John the Baptist and the Visitation. The Church of SJB marks the birthplace of John, Jesus' cousin who at a time was thought by many to be the messiah. Similar to Jesus, John the Baptist was not someone to mince words in his ministry. Which is why John was very clear when he said of the coming of Jesus in John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." The Church of the Visitation represents the place where Mary told Anne of her immaculate conception through the Holy Spirit. It was a place of great beauty and peace that matched the countryside below.
Additional Notes:
-Getting to Ein Kerem from Yad Vashem meant walking along a stone pathway at the bottom of a great valley. To our surprise the landscape in this part of Israel is dense with pine, elm, and cypress trees, large boulders and terraces blanketing the slopes on either side of our path.
-The hills are no place for cats...fewer sitings today.
-Morale remains strong despite Adam and Kevin's acute deficiency in Vitamin D. Luckily I had supplements to share.
-Tomorrow-Back to the Holy Sepulchre at 4 am to see its doors opened and to do more sound recording! With much more anticipated in the Old City.