Day Seven - Yad Yerushalayim

This next post is written by Annette Seflin, with input from Gary and Geena:

We slept a little later today, but still awoke too close to the crack of dawn.


Most of our activities today dealt with "The Yad" (hand).

Initially, we drove to Yad la Kashish;
"Lifeline to the elderly" (Extending a hand to seniors). Our guide, Lisa Oren, who is originally from Glasgow, Scotland, introduced us to the program designed to assist senior citizens and people with disabilities.  We had the opportunity to watch their intricate work with different art mediums (metals, ceramics, recycled paper, fabrics, etc.) and interact with some of the employees and then purchase their crafts in the shop.

The people there range in age from mid 60s to mid 90s and come from many different countries -- mainly former Soviet Union. Since they came to Israel after pension age, they fail to qualify for government assistance.  This program offers them the ability to feel productive and earn some money.

As the morning moved on, we went to the next "Yad" on the program list, Yad vashem... (Although Yad means hand, in this case, (our guide, Muki, taught us) it also means "sign" or "monument" - Yad Vashem: A Monument and a Name.

Although Israel had a Holocaust museum since 1965, 10 years ago the new Yad Vashem opened.  The museum tells the story through Jewish eyes and more perspectives.
Every detail is deliberate. For example, unlike most buildings in Jerusalem the building uses cement, not Jerusalem  stone.  The story is not of Jerusalem; but rather the Jewish People. Similarly, there is no carpeting on the floor until the very end, symbolizing that the story that is told throughout the museum is a tough one.

When you first walk in, you see the Avenue of the Righteous of Nations. Over 25,000 trees have been planted in this area, along with plaques, memorializing those Europeans that saved Jews during the War. The inside gives perspective on  the time line, differentiating culture by neighborhood and people.

When you leave the museum you walk through the memorial to the 1,500,000 children who perished. The tribute, is beautiful, yet haunting. The museum is a stunningly effective way of telling the story and of individualizing the Shoah.

Moving into the afternoon, the trip took on a much lighter (and sweeter) tone. It was an afternoon dedicated to food.  The hand was very busy helping us eat!

So we can call it "Yad La'Ochel - Hand for food."

Right after lunch we visited a Chocolate factory in a kibbutz, Kibbutz Tzoba. Sasha was our guide/instructor. We received spoons and tins, and allowed our creativity to take over. We even got to lick the bowl!!

We learned all about how the cocoa bean grows in Africa and the whole process involved to make it into what we know as the finished product, chocolate.    Very yummy.

Next we went to the market   (Shook) and our hand (Yad) continued active duty. The Market is called Machaneh Yehudah, where we saw, smelled, and heard the hustle and bustle of an actual market akin to our 9th Street Market... but on steroids.

First stop:

"The World's Greatest Rugalach" at a bakery called Marzipan. (We tried to set up a way to have it shipped to Wallingford, but couldn't arrange it. Sorry - we DID think of you)

Next shop was a techina (tahini?) on-site roasting store.  --  never knew there are so many different flavors of techina!

We then walked along a row in the Shook and made it to a Halvah stand -- different kinds of halvah.  Never will ask for plain halvah again when there are so many other varieties. We tried coffe flavored and cinnamon flavored...

Speaking of varieties - Muki then invited us to try exotic Middle Eastern ice cream. All different spices in each scoop. Ever try basil or saffron ice cream?  Surprisingly good.

We then walked back to the hotel with Rabbi Gerber in the lead as we viewed the "Great Synagogue of Jerusalem", as well as caught a glimpse of the official residence of the Israeli Prime Minister.

We then had dinner on our own, but about half our group toured the pedestrian mall of Old Ben Yehuda Street, and we ended up at Black Bar Burger and Grill for grilled burgers and beer.