Jerusalem: Death and Resurrection
Friday is our last day in Jerusalem. It’s a significant day to gather our thoughts. What stories will we tell? How will we answer the question, “How was it?” I asked a few people today. Their responses were “Beyond expectations,” “I can’t reduce it to one thing,” “Just being here.” As if we couldn’t learn anymore or see anymore, we ended our journey with a visit to the Holocaust Memorial and then the Garden Tomb--an odd combination, but very powerful. The Yad Vashem Memorial is a moving tribute to the 6 million jews who died in Europe, including the 1.5 million children. A Cantor sang three songs beginning with Psalm 23, then two prayers the Jews would have sang as they walked to their death. I saw a little boy dressed for Sabbath. The next generation of Jews who will tell the stories of their grandparents and great grandparents. We found the tree planted for Corrie Ten Boom and her family in a grove of trees dedicated to Dutch "righteous" who were gentiles that gave re