My Visit to Yad Vashem

A late start yesterday provided some free time and a great opportunity for myself and one of my teammates , Molly Tissenbaum, to visit Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the site of the world's official Holocaust memorial.

Both Molly and I have spent a great deal of time learning about the history and experiences of this tragedy. However, it is entirely different when presented with human stories of survival and the strength of the human spirit at the memorial. The memorial is spectacularly maintained and treated with the utmost respect by those who work there and by those who visit. It is haunting to stand on the real cobblestones taken from the Warsaw Ghetto or to look at the shoes of those who were killed at the camps. The memorial provides you with the time to reflect on this dark period in the history of the Jewish people.

Despite the difficulty of walking through the memorial, the overwhelming feeling we had at the end of the tour was that of great appreciation. The memorial is laid out in such a way that at the end, you walk through a set of doors that lead to a gorgeous view of Jerusalem, almost as if you have found the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

It was a profound experience for both Molly and I, and we encourage everyone to take the time to visit this beautiful tribute to our history.