(DAY 6) Knesset, Yad Vashem, Mt. Hertzl, Ardon Window

GESHEM!
The Hebrew word for Rain is Geshem and that is what the weather starts out like today.

The rain sets the somber mood, which is appropriate for many of today's activities...
you will see.

First we travel to the Knesset, the seat of Government in Israel.  The word Knesset means Assembly, and this is where the Israeli Parliament meets.

The Knesset building

Work by Chagall commissioned for the
dedication of the Knesset building

Another work by Chagall



Notice the arrangement of seats is in the shape of a menorah

Next we go on to Yad Vashem.  This is the Shoah memorial museum in Israel, which has been rebuilt, enlarged, and modernized.  The new museum is unbelievable... and our guide was fantastic - her name was Hazy Flint.  A name that also was descriptive of the weather today... 

Marker of the Garden of the Righteous

The Garden of the Righteous is a garden of tree memorializing those among the nations that risked their own lives to protect, hide, and save those that would have otherwise been victims of the Shoah.  The tree dedicated to Oskar Shindler is the forked tree just behind this entrance marker to the Garden.

Entering the Yad Vashem museum, which 'pierces' the mountain

Inside the museum

A 'quick' photo of just one of the exhibits
(We weren't supposed to take photos inside)

As we come through the museum, which Hazy has taken us through in 3 hours (Amazing exhibits!!) we enter the Hall of Names.  This hall has an amazing design, and also has shelves and shelves of bound volumes filled with names - nearly 4 million names -- of those who perished.  We come out of the hall of names, and out to this overlook of the city of Jerusalem.  This was extremely moving for all of us... 

Listening to Hazy desribe the online archive and research
capabilities provided by the Yad Vashem Library

After Yad Vashem, we traveled a short distance to Mt. Hertzl.  At this location, most of Israel's important dignitaries and heroes are buried.  We saw a presentation of Hertzl's life...

Garden outside of the Mt. Hertzl cemetery

In a small grotto at the cemetery, Rabbi Colin leads us in Kaddish, and Yosi plays a lovely song on the Flute called Eli Eli (written by Hannah Senesh).

Then, we head over to see the Ardon Window, a very famous stained glass window (3rd largest in the world), which is at the Jewish National and Hebvrew University Library.

The Ardon Window is a set of 3 panels
(Note a similarity to the 3 panel Chagall at the Knesset?)

Rabbi Colin leads us in a discussion of the meaning
and symbolism represented in the stained glass

Opportunity for another Photo of the Group in front of the window...
(a few of us were missing from the photo)

Later in the evening we retired to the hotel and went to dinners on our own. 
For those of us going to Masada tomorrow - it will be an early night to bed...