Good morning! Last Monday, my brother and his friends went to two very different places. One was very informative and one was very sad. Let’s start with the informative and happy one.
Silly me, I thought this building was a great big version of those ovens that they cook things in. I was just waiting for the water to cool it down so my brother could have something to eat! Actually, it is a building at the Museum of Israel that houses an exhibit on the Red Sea Scrolls. My brother had seen the site at Qumran on Saturday, and they have all kinds of artifacts here.
First they looked at a model of how Jerusalem looked in Jesus’ time. It sure was a lot smaller!
As they were going into that big tagine building, they got to see a lot of information about the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Now, doesn’t this look like something that James Bond’s villains might use? Don’t worry, it’s actually a really big scroll. On it is a copy of the scroll of Isaiah. Did you know that it is almost word for the word the same as what is in the Bible? Wow!
Still, if you’re there and hear sirens go off, I’d call James Bond. Or maybe the Avengers. If Captain America has a friend named Captain Israel, even better!
Now, here we are at the sad place. It is called Yad Vashem and it is a memorial about the Hollow Cost. I’m sure you have heard about it. It’s very sad. I think the name comes from that Bible verse that asks, “What does it profit someone to gain the whole world and lose their soul?” I may have that wrong, although it still works.
This tree was planted to honor Oskar Schindler. I don’t know if he built the Schindler Lifts but he helped a lot of Jewish people escape from the concentrated camps.
My brother was not allowed to take pictures inside the building but he said it was very moving. There were many exhibits, artifacts, and films. This picture was taken when he came out of the building.
Also on the grounds was the Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem. It remembers all the children who died: over one and a half million! I don’t think I even have that many hairs! That’s very sad. My brother said that the Children’s Memorial was in a building that was completely dark, except for one candle that was reflected by countless mirrors. That’s amazing!
After lunch, the group went back into Old Jerusalem. My brother said it would be very easy to get lost if you didn’t know where you were going!
They went to a Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter. They could climb some stairs and look down into the building.
Then, they climbed some more stairs and came to this fancy staircase. It kind of reminds me of New Orleans! Laissez les bon temps roullez!
After they climbed the fancy staircase, they had this great view of Jerusalem!
Well, I think they have two more days of sightseeing. I’ll keep you posted!
Love, Winston