Sam Lynn & Alex Sandler - Yad Vashem and Har Hertzel

Sam Lynn

This week was an emotional whirlwind. We began our Siyur day at Yad Vashem, my personal favorite Holocaust museum. For me, Yad Vashem stands out because of its incredible attention to detail and its ability to tell as many individual stories as possible. While I have been to Yad Vashem before each time that I go I learn something new. This time around I had the opportunity to go into the learning center where we were able to look at 13 difficult questions and potential answers.

Another place that we visited on our Siyur day was Mount Hertzel. Mount Hertzel is a very special place that I believe all tourists should go to. It has amazing views, a large soldier presents and acts as the final resting place of solider in uniform who were killed and high ranking political figures. This time around we went to two very unique places on Mt Hertzel. We visited the memorial of the victims of terror and the memorial to the victims of the mass migration from Ethiopia. This was the first time that I had been to either and they both left a lasting impact on me. I am incredibly grateful that I was able to visit both memorials while I was there.

Alex Sandler

As Jews today we don’t truly appreciate how fortunate we are. We exist in a world where there exists a safe haven for us, there are people ready to defend us and support us. It is our responsibility as Jews to remember and to educate on the horrific tragedies that occur when we don’t have that. Yad Vashem should be visited by every Jew at least once, but ideally much more. A picturesque compound where time seems to stand still, that directly contradicts the horrors it seeks to memorialize and educate. The care and thought that is placed into the experience of learning are often overpowering. To see what was had and what was lost, in painfully honest detail is an experience that is indescribable in a few lines of writing. Whether it was through the learning center that allowed us to explore the major philosophical questions surrounding the Holocaust and antisemitism, or through the children Memorial that helped us process the loss of an entire generation of Jewish youth, of Academics, Philosophers, Artists, and Heroes, this was an experience that left us all feeling both devastated and assured, with a new purpose to carry forward the lessons we have learned and make Never Again is a reality.