Western Wall & Yad Vashem

Western Wall:
The Western Wall is an ancient wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. The wall was originally erected as part of the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple by Herod the Great. It was so interesting to see this massive wall with its great historical story behind it. Everyone had so many questions to ask- my favorite being, “What are all the pieces of paper in the wall?” These pieces of paper are written prayers that people put in the wall because many believe there they are closest to God. This is because God inhabited the holy of holies many years ago just on the other side of the wall. Over a million notes are placed each year in what has become a tradition in the past couple hundred years. The notes are collected twice a year and buried on the nearby Mount of Olives. This was such an interesting visit and I am so glad we got to see it
-Amanda Akerly, OCS Senior

Yad Vashem:
The Holocaust Museum was such an eye opening experience. I didn’t know much about it going into today. I knew Jews were persecuted but the details were vague. For me it was a thing of the past until Ronen started telling us about what happened and how it is not over. Two days ago a Jewish cemetery was bombed in France. Two weeks ago people shot and killed in a synagogue. Today in the museum, we saw many videos from survivors and stories of people trying to protect Jews. This wasn’t hundreds of years ago this was when my grandparents were kids and right now. That is what has stuck with me all day.
-Hallie, OCS 8th Grader