December 24

Several compelling moments at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial, this

morning and at the Western Wall this Sabbath Eve.

Jews watching their synagogue burn on Kristallnacht.  When the dome

falls, the reaction reminds me of the towers falling on 9/11.

Archives of the Warsaw ghetto were saved in milk jars.  The Dead Sea

scrolls were saved in vases.  I knew Dr. Samuel Iwry, who authenticated

the latter.

Jan Karski, a leader in the Polish underground, relates his meeting

with FDR to inform him about the concentration camps.  “We shall win

this war,” Karski intones the President.  “Justice shall prevail

afterwards.”

Trees were planted at the museum to honor the righteous among the

nations – non-Jews who resisted the Nazis and aided Jews.  But there

were too many and they’ve stopped planting trees.  They are honored in

another way.

The Nuremburg rallies remind me of the vile comparison that some right

wingers made to the Obama acceptance speech in Denver.

—

I’ve never been to the Western Wall at sundown on a Friday when it’s

been so crowded.  In addition to observant Jews, there are countless

tourists.

Our dinner is in a yeshiva overlooking the Wall.  By 8:30, there are

two people praying.  The contrast is startling and moving.