Today was a day of remembering the past and making connections for the future. We started our day off by going to Har Herzl Cemetery. There we saw the monuments of Theodore Herzl, Yitzhak Rabin, and other Israeli leaders and soldiers who all contributed to the well being of Israel. We discussed the life of Herzl, who was the considered the father of Zionism, and his passion for the creation of a Jewish state and all he did to achieve it. We saw the graves of the seven paratroopers who sacrificed their lives working toward Israel's creation. This sight led to a discussion on each of our connections to the fallen and Israel. The Americans felt more connected to the history and the religious aspects of the significance of their sacrifices. On the other hand, the Israelis felt more nationalism and patriotism towards their country.
After taking in all of that history we took in even more by going to Israel's holocaust museum, Yad Vashem. There we were met by a tour guide who took us through the museum explaining different aspects of the holocaust. Though some of us had already been to this museum it was a completely different experience because we were there with Israelis and had the opportunity to go through it with them. Our tour guide focused a lot on the symbolism of the architecture of the museum. Two buildings of the museum were connected by a wooden bridge which as you walk across can said to sound like the trains that transported the Jews to the camps. Many survivors who came to visit the museum agreed. Throughout the tour she reminded us of the horrors of the Holocaust but also emphasized our role as future Jewish leaders in that once we hear the stories of the survivors we also become survivors and it is our responsibility to tell our stories to future generations.
After a somber morning of remembering we made our way to Tel Aviv to the Diller International Mega Evening! This was in place of Congress, a 5-day event where all participants of Diller come together to meet and learn about Judaism. Instead, we did all of that in seven hours! We were broken up into six groups mixed with participants from San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Eilat, Upper Galilee, Chicago and many more. We all participated in programs to further our knowledge about what family means to us and the meaning of a Diller Family. Throughout these programs we all got to know some of the fellows from other cohorts. Though this was the only time we will all see the Israeli Diller participants we will get another change to see the North American participants at Kennes later this week! We concluded the night by listening ta rockin' band called the Shuk. Though some of us fell asleep during the concert they were still great. We enjoyed our last night of Hanukkah with all 400 participants of Diller in a huge candle lighting!
It's been great so far and we can't wait to update you more! We all miss you and are all doing great!!!
Thanks for reading.
Julia and Ben.
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