“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved. --Ezekiel 33:7-9 NIV
Yad Vashem is the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem.
On Friday, I ended up having half a day, and I got permission from the exercise lead to take the train by myself to the museum. This was a big deal for me. I didn't think he would say yes, but he said that since the museum isn't in the old city, I could do it alone. Typically, they were telling us not to travel alone, and not to travel to Jerusalem on Fridays. When I told my new friend Al, a LTC, that Mike told me I could do that, he told me that he wanted to see Yad Vashem, too, and if I was interested in his company, he could drive us. Wonderful! Not only have I enjoyed Al's company for the better part of the last three weeks, but it also removed a heavy logistical burden for me and saved about an hour and a half since I wouldn't have to leave the site, go back to Tel Aviv, and find the train station from there. So we left after my last meeting, picking up an army MAJ before heading out.
When we got there, hungry, we grabbed a snack downstairs. The bagel was bigger than my hand! (And delicious!) But if anyone gets to go there, I would caution against using that cafe as a source for lunch. They were out of almost everything by 1215 when we got there. When we went up to get headphones, they told us we have just over an hour because they were closing at 1400.
It was meant to be. If I had taken the train, I wouldn't have seen anything because I probably would have gotten there as it was closing. I wasn't allowed to go into the Old City (expressly forbidden), so I would have gone right back to the train station and headed back to Tel Aviv. It sounds like a little over an hour at the museum would be insufficient, and it just barely was, but at the same time, it is such a hard museum to walk through. I walked away from about 3 exhibits to prevent myself from losing control. I skipped about 2 altogether because they came behind us and closed some exhibits to move us forward. They were scheduled to close early to prepare for Shabbat. I should have paid closer attention to that, but I'm glad I didn't, since we may have decided not to go at all if we had known they were closing that early.
I am not the type of person who knowingly watches movies with sad endings. But this is different. This isn't something I could pass up if given the opportunity. This is something for all of us to know and remember. Forever.
The verses in Ezekiel that I quoted above relate to something I read when I first got into the museum. It was a shocking perspective for me, so I wrote it down (no pictures allowed) so I could exactly quote it. "In its theological struggle against Judaism and the Jews, Christianity perpetuated and spread this negative image over the centuries." In short, it accuses Christians of the bad reputation that Jews had because Christians blamed Jews for the killing of our God, Jesus. Christians blamed Jews for deicide.
Now, the verses in Ezekiel were from God to Ezekiel, but I believe that we should heed them also. I think that we, not only as Christians but as human beings, need to stop evil from going on when we can. Obviously. At the very least, we need to speak out against it. This needs to start at a very early age, and it applies to a wide variety of evil. That was what I thought about as I started my tour through the museum. I thought about how many people were complicit with the horrible events that occurred. I saw still photographs of men lined up with their backs to SS with rifles, just standing there waiting to be shot. How does a human being stand there and wait for that? But I thought about the person behind the camera. That person. If the verse in Ezekiel applies to that person, I think (and I recognize that I am not the Judge, but I think) that the photographer would have blood on his hands.
That's what I was thinking about.
The museum is set up so that you go from one exhibit to another. Everyone goes in the same direction. Everyone follows the same path. On the way home, we discussed the architecture of the building. It was a sort of triangle, with a very narrow ceiling that was most, if not all, a window or skylight. The light from above was enough to see the exhibits yet keep the mood rather dark, as it should have been. The flow made everyone take the same steps, essentially, not knowing what the next step would bring. To me, it felt abysmal.
Of course, it was a very hard museum to go through. I wondered if the design flowed like that intentionally. Was it intended to close us in, the walls getting narrower as they got taller, feeling almost like the building is closing in on you? That's how it felt to me. I was surprised the building felt that way. I couldn't figure it out. From one exhibit to another, one turn after another, one immeasurably sad image after another.
A little under an hour and a half of that. It was about as much as I could handle. I reached the last exhibit. It was a room full of books. It was a room full of books of names. Of victims. Of those murdered. So many books. I stood in the circular room for a few moments, fighting back tears.
And then I simply turned my back on it and walked out.
It was too easy. It's not that I'm not carrying a piece of it with me, but my spirit was so heavy, and then suddenly, I walked out into beautiful, bright sunshine, warm weather, and an amazing view of Jerusalem.
I think that the view represents hope. And with that, I will leave you with this:
Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.--Isaiah 52:9-10 NIV
