Rising to New Hights

In the past few days we have traveled and toured many historical sites. We have traveled all through Jerusalem and have seen how the city and the Jewish people are really built from the bottom up.

We have toured the City of David, Mt. Olive, and the Kotel tunnels. All places which are connected to the biblical times. When touring these places which are mostly underground you can see the ruins of the city. You can relate what you read in the Torah to what is right in front of you. When touring the Kotel tunnels I felt the most connected to Jewish history then I have ever been. Actually being able to touch the wall and see the depth of it was inspiring. I got to put a note near the closest place to the holy of holies and learn the history of Jerusalem.

Sometimes I forget how much the Jewish people have been through. It’s hard to think of Jewish people being around for so long and to have been through so many wars. Yet visiting Yad Vashem and the other places through Jerusalem reinstated my knowledge. Visiting Yad Vashem I learned in depth the history of the Holocaust but also how the Jewish people have taken this and moved forward. While visiting the old city and seeing how the ruins of the city are underground and move up also show how the city has grown up.

Even though sometimes it seems that the Jewish people are still stuck in the same wars and tensions that they have been in for years, visiting these people has really showed me how the Jewish people moved from the bottom during the Holocaust to how they are now. For the land of Israel we can see how the city is built and still moving up.

--Hadas Ben-David