Yerushalaim

After our heavy start at Yad Veshem, we made our way to the Herzl Museum, which educates on the life and vision of Theodore Herzl, writer of The Jewish State and the man who first imagined the creation of a modern-day Israel. 

wee!

I definitely learned a lot at this museum--not just about Herzl but also about ideology. The museum was a little bit propagandistic and simplistic--but not at all in a false, bad, or misleading way. It was the presenting of history with a nationalistic pride. I found that because of my lack of very personal investment in Israel--as in, I don't live here full-time and I'm not a citizen--I felt like I was able to remain skeptical and evaluate the presented facts and stories from an unbiased, appraisatory perspective. I was able to accept and reject certain ideas in an intellectual way (as I'm sure numerous Israelis do as well). What the experience really did, though, was prompt me to examine how I evaluate American videos and facts. I realized I should be more critical of my own country. Not in a negative or dismissive way per se. I should simply detach myself from the blind patriotism and forgive-all that I know I can be capable of in order to accept the mistakes America has made and the faults it has in order to allow myself the creativity and determination to fix them.

Golda Meir's grave, former Prime Minister of Israel

Interesting fact: when you pass by a grave, you're supposed to leave a pebble or stone on it.

We then went to Yemin Moshe, an artist colony right outside the Old City of Jerusalem. It was stunning! Very interesting-- there are many homes that face the Old City walls. A few decades ago, there were no entrances or exits on that side of Yemin Moshe, because the citizens were in danger of being shot by soldiers on the wall! Since then, though, there's been a little bit of peacekeeping--just a tiny bit--so doors on all sides of buildings are permitted.

That's the Old City in the background

So many flowers, so beautiful

Seriously out of a painting!

A windmill!

#tokencanine of the trip

Just couldn't stop taking pictures!

From Yemin Moshe, we went to Me'a Shea'rim, a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood. You know Hasids--the black hats and the suits and the curls. The curls are because in the Torah, it orders that men never cut their sideburns. Hasids spend their days studying and debating the Torah--amazing, right? They literally dedicate their lives to learning. Sure, they may not make a ton of money... But still a pretty incredible thing to spend your time doing, right? We visited the largest hashiva, or Torah-learning center, in the world, and walked through the neighborhood. Did you know that some Hasidic men refuse to even look at any women besides their wives? WOAH amirite? They will avert their eyes--and sometimes even cover their face!

A falafel ball dressed up with a kippah and curls--literally the most Israeli thing I've ever seen

"Please do not pass through our neighborhood in immodest clothes."

We had a mini fiasco in which we lost the car (woopsies!) and almost crashed like fifteen times on the one-way-sized streets that are actually two-way--but then we got to dinner at Mamilla, an outdoor mall that is basically an Israeli Fashion Island. I had a loaf of bread for dinner (classic me) and it was delicious. It's now 1 AM, and I wake up tomorrow at 6 AM to start getting ready for my trip up north with the family for a picnic!

With love from Israel,

Aubrey and the Morrises