At Yad Vashem there is a grove of carob trees. Each one is planted in honor or memory of a righteous gentile. These are people, like Oscar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, and hundreds of others, who risked their lives to save Jews and others during the Shoah. They were just normal people, not superheroes, but they showed us what righteousness truly means. Yad Vashem planted carob trees for them because after a long time they produce a sweet fruit, because there is a tradition that says the trees only grow on top of ruins, and because the Hebrew word for carob is “haruv” which is a cognate of the word “hurban” (destruction).
We came to Yad Vashem after a morning in the old city. We toured the western wall tunnels and got to the spot closest to the ancient holy of holies. This is the spot that has drawn our people from all over the world since the days of Abraham. Our tradition says “ki mitzion tetzei torah” from out Zion will come Torah, our “tree of life.” Exiting the tunnels to the kotel plaza we could feel the spirit of Judaism. Roni showed us a famous picture of the paratroopers who took the Old City in 1967 and rushed to this spot – the first Jews to take control of the holy site in almost 2000 years. They stood in awe and respect for the place and moment. They came back 40 years later (last year) to revisit. The place has power, but it’s the life force from the people that you feel here so strongly: normal people doing extraordinary things in this place. It channels this force and enhances its strength.
It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it.
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