Faith After the War
Menorah
Traditionally a menorah has nine branches, and a candle is lit on each of the eight days of Hanukkah. This specific Menorah is from after the liberation of Jews from concentration camps in the 1940's. The Statue of Liberty's as candles are a representation of the new found freedom of the Jews.
Garden of Stones
The garden of stones is in the Museum of Jewish Heritage's garden in the 4,150 square-foot space. There are eighteen boulders and inside of each are a single dwarf oak sapling growing straight up from the top of the boulder which will continue to fuse and become a part od the base of the stone as it's trunk widens. These trees planted in the boulders are a representation the Hebrew word of life which is "chai". The letters in Hebrew of the word "chai" add up to 18, which is why the number 18 is a very spiritual number in Judaism. |
Liberation
While in a concentration camp, a mother was able to teach her sons Hebrew using a prayer book she had kept. This is a picture of her two sons during the liberation of Mauthausen, Austria in 1945. Unfortunately, their mother passed away shortly before liberation.
Zionists
This is a picture of a group of children with adults holding the Zionist flag. After WWII there was a piece of land that was given to Jews called Israel, a homeland which they could call their own.