Article I had Published In Israel

   I traveled to Jerusalem to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum.  It prides itself as being the Jewish People’s memorial to the Holocaust as it acclaims the events that occurred during that time and aims to both educate and impart an understanding of the horrific events of the past.  It is the center of world for commemoration of the Holocaust and provides a plethora of information about the rise of anti-Semitism and the Nazi regime all over the world from beginning to end.  The museum’s name comes from the Hebrew words Monument (Yad) and Remembrance (Vashem), and that is exactly what it is.  It contains stories, testimonies, and other detailed accounts of the Holocaust.  Yad Vashem is more than a museum; it’s an emotional experience.  It begins with a video that depicts life before the war on European land containing original footage showing communities, large photographs, and other remnants of the Jewish world.  It shows the normality of Jewish life before the war that turned their worlds upside down. 

      Turn left and there is a stark contrast upon approaching the section titled “The Nazi Rise to Power.”  My heart skipped a beat when I arrived in the room and saw huge swastikas.  Growing up it was always an image that stung.  I anticipated seeing that sign that I hate so deeply and yet when it first hit my eyes it was a shock.  That one symbol, however, was only the beginning to a day in which a series of photos and footage would antagonize me.  The early galleries contain pictures of huge public rallies that spread negative feelings towards the Jews.  Hitler knew there is strength in the masses, and with the public getting together with Nazi flags, anti-Semitic sentiments quickly pervaded country after country.  Astute quotes and questions to ponder are posed in the various exhibits throughout the museum.  One such quote said by a German Jew, Kurt Tocholsky was, “A country is not only what it does but also what it tolerates.”  When he said this he was referring to Germany’s compliance in the Nazi regime and pre-meditated murder, however it can be applied to the countries all over the world involved in such atrocities.  Many Jews throughout the world had to deal with the struggle of identity as a part of their particular nation and that of being a Jew.

      It must be understood that anti-Semitism existed long before Hitler and the Nazis.  I learned about the Christian Church and how they hated the Jews for their rejection of Jesus as the messiah and blamed them for killing him.  In this section, I experienced artwork that depicts Jews as inferior to Christians that exist in paintings, drawings and sculptures.  In these works, Jewish women were portrayed with their heads lowered and covered.  Their eyes were covered as well in order to represent the Jews blindness to what they perceived as the truth: the Christian religion.  Such artworks still exist in certain places in the world.

      Other forms of propaganda existed such as unthinkable things like a board game.  There was one called “Out with the Jews” in which the players follow a figure wearing a “Jewish hat” which looks like a cone.  The objective of the game is to be the first to bring the figurine to the “assembling point” depicted by a man, woman, and child with the caption “Out to Palestine.”  It’s amazing that people could actually make a game out of pre-meditated murder and persecution.  It made me sad to think about the cruelty people are capable of.

      I think the most powerful parts of the museum were the pictures and videos.  It is difficult to read and see the humiliation and abuse used not only on the Jewish people but also gypsies, the mentally ill, and homosexuals.  I viewed pictures of innocents being arrested and shot on the streets, villages burning, synagogues destroyed, giant boxes of civilian’s belongings who were forced to leave their homes, Rabbis being taken from their homes and so much more.  The work of artist Marcel Janco stuck with me.  He depicted the terrible treatment of the Jews in the forms of a Jew under the boot of a Nazi, someone being killed with an axe, and people being held at gunshot.  What affected me the most was seeing the people talk first-hand about their experiences.  One man said he saw the synagogue where he had his bar mitzvah being burned down.  I can’t even imagine witnessing such an atrocity.  And to him, that was the least of it.  From the time he was young, he was beaten for being Jewish. 

Yad Vashem definitely influenced the way I feel living in Israel for the past 4.5 months.  Being here, I have met people from all different parts of the world who have come together to be here in the Jewish State.  I thought about the fact that although the Jews been persecuted and expelled since the beginning of time, they have persevered, continued to flourish, live all over the world, and now have their own nation state.   The museum made me contemplate the idea that the magnitude of the Holocaust would have been lesser if Israel had existed in the 1930’s. The Jews had no homeland, and now they do.  If something like this were to happen again, they would all come here.  It’s a comforting thought and something for which I am grateful.

Part of my Yale Personal Statement

I knew in my heart that I wanted to be an actor ever since I played Glinda the Good Witch in my camp play at the age of 8.  I knew, even as a young child, that the stage felt like home.  My love for the theatre has only grown stronger as I’ve gotten older, and I feel my best self when I’m performing.  The stage is where I feel the most free, invigorated, and full of joy.  There is nothing more satisfying than bringing a character on a page to life and experiencing who they are.  I relish in the opportunity to express myself and have an experience on stage so the audience can have one as well.  Unlike my 8 year-old self, I now understand that acting takes bravery, awareness, vigilance and discipline.  The theatre isn’t only fun, but moving and powerful for everyone involved.  I love the rehearsal process.  I love taking the time to explore characters, make discoveries, and experiment.  I like to play and make choices, and I enjoy taking risks and pushing myself to be brave.  Acting gives me the opportunity to express myself and sometimes, to reveal the deepest, innermost parts of myself.  It may sound obvious, but as an actor, I love working with other actors.  I find it thrilling to collaborate with other like-minded artists who share my passion for the craft.  There is nothing else I can do in this world that will provide me the personal, professional, and artistic fulfillment that acting will.  I’ve tried.  In college I switched from major to major that I thought I thought I might enjoy that would lead to a stable career, all the while performing in 1-2 shows every semester and performing in an a cappella group. I tried to suppress that theatre was meant to be my life’s work and not a hobby.  I made the decision to pursue my passion while at rehearsal for The American Dream by Edward Albee at Binghamton University.  I never felt so sure and confident in any decision I’ve ever made since that day.
I want to be an actor because it where I feel my best self. It’s where I belong.

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is wondrous and exciting.  Its color alone is perfection.  It appears as if the most beautiful shades of blue and green were swirled together with a big spoon and painted gently across the sand.  I get into the water and the sensation is not what I’m used to.  It feels thick and oily unlike the clear, light feeling of the lakes and pools I’m accustomed to.  A small part of my calf begins to sting and I remember that I cut myself shaving yesterday.  I feel this sensation all over in small areas and I realize that I’m all scratched up.  Friends warned me about entering the sea with cuts but it’s not the painful sort of burning I feared.  It’s almost--dare I say-- pleasurable.  The sting subsides quickly and I know the sea is healing me.  

I tread out a little farther and I get some water near my mouth.  “That’s okay,” I think, “just don’t speak to anyone.”  Thirty seconds later I lick my lips out of habit and immediately regret it.  I’m overwhelmed by the harsh, salty taste in my mouth.  It won’t subside and I crave a piece of cinnamon gum.

  The Dead Sea’s salt concentration is incredibly high and consequently, it’s denser than other bodies of water.  This allows people to float and I get on my back to do so.  I yell to my friend to bring me my book and to my surprise she sea-walks over with my copy of “Water for Elephants.”  I start to think about what would happen to an elephant in the Dead Sea and then laugh to myself.  I’m getting giddy.  I open to my page and delight in the fact that I can read and float at the same time.  I feel supported by the water beneath me and the sun beating down takes care of the parts of my body that are not immersed in the water.  One thing that continues to amaze me is how perfect the temperature of the Dead Sea is.  I tend to find water uncomfortably hot or unbearably cold but this salty sea has achieved the perfect balance for my liking.  I can’t believe it’s November.

I bring my book back to shore because, really, I was just being silly.  I go back in the sea and continue to float, feeling childish all the while.  I remember learning somewhere that Cleopatra used to bathe here.  I become overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and love for life on this glorious earth.  The opportunity to be here at this moment is something for which I am eternally grateful. 

I decide to go back to shore so I can rub mud on myself I like I saw all the other kids do.  The mud looks like a bar of soap.  I take it out of the plastic and rub it all over my body.  The first time around it’s not thick enough so I get some more and make a mud paste.  I put it everywhere- my face, my arms, my chest, my belly- I am covered from head to toe. I step back into the sea and rub the water all over my muddy body.  I’m careful when I put the water near my face; I know the burning won’t be pleasurable if it’s in my eyes.  When I clean off the mud on my body with the saltwater my skin is unbelievably soft.  I want to touch it forever.

I know that you’re not meant to linger in the sea for too long so I go to shore and walk along the beach.  The weather is perfect and I’m not cold at all.  I notice that there are so many different groups enjoying this land.  Grown men and young children alike are buying mud, rubbing it on their bodies, and enjoying their soft skin.

A place so unique and interesting makes me forget that I’m in a land surrounded by hate and terror.  The Dead Sea made me feel more soft, warm, and peaceful than anyplace else in the world.