Jerusalem, Israel
Yad Vashem
יָד וָשֵׁם Yad Vashem
Israel’s memorial to the six million, built around the work of recovering names.
Established by law in 1953; present museum opened 2005
Visiting Yad Vashem
- What to wear
- No dress code. Much of the campus is outdoors, so dress for the weather and the walking.
- Photography
- Not inside the main museum. Permitted outdoors and in the memorial spaces where signs allow.
- Cost
- Free entry. Audio guides and guided tours are paid and tours should be booked ahead.
- When to go
- A weekday morning. It is closed on Shabbat and on Jewish holidays.
- Access
- Reached by light rail and a short shuttle, or by car. The campus is step-free but the distances between buildings are long.
What to wear at every Jerusalem site
Etiquette
- DoThis is a memorial before it is an exhibition. Voices stay low and phones stay away.
- AvoidPhotography is not permitted inside the Holocaust History Museum.
- DoThe Children’s Memorial is dark and disorienting by design. It is entirely fine to skip it.
- DoChildren under ten are not admitted to the main museum. That is the policy, not a recommendation.
- DoLeave time to sit outside afterwards before you go anywhere else. Most people need it.
Local tip
Go at the end of a day in Jerusalem rather than the start. The museum releases you onto a balcony over the hills, and that ending is designed. Do not schedule anything after it.
Hours, prices, access and security arrangements change: check official sources before you go, and follow the instructions of site and security staff. In an emergency, call the local emergency number (in Israel: police 100, ambulance 101, or 112 from a mobile).
The history of Yad Vashem
Where the name comes from
The phrase yad vashem, a memorial and a name, is taken from Isaiah 56:5. It was chosen for people murdered without graves and often without anyone left to record them.
Founded by law
The Knesset established Yad Vashem in 1953 and charged it with collecting names, testimony and documents as much as with commemoration. It is an archive and a research institution, not only a museum.
The Hall of Names
At the centre sits the collection of Pages of Testimony, single-page records filled in by relatives, friends and neighbours. More than four million of the victims have been identified by name so far, and the work continues.
The Righteous
The Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations honours non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews. Each case is recognised individually after an evidentiary process, and the trees and plaques carry names, not numbers.
Hebrew for the visit
Phrases
- אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לוֹמַר קַדִּישׁani rotze lomar kaddishI’d like to say KaddishA woman says רוֹצָה (rotza). Kaddish needs a minyan, so tell the gabbai, who runs the service, before it begins.
- אֵיפֹה הָרַכֶּבֶת הַקַּלָּה?eifo harakevet hakala?Where is the light rail?Jerusalem and Tel Aviv both run light rail lines, and locals simply call them harakevet hakala.
- הַכֹּל סָגוּר בְּשַׁבָּת?hakol sagur beshabbat?Is everything closed on Shabbat?Most shops close from Friday afternoon. Tel Aviv, Haifa and Arab towns stay much busier, and Jerusalem goes very quiet.
- סְלִיחָהslichaExcuse me; sorryUse it to get attention, to apologise and to squeeze past. The most useful word in a crowd.
Words
- קַדִּישׁKaddishthe prayer of sanctification, said by mourners among othersMostly in Aramaic, and it never mentions death. It requires a minyan.
- שִׁבְעָהshivathe seven days of mourning after a burialVisitors come to the house. It is customary to let the mourner speak first.
- נֵרnercandle; lamp
- מִשְׁפָּחָהmishpachafamily
- יֶלֶדyeledboy; child
Visiting a Synagogue: all the phrases · All 157 phrases in the phrasebook
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