During this semester I took a trip to the Jewish Heritage museum in Battery Park. The museum provided a more in-depth look at Jewish culture as a whole and also, paid special tribute to the events of the holocaust. A structure that really stood out to me personally was the Garden of Stones by Andy Goldsworthy. This garden holds tremendous symbolism. It features 18 trees spread out throughout the garden, each of these trees are portrayed growing through a rock. In Jewish culture death is often associated with inanimate objects such as rocks. But what makes this architecture so unique, is that the trees are growing out of the rocks. Trees are often associated with life and the preservation of life. So the memorial represents life growing out of death. It conveys a powerful message that we must not let the death of the Jews be forgotten, but we must not let it place a hold on our lives. There is also, a very symbolic meaning behind the number of trees. The 18 symbolizes chai which is the Jewish word for life, again Goldsworthy tries to find meaning from the large amounts of death and devastation. The museum also featured a room, filled with pictures of the victims of the holocaust. This part of the exhibition was very melancholy, but it also made me realize just how many lives were lost in this terrible event. My favorite part of the museum by far was the top floor, in which you can overlook both the garden and the statue of liberty.
Overall, the museum was a great experience. I would recommend people visit it at least once in their life. It really provides insight into the Jewish culture and delves deeper into the holocaust and the events that took place during WW2.