Crisis and Victory...

"Marek Edelman, [...] the last surviving commander of the 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising against the Germans, died Friday in Warsaw. He was 90." I saw this article today in the New York Times and was almost moved to tears by the story of this man's life. The choices he had to make, the way that he never abandoned his people, the life long persecution he endured... truly inspirational.

Two weeks ago I met a Holocaust survivor on the bus, here in Haifa. I had to work really hard to remember to keep my mouth shut and not stare – but I was in complete awe.

Actually, I totally stared. He was talking to me. I’m pretty sure that I also said “wow” (hopefully) really softly – the way that it tends to escape your lips as part of a sigh.
Universal House of Justice member Mr. Dunbar says that it used to be pretty common to see survivors around town or even working behind a counter somewhere – but now they’re so rare, it's as though they’ve taken on legendary proportions.

I took this picture of the Prison Cell of Bahá’u’lláh - founder of the Bahá’í Faith - earlier this year in 'Akka. Bahá’u’lláh endured a lifetime of persecution and torture, living the life of a myriad martyrs, never abandoning His people, connecting the world of being to the Word of God....

So much pain seems to hinge on one tiny pocket of earth, on one simple seeming concept: that we exist to know and love God... and yet, from another vantage, so much hope rides on the same patch of earth - on the same knowledge and love for God.

"O SON OF BEING!

Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee. Get though from it thy radiance and seek none other than Me. For I have created thee rich and have bountifully shed My favour upon thee."

From The Hidden Words, Bahá’u’lláh