At the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. there is a large wooden altar from a synagogue that was vandalized by Nazi soldiers who had come to remove the Jewish citizens of the city. Across the altar is a single phrase of Hebrew carved deeply into the wood. Though it bears the hack marks of axes that attempted to delete the words, the phrase is still decipherable. It simply reads: “Know before Whom you stand.”
That’s a powerful phrase. If applied to day to day living, it will change how you live your life.
August 4, 2010 at 8:15 am
I’ve travelled all over the world…even to Israel, yet the altar mentioned above remains one of the most haunting things I have ever seen. The enormity of that one simple phrase alongside someone’s evil attempt to deface it gave me chills, and I wept right there in the museum. It is the most memorable thing I saw in Washington and one of the most memorable in all my travels. Would love to have a print or postcard with a picture of it.
August 10, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Thanks for you comment Kelly. That phrase is such a poignant message that is all too easily forgotten. If it isn’t forgotten, it often isn’t believed. And we wonder why such evil is present.