The exhibit is a powerful experience, designed to help kids (and adults) understand what it is like to grow older.
There are simulations for how it feels to have your eyesight, hearing, memory, and muscle mass weaken. There are interactive trivia games that help dispel some myths about aging and build a deeper understanding. There are powerful stories about living with regret as well as maintaining an optimistic eye towards the future.
When you arrive, your picture is taken (you are asked to not smile) and then, later in the exhibit, an age simulator shows you what you might look like as you get older, hence the picture of me on this post.
We had a guide, Rena, who was fantastic and told us her life story in reverse chronological order, helping us (and our kids) see who she was today and how she got there.
It was humbling and also a great tool to build empathy.
It occurred to me that the idea of a "Dialogue with Time" also sums up the very experience of being with Israel.
Within in the course of minutes or an hour, you can go from the most ancient of places, the Western Wall (Kotel) [where we had a small ceremony as part of Paco's Bar Mitzvah celebration] to Tel Aviv, which is just booming in terms of construction, energy, and activity. The skyline rivals that of many world cities now. It's very impressive.
On one drive, we were diverted through the West Bank by Waze (safety wasn't really an issue), but we did have to go through an army checkpoint. It was the end of the working day and we saw many Palestinian day laborers going back in the other direction to their homes and families, a powerful reminder of the impact of decisions made 50 years ago that reverberate today.
And, of course, our nephew's Bar Mitzvah is all about a dialogue with time in and of itself.
We were able to visit with friends whom we have known for years and relatives and hear their perspectives on how the country changes with time.
For me, that is the best part of traveling to any place, but particularly one that you have visited multiple times, where you get to hear how people's perceptions have changed (or remained constant) over time.
I've been on a bit of a time kick recently, trying to reconnect with the innate knowledge that all time is precious, limited, and of unknown quantity...which is why it should not be squandered.
The exhibit, like the country of Israel itself, was a great tool to help me do that.
Our dear friends, Jeremy and Tamar Lustman
(yes, same name, just more popular)
Inside a fish tank at the new Israel Aquarium in Jerusalem
Team Finland in the surf on the Tel Aviv beach
With our great family friends, Sue and Max Singer plus my cousin, Caroline Mendelsohn
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