Happy Hanukkah!

Since Hanukkah started (on the first) my group has been busy with fun Hanukkah activities, including lighting candles and giving gifts.


On Wednesday night we were all invited to the kibbutz wide Hanukkah party, and were also asked to sing a song for the celebration. A few of the more talented singers in my group performed "Light One Candle," which I must say, was a hit. During the night we saw a series of performances, including teenage girls who danced and a singing group from the kibbutz. During the festivities, a woman asked the crowd to light their candles (which people had brought and were at the tables) and hold them up high while singing together. Hundreds of candles swayed in unison to the voices of Ein Dor. The moment was intense and touching, and for the first time I understood why people wanted to live on a kibbutz. With the loss of ideology (in the form of privatization) I've come to see kibbutzim as just a gated community and nothing more. But I understood during that Hanukkah party that the kibbutz is something more; everybody still knows one another and looks out for each other. People really care about others on the kibbutz, and that is something invaluable.

kids surrounding fireworks

Last night we lit candles and had singing for the holiday. Everybody started up their favorite songs and we all united in joyous celebration.


Tonight we gave gifts. They weren't gifts that we bought, but instead everybody submitted a wish and someone else was responsible for granting that wish. Some of them were reasonable, but most of them were just ridiculous, so a bit of creativity was required to fulfill people's desires. Someone asked for "my name in pancakes" so "my name" was written out on cardboard using drawn pancakes. Someone else asked for a miracle, which resulted in a boy pretending to give birth to a baby. My favorite wish was the request of snow, which was fulfilled by someone dressing up like it was freezing out and covering all the windows with white sheets so it looked like there was snow outside. The whole thing was extremely fun and silly.


While this Hanukkah we (on Ein Dor) are having fun and enjoying ourselves, many people in Israel are not. So perhaps we should focus our hopes for a miracle on the people suffering from the forest fire here and pray that no more harm will be caused from that disaster.

The Golan Heights

Last week we went to the Golan Heights to look at some beautiful scenery and explore the history behind Israel's conflicts with Syria. Some photos from our trip:

Howie and me at a scenic overlook

looking out over the Sea of Galilee (Tiberias is on the right edge of the photo)

The border between Israel and Syria (most of this is the demilitarized zone between the two countries)

Looking at Syria from an old Israeli bunker

Thanksgiving

During the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving the kuvtzah (group) had many conversations about what we wanted to do for the holiday and at a certain point established that we were going to go all out and have a huge Thanksgiving dinner for all 27 of us, plus our madrichim (leaders who help guide our process).

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving we saved money, established a menu, and submitted lists of ingredients including quantities of each recipe. Given that our resources here were slightly limited, we had to spend a considerable amount of time finding substitutes for popular thanksgiving foods, hence the use of yams instead of sweet potatoes (which were still delicious). A lot of preparation was put in by everyone, as some people organized how cleaning would work, while others volunteered to cook, and still more made the decorations. I decided to help cook, though I did mostly preparation work and made some oreo truffles (thanks to my sister-in-law Elizabeth who once made them for us).

the truffles

The weekend of Thanksgiving was hectic! On Thursday night we had a fun party planned for the group, but not before we did some cooking and baking. My friend Jordan and I baked two apple pies which were delicious and decorative.

The rest of the weekend was spent cooking, cooking, and more cooking. In the end we prepared two turkeys (which were spit roasted), four quiches, mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, guacamole, corn salad, garden salad, stir fry, deviled eggs, acorn squash dip, potato leek soup, cranberry sauce, and gravy. For dessert we had lemon fluff, oreo truffles, apple pie, apple tarts, carrot cake, and fruit salad. The meal was delicious and fortunately we had tons of leftovers!

Afterwards we all tiredly wandered off to bed, our stomachs full with food and fulfillment. We had spent weeks invested in creating a wonderful experience, and through extensive work, we made our our ideas materialize. Every single person took part in helping realize our goal, which was an amazing feeling.

Tiyul to Har Gilboa

Starting Wednesday (and returning on Friday) my kvutzah (group) went on a hike to Mount Gilboa, which was a fantastic experience.

The first day of our tiyul (hike) was a short (two hour) walk through the mountain range where we learned a little bit more about the mountain. According to a bible story, no trees grow on the mountain because when Saul and Jonathan died, David wrote a lament about them, cursing Mount Gilboa and praying that it never grow trees, which, for the most part, has held true. Mount Gilboa is fairly barren, though science claims it's because the rocky terrain is unable to maintain any water on the mountain.

That night we camped out a pleasant site in the valley, choosing to sit around and play cards in our sleeping bags. It was one of the first times since being on workshop that we've had to socialize without the option of computers or cell phones. The difference was palpable as different groups of people chose to spend time togerher and relate stories of their lives at home or from childhood. The refreshing experience definitely has pushed some of us to try and use technology less so we can relate to each other more.

On the second day we rose before the sun and hit the hiking trail early. Our group moved quickly and all of the sudden we realized that we must be far ahead of the British group (a habonim group from Britain hiked along side us) and tried to stop to let them catch up. We ended up playing an awesome variation of hide and go seek in the side of a mountain, which proved to be one of the best elements of the trip. An hour later we realized that we must be on the wrong trail because they never passed us, and after a minor detour to figure out where we were, we were back on track, passing the British a mere ten minutes later. After a short lunch of canned tuna, bread, cheese, and corn (it was actually delicious), we hiked to Ein Yizrael, a natural spring in the valley. There we dipped our hot feet in the cool water and observed all the Israeli families there with their children on a day out. Afterwards we did a short hike up a hill to Kibbutz Yizrael and then headed back to the campsite.

The most rewarding hike by far was the third day. We were driven up to the top of a mountain in the range and then made the descent down to the valley. The view from the top was breathtaking; to the west was the Carmel mountains (where Haifa is), in the east loomed the mountains of Jordan, in the north was Mount Tavor (at whose feet we live), and to the south was the West Bank.

We soon realized that the hike was going to be significantly more demanding than those of the last two days. We began with a trail that went fairly downhill, a challenge for my knees as well as for many other people. The difficult trail soon turned into a full out climb down the side of the mountain, with hand holds where the stone became especially steep. I found myself on my butt for a good part of the time, attempting to use the mountain as a slide, while other times I was jumping down from rock to rock. The experience was surreal and highly rewarding as we went from the top of the mountain all the way down to the fields of the fertile valley.

The trip concluded with another lunch of corn and tuna, and we sat in a circle sharing our favorite parts of the trip. Most people enjoyed the last hike down the mountain, but also recognized that we had gained an understanding of what our group can do when put out in the wilderness for a few days. Our capabilities range from hiking quickly and chopping vegetables for dinner, but also forming a tight knit community even without the comforts of technology. It was the first time we did not have the option to sit alone in our rooms, or to use the computer for hours, or talk on the phone to escape a social experience, and I think we passed because we managed to create a meaningful experience even without the excesses of our modern lives.

Rabin Rally

Last Saturday, in commemoration of Yitzhak Rabin's death, our group went to an annual rally in his square in Tel Aviv. The ceremony was about two hours, and consisted of many speeches and performed songs, most of which were very interesting. The Rabin rally felt a little bit like an entertainment venue, as many of the participants in the ceremony were famous Israeli figures; among the speakers were Shimon Perez and Yitzhak Rabin's grandson. Performers included Mosh Ben-Ari, Aviv Geffen, and Harel Skaat. 

The atmosphere swung wildly between somber and festive. During sad songs or sentimental speeches, most people were extremely quiet, shushing anyone near by who talked (including the people translating the speeches quietly for us). These people were generally older, clearly still mourning the loss of Rabin and their perception of a hopelessness of peace. Of the (approximately) 30,000 people in attendance, this demographic made up about 40% of the rally participants.


The other 60% were blue shirted youngsters, members of Labor Zionist youth movements. Habonim Dror's sister movement, Hanoar Ha'oved Ve'halomed (The working and studying youth), was by far the group with the greatest presence; they have tens of thousands of members, many of whom were at the rally. Members of the youth movement range from elementary school aged children all the way to t'nuat bogrim (the movement of graduates), who are in their 20s. At the rally these youth were cheery as they met up with old friends and had a night out going to a fun cultural event. Most of the movement members weren't politically conscious at the time of Rabin's death and don't identify the rally as a sad event. Instead, they see it as a chance to advocate for peace and spend time with friends.


As a movement, my group mediated between the two feelings. We paid attention to all the speakers and sang along with the songs, but we also met up with friends and hung out. 


Personally, I was extremely conflicted during the rally. Just a few weekends ago at the Rabin seminar I really learned about him and came to understand who he was as a person and his legacy. In that sense, the rally was my first time truly commemorating his death and acknowledging the void that exists today in Israeli society due to his absence. That understanding drove the rally to touch me in a very personal way as I stood there, listening to the speeches, seeing pictures of Rabin, and mourning this man that I never knew.


Simultaneously, however, I understood that 15 years had passed since his death and that the time now is for influencing the peace process positively in his memory. Maybe the rally wasn't meant to be tragically sad; in some ways it seemed like it should be a joyous occasion, remembering a loved person and continuing in his path. 


I still couldn't shake my feeling of mourning, though.


And I think that's where most of left wing Israeli society stands on the issue. They're teetering between memory and legacy, trying to understand how to feel and what they need to do in order to fulfill Rabin's wishes. I just hope that some time (perhaps now or farther down the line), the fulfillment materializes into peace.

Zionism and Aliyah

This week the educational theme was Zionism, with an emphasis on understanding the roots of Zionism and then exploring our own personal beliefs. The week was heavy to fascinating text study, with authors such as Moses Hess, Martin Buber, and A.D. Gordon,  the last being my favorite. A.D. Gordon understood that working the land was a spiritual endeavor that fulfilled ones life. I don't really identify with his views in that I scarcely do physical labor, but I admire someone who can find a connection within day to day work, a connection that I think Americans struggle to retain as they increasingly have cubicle style work. Gordon is teaching me to love what I do and do what I love, that something less is inadequate.

But back to Zionism.

To sum up the week of intense study and discussion (there were three hours spent discussing Zionism after one class) we went to the first and second aliyah museums. The first aliyah museum, located in Zichron Ya'akov is a renovated old building in a picturesque town. I was able to enjoy the museum, partly because I love the town to begin with, but partly due to the amusing videos which the museum made. In order to show the process that the earlier settlers went through, the museum created a series of videos which chronicled the life of one Jewish family.

The videos depicted the hardship of settlers of the first aliyah. Starting in the 1880s, the first aliyah was primarily a religious immigration comprised of Jews who believed in the power of the lord as a way to help them through their process. That said process was arduous as they were afflicted with disease, dry lands, and a scorching sun. The early settlers were successful with the help of the local residents and the philanthropy of foreign Jews. These settlers were the creators of the Moshav, the non-socialist community.

The settlers of the second aliyah are people I relate to more. Young people, many part of Zionist youth movements, left their homes in the 1920s (and later) to start Kibbutzim, where I am living now. Their motivation was their intense belief in labor and the power of human work. They suffered, but they also sang and loved what they did. They understood that no one could do the work for them, so they labored tirelessly to make their crops succeed. The museum depicted all of this by creating little rooms which served as scenes of the early kibbutz. Our tour guide was very engaging as she acted out many situations that were common back then. A lot of her words rang familiar to us, as our group functions as its own little kibbutz.

The whole trip was very engaging, but we were all pretty glad to come back home to Ein Dor where we (as usual) promptly fell asleep.

Rabin Seminar

Last weekend, around 100 members of Habonim Dror from all over the world gathered together to learn about Yitzhak Rabin and his lasting legacy of peace. All of the participants were post-high school gap year students, though in significantly different places in the workshop program. The South Americans had been here for 9 months already, and the Australians and South Africans had been here for 8 months. Only the Americans and the British had been in Israel for 2 months upon arriving at the seminar.

From the beginning it was apparent that every group was extremely different. First of all, the South Americans spoke either Portuguese or Spanish and had long hair, held back by thick colorful headbands. The South Africans and Australians looked gritty, weathered by their time in Israel and were laid back, without cares. The British were clean and dressed up, worrying about their appearances.  The Americans appeared and acted entirely different. We were clean but without worrying too much what we looked like, and always a little bit more uptight than the other groups. We arrived to peulot (activities) on time (or a little early) and went to bed before anyone else. In other words, we were a slightly more responsible group (perhaps too responsible).

The structure of the seminar included small groups based on the language in which the seminar was took. Since I decided to do the seminar in Hebrew, I had an extremely diverse group, dominated by South American boys. The Hebrew was tricky, but with a little help, I managed to participate in the peulot and express myself openly. The peulot mostly revolved around Rabin's life or how to achieve peace (not necessarily how to bring peace about, but what ideas are needed within a peace process. For example, is peace a strategy or a value and how does that impact a process?) I found everything to be extremely interesting, and since I had to spend more energy than other people who took the seminar in their native language, I believe that it was more rewarding for me to be in such a difficult group.

My group included a few American girls, 5 South American boys, 2 South American girls, and an Australian girl. Being part of a group that was not dominantly American allowed me to understand how other Jews think, and especially how they perceive Americans. In one activity we were looking at hypothetical countries and trying to make treaties between them. My country was characterized as large and dominating. Their major goal was to have complete military control of the area and were willing to invade a smaller nearby country to control their resources. My partner in the activity, a boy from Uruguay, commented that it sounded exactly like America. Now I don't always agree with America's actions all the time, but for some reason I was deeply offended and felt the need to defend the United States. I started pointing out all of the other world powers that were more problematic, but I don't think I made a difference to him. It was just so interesting to see someone openly criticize America without thinking it could be offensive, especially knowing that there were four American girls sitting there, able to understand them.

After a little more than 24 hours, the seminar concluded with a tekes (ceremony) in which we heard a few poems and songs performed and then sang Shir Le'Shalom (song of peace which is connected to Yizhak Rabin). The ceremony was moving, and all the participants walked away feeling fulfilled and excited for a continuing participation in the peace process.

Tel Aviv and Yaffo

Every Thursday our kvutzah (group) takes a day trip somewhere which coordinates with the classes we've had that week.

This week the theme of our shiyurim (lessons) was Jews in the modern world, which took a look at how Jews developed the identities that they have today, especially in the United States. One day our discussion centered around the Haskala (Jewish enlightenment), which was extremely interesting as we learned that during the Haskala in Germany, people introduced ideas of reforming the syngagogue to include more German (the native language instead of Hebrew), music, and a sermon in German. This movement, known as the reform movement, spread rapidly through Germany and caught on in other places, especially the United States. I always knew a little bit about the reform domination of Judaism, but I never realized how radical it was for its time, and enjoyed learning about it immensely.

In light of those shiyurim (lessons) we went, on Thursday, to the diaspora musuem. The musuem chronicles the exile of Jews from Israel starting with the destruction of the second temple. It gives a critical look at the development of the diaspora and the common threads that still hold all Jews together. One exhibit of the musuem contained miniature models of synagogues around the world. My friends and I tried guessing where all of them were (though to be fair a few of them in Italy I recognized). One of the last synagogues looked way too familiar - until I realized that it was the Beth Sholom synagogue in Elkins Park (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright). Another highlight of the musuem was a computer database which provides complete family trees with just a little bit of information. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything about our family (though  Mom has created an extensive family tree so I mostly know our family past) but many of my friends discovered new things about their families (Howie tracked his family back to 1907 in Latvia).

After a few hours in the musuem we were dropped off in Yaffo to have lunch and wander around. For me, it was the first time having anything other than shnitzel for a meal in a few days, so of course it was an exciting meal (even if it was just some shawarma and fries). Being in Yaffo made me understand how much my thought process has started to change. The whole day we saw tourists walking around with little souvenirs, a reminder of their trip to Israel. But for us, being on kupa (basically...socialist money pot) means that we're constantly broke, and more than that, constantly being conscious of what we buy and why. It has made me appreciate every purchase so much more as well as challenge why I need things, or even if they are a necessary part of life. I still look in stores longingly (I'm not completely free of materialism), but I think I'm learning to be more thrifty (which should be useful for New York).

Our day in Tel Aviv and Yaffo was fun, but also another chance to get out of our bubble of the kibbutz to see how another part of Israeli society lives.

More to come soon!

Yam L'yam

These past four days I, and my whole group, have been on yam l'yam, a four day hike from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee. The hike, done with other Habonim Dror groups, was extremely grueling, though rewarding.

We started our hike off not far from Nahariya and did a short four hour walk, most of which was uphill. Much of the time was spent talking to kids from the other sects of the movement. They had a lot of interesting things to share. For example, the movements in South Africa and Australia aren't Socialist, so they have no kupa system in place (kupa is basically a shared bank account of money we all contribute at the beginning of the year used for spending money). Since they don't have Socialism in their movements, they seem to have less of an emphasis on equality, which is a priority in Habonim Dror North America (or HDNA for short).

The second day of Yam L'yam was the most difficult day. We spent about eight hours on the trail and climbed the second largest mountain in Israel, Mount Meron. From the top of the mountain we could see into Lebanon which looked so different from Israel in that it was barren and treeless. Apparently Lebanon doesn't have strict grazing laws so there are very few trees. The view was spectacular and made the steep ascent completely worth it. That night we camped out on the mountain all together, watching the stars and singing camp songs around a guitar.

The third day we had to hike down the mountain. Personally, I find hiking down harder than up so it was more difficult for me, but the hike was shorter (only around six hours) so it wasn't that bad. Surprisingly enough, the whole hike wasn't too difficult for me and while other kids got hurt or sick, I had none of that misfortune. The third day on the trail was our last full day, so it was the most fun and full of banter. That night we camped out at Kibbutz Ravid, which looked out on the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and Tiberias. It was really beautiful and reminded us of our goal.

Before the sun even rose on the last day we were all up in our sleeping bags watching the sky. The madrichim (counselors) weren't yet awake as we gathered our belongings and prepared ourselves for the last leg of the trail. The path led us through a grapefruit orchard and a banana plantation, eventually opening up to reveal the great Kinneret. Barely containing our excitement, we quickly hiked straight to the kinneret where many of us jumped into the water still wearing our clothes.

Our four days of hiking, of no showering, of waking up at the crack of dawn had finally paid off. The whole experience was overwhelmingly fulfilling as many of us, for the first time in our lives, had achieved an immense physical accomplishment.

The bus ride home was quiet. Upon return to Ein Dor we unpacked a little, threw our dirty clothing into the laundry, and fell fast asleep.

                                                                                (the view from Mount Meron)

Beginnings & Celebrating Sukkot

Hello from Israel!

For a week and a half I have been situated on kibbutz Ein Dor, which is located in the Jezreel Valley, up in the north. The kibbutz, though privatized, is a fully functioning 700 person kibbutz, with its major industry being a cable and wire factory. My kvutzah (group) will be living on Ein Dor until mid-December, and have been starting to make a life here.

That life includes meals at the cheder ochel (dining hall), visits with one of the kibbutz's founders, and guest speakers from the movement.

In an effort to create a more cohesive picture for you, I'll provide the schedule of this week, starting on Sunday.

SUNDAY: Sunday morning (and most mornings actually), we wake up around 8 o'cock. After my whole kvutzah (group) makes a quick breakfast - usually hummus or nutella on toast and some fresh fruit - we start our lessons. when I say "lessons" I don't mean formal classes, I mean peulot, which are informally taught activities which convey certain lessons or values instead of facts. I wrote peulot every day for my campers this summer, and they're a pretty effective way to cultivate interesting conversations. On Sunday morning I have two peulot and with a short break before lunch, that is my whole morning. For lunch we eat in the cheder ochel (dining hall) with the rest of the kibbutz.

Anyways, after lunch, we have two hours of ulpan, which is a class almost everyone takes to learn hebrew. This is my only formal class, and I've tested into the highest level, so I have the opportunity to speak with other students that are knowledgable in hebrew. So far it is very interesting. Then, on Sunday nights we have a guest speaker, which is usually someone from within Habonim Dror or from the kibbutz (like Aryeh, a founder I spoke of earlier). Generally at nights during the week we either hang out singing songs, launch an impromptu dance party, or chat all together. Either way, it's relaxed and it's fun.

MONDAY: Monday is yom kvutzah (the day of my group). When we have a kvutzah day, it means we don't split up at all and instead spend the whole entire day together, having peulot (activities) and honest conversations about what's going on within our group. This week during our yom kvutzah we were given time to sit down with someone we knew less well in order to get to know them and discuss how we were feeling about the programming so far. It keeps us in check about how everyone is feeling regarding the program and in general. 

TUESDAY: On Tuesdays in the morning I do work in the kitchen for a few hours. It was only two hours this week and I chopped vegetables in the mitbach (kitchen). It's not like we do this work to actually be employed by the kibbutz, but rather it is a chance to get to know people in the community and get off our butts to do some work. Ideally i'd be working in the fields, but since the kibbutz has been privatized, they just hire Arabs from the neighboring town to work their fields (or just sub let them out). It's astounding how far the kibbutz has moved away from its original intent. After avodah (work) I have an hour or so to shower or nap, and then i'm off to lunch at the cheder ochel (dining hall). After lunch we have ulpan again for the two hours and then at night we have erev tarbut (cultural evening) where we do something fun which kind of teaches us random trivia about something important (this week our erev tarbut was about Sukkot which starts tonight).

WEDNESDAY: Today we had peulot (activities) in the morning which related to Sukkot and what we wanted to do for it. Following lunch, making good on our Sukkot promises, we built a Sukkah next to our moadon (club house) out of some scraps and metal that the kibbutz provided for us. Tonight we had a nice Sukkot meal that we cooked ourselves. Unfortunately we couldn't eat in the Sukkah because it doesn't have any light, but tomorrow morning we will be sure to bring breakfast to the Sukkah.

On sunday I am going on yam le'yam which literally means sea to sea. We are hiking for four days from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee. We will be going with other people from worldwide Habonim, including from Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. I am extremely excited.

Time to go have a Sukkot party with the kvutzah! More to come later!