After returning from Pesach vacation and reuniting with all of our friends, our group did another week of tiyulim before embarking on our 3 week volunteer period.
On Wednesday my bus volunteered at a soup kitchen in Jerusalem and also visited a special old age home that teaches elderly, poor immigrants craft skills in exchange for a weekly stipend and two meals a day. Their products are surprisingly beautiful, ranging from simple papier-mache birds to intricately carved wooden chamsas to silk challah covers to silver jewelry, and are sold to profit the organization. It's a really cool idea and it was comforting to see that these peopel were both being helped and empowered as they produced amazing art.
That night we had a guest speaker, Murray Greenfield, who was a New Yorker who made aliyah to Israel in the late forties to help smuggle immigrants into the country and get them out of detention camps, where the British often forced them to stay before Israel became a country. It was really interesting as I didn't know much about the detention camps or this period of Israel's history, and the subject was again approched on Thursday as we went to the Atlit detention camp to see how the detainees lived. Before going we stopped at the beach for a fun activity. When Israelis would smuggle immigrants in on boats, they would swap clothes with them in the harbor so that British officials wouldn't be able to distinguish the foreigners from the natives. So we split up into partners with one person going in the water and one person staying on shore- the shore person had to "rescue" the person in the water by switching clothes (we had bathing suits on underneath, not to worry) and carrying them ashore. It was a lot of fun and we frolicked in the waves for a good long while, but more than that the activity of carrying one another on our backs symbolized to me how Jewish people really strive take care of their own, both then and now. Afterwards we visited the remains of the detention camp, and it was beyond creepy. Keep in mind that most of the detainees were survivors of the Holocaust, and to me it felt like even after arriving in Israel they had just gone from one camp to another- Atlit consisted of barracks, barbed wire, watchtowers, and a shower room. Again, I really knew nothing about these camps so although I was slightly horrified it was interesting to learn about.
Friday was a fun day in which we got to know our madrich Eran a littler better. First we went to Latrun, the Israeli tank museum, and learned about the Independence war. Eran was a tank commander during his army service, so he gave us a tour of the different models that were on display and shared his experiences with us. We were invited back to his house for a lunch of hummus and falafel with his family. Good food, good company, and lots of funny baby pictures.
After a restful Shabbat on campus with the whole group, we split up to go on our three week period of volunteering. Some people went to Tzfat, two groups to different kibbutzim, and some people went to Sar El (an army base). I, however, am on the best volunteer option of all (in my humble opinion). I am volunteering on kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, which is a modern Orthodox kibbutz with a vineyard, pomegranate orchard, spice factory, carrot factory, and something called BioBee which uses insects as pesticide alternatives. They also produce many other food crops which are all organic; the farmer in charge is 86 and was Israel's first organic farmer. We are in a valley close to the Kineret, so basically we are surrounded by a 360 degree view of mountains. There are a multitude of natural springs, or mayanim, around us, and the groomed lawns, playgrounds, flowers, and palm trees give the grounds a resort-like feel. People travel everywhere by bike (I have only counted 6 cars) and there's no money here; instead, you can exchange shekalim for "funny money" (green paper squares imprinted with their monetary value) to use in the store, where everything is at least half the price it would be anywhere else in Israel because it is subsidized by the Kibbutz. There is a beautiful synagogue, a dining hall with 3 great meals a day, wireless internet, a swimming pool. It is truly amazing what this establishment, which was founded only 60 years ago by German immigrants, has accomplished and produced; people here live comfortably, perhaps even a bit luxuriously, through a socialist, religious system.
So here's how it works. We live on the kibbutz in dorm-like areas and have our own moadon, or common area, and get three meals a day, laundry, and whatever else we need in exchange for 8 hours of volunteer work. Each person does a different job each week. I started out in the kerem, or vineyard, last Monday (April 12), and basically I never wanted to leave. Work starts at 6:15, and my walk to the fields was made better by the sun rising in pink streaks above the mountains around us. Before we departed to the vineyard to get down to business all the workers meet in the shed/gathering area to drink coffee and listen to passages of Jewish wisdom- this week a Yeshiva student read to us from a book condemning LaShon Hara, or speaking ill of others. Only in Israel.
After this nice start to my day, I went to pick leaves off the grape vines to create sun windows for the fruit. I talked with Chanita, the only English speaking worker, about Kibbutz life, and I did my best with the other three Kurdistani women there who are so sweet. Eventually I zoned out as my limited Hebrew ran out and I fell under the spell of the rising sun's warmth and the rhythmic motion of plucking the leaves. Chanita, whose youngest child (out of 5!) is 9 months old said she came to work in the kerem because it was good for the soul. I would have to agree.
Monday night was erev Yom HaShoa, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, and our group had an intense and meaningful discussion about the Holocaust and how it affected each of us and our families. Afterwards we watched Defiance, which is a great movie and apparently unusually accurate as far as Holocaust movies go.
Tuesday was another day in the vineyard. I brought my Ipod this time and caught up on my music listening. I also spotted a lot of wildlife over the two days: two bird's nests, one with eggs and one without, a snake, two baby scorpions, a giant praying mantis, iguanas, a hummingbird, and a random wild parrot-like bird. We get off work early, so afterwards we went to the nearest mayan- lots of fun after a hard, hot day. At night we barbecued, and it was delicious. It's crazy to me that the jobs that we are volunteering for, which consist mostly of physical labor, are what people do for years and years here-there's a little old lady in the kitchen who has lived here for over 60 years. I think working so hard during the day really makes our group appreciate the small things, like sitting around a table with friends over a good homemade meal and talking and laughing.
On Wednesday I switched to working in the kitchen to help prepare for a wedding, which translates to scrubbing industrial sized pots (they feed almost 1000 people per meal) for 8 hours, but I made friends with the two ladies I worked with and enjoyed listening to Gal-Gal-Galatz (I butchered that transliteration), which is the major Israeli radio station that plays songs ranging from Cindy Lauper to Kesha to Israeli singers and makes for an interesting medley. Wednesday night was a lot of fun. We watched Stepbrothers and ate Tim-Tams, which was an even in and of itself. When you nibble both diagonal ends of the cookie, place it in a hot beverage, and suck on one end like a straw, the chocolate coating on the cookie melts and it magically transforms to something gooey and melty and delicious beyond cookie-ness. Randomly our madrich also took some bees from the BioBee factory back from work to "babysit," and we took them out and played with them- I petted one; they don't sting.
Thursday I returned to my haven, the kerem, and picked more leaves and listened to more music. So nice. Our evening activity that night was hearing the story of Maor, our madrich, whose family was evacuated from their moshav in the Gaza strip. I am going to see if he will do a guest post, because I don't think I will do his story justice.
Friday we ended work early and went to the mayan for swimming, Turkish coffee, and some relaxation- just what we all needed after waking up at 5:30 every morning. On Saturday I slept til 10- absolutely glorious. And now...I'm just about caught up. Today is Sunday; I switched jobs and am back in the kitchen. Today is Yom HaZikaron, or Remembrance Day for the fallen soldiers of Israel, and I will discuss this more in my next post.
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