Aleh V'Hagshem!

The two weeks before the end of Boneh were absolutely packed! We had two seminars prior to the week of Boneh Sikum (closing of Boneh). I'll explain each seminar and the sikum separately, as well as my trip to Shiloh with Doron.

Shiloh

On a weekend earlier this month, Doron and I went to Hod Hasharon, a town outside of Tel-Aviv which happens to be the very town where we spent a trimester of high school with our classmates in eleventh grade. We weren't just in Hod Hashron to reminisce, however, rather we were there to meet up with Doron's teacher from that trimester, Reuven, and travel with him to his home in Shiloh, a settlement in the West Bank. Historically, Shiloh was the religious center for the Israelites prior to the latter being located in Jerusalem, and thus was the site for the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Many settlers--Reuven included--choose to live in Shiloh on account of the religious history that the land holds.

Upon our arrival, Doron and I helped Reuven and his wife, Tamar, prepare for Shabbat. As we were helping with the cooking, three friends of ours from high school, Yaakov, Samantha, and Noah, arrived. Before leaving for the shul which is only a minute's walk from Reuven's house, the five of us went outside to take in the scenery. Reuven's home stands on the edge of a cliff with a gorgeous view. From his house, we could see beautiful rolling hills, as well as scattered Arab villages.


After shul, we returned to Reuven's home for an incredible home-cooked meal, and we enjoyed more delicious food the following day as well. At each meal, Reuven encouraged us to discuss politics. Indeed, the best parts of the weekend, in my opinion, were the discussions that we had with Reuven about Israel today, and also about where he lives. His views certainly differ with Habonim Dror's ideology, and personally I think that it would be beneficial for all Workshoppers to have a settler come and speak or for us all to go to the West Bank.

The weekend was incredible. The food was fantastic, Reuven's family was warm and welcoming, and it was wonderful to learn about a place that I don't often get the opportunity to visit.

Jerusalem Seminar

We began with Jerusalem seminar, which was essentially two days of traveling around Jerusalem and hearing speakers from various backgrounds and different ideas of Judaism's role in politics in the state of Israel.  In Mea Shearim (a religious neighborhood in Jerusalem), we met Yehoshua Weinberger, who explained to us his views as a member of the Hareidi sect of Orthodox Judaism. We then met with a former Habonim Dror North America member named Itamar Landau, who previously went to Machaneh Gilboa, a movement camp in California. Itamar explained how he began to explore Judaism and incorporate it into his life, and how he felt that unfortunately Judaism had not been a large aspect in his Habonim Dror education. The next day, we met with an orthodox man from Beit Shemesh who will soon be running for Knesset (the Israeli government) with Yesh Atid (There is a Future), a new Israeli political party. He explained the prominent religious tension in Beit Shemesh, a neighborhood which has been highlighted by the media, and how he feels that tension all over the country among those who observe Judaism differently is one of the most important internal issues of the day. Finally, we met with Anat Hoffman, the leader of Women of the Wall. Women of the Wall is an organization that works for womens' rights to pray as they choose at the Kotel (Western Wall). Anat Hoffman fights for more womens' rights as well, such as no more segregated buses of men and women. Anat explained to us her tactics of civil disobedience and utilizing the court system to slowly obtain the rights for women that she believes women must be allowed to have in a Jewish and democratic state.

The seminar, though our shortest, was an excellent opportunity for us Workshoppers to evaluate how we feel Judaism should be present in Israel's politics, as well as Judaism's role as an educational pillar in Habonim Dror. I feel similarly to Itamar Landau--that Judaism is the most neglected pillar of the movement. Personally, I feel that this unfortunate disregard results from a cycle, where Habonim Dror educators are less knowledgeable about Judaism than other pillars, thus they educate their chanichim (campers) less extensively about Judaism. These chanichim then grow up with a similar amount of knowledge as their madrichim (counselors), and so the cycle continues. In small groups, Workshoppers discussed Judaism's role in the movement today, and my group brainstormed ideas for how to more thoroughly educate Judaism when we return as educators to our machanot (camps) to shape the movement as well feel necessary.

Habonim Dror Hagshama History Seminar

This seminar is essentially the history of actualization of movement values within Habonim Dror. Each day for a week, us Workshoppers and the Brits would travel from the kibbutz to meet former and current Habonim Dror members all across the country, and would return to the kibbutz at night for dinner and either a few hours of processing the day or a peula.

We began at the Hachshara (training) farm at Degania, and visited graves of early chalutzim (pioneers) at the Kinneret Cemetary. Our first set of speakers were from the earlier garinim aliyot (groups of members who moved to Israel) in Habonim (before it merged with Dror). These speakers spoke of the need to move to Israel in their youth, and explained their process in building kibbutzim across Israel. We then began meeting speakers who spoke about the crisis of the kibbutz movement, and told us how their kibbutzim transitioned from being socialist, agricultural communities to privatized ones. One kibbutz in particular that stands out was one called Kibbutz Yizrael, which is one of the only kibbutzim in Israel that is not privatized. However, the kibbutz holds an extremely high standard for new members (must be of a certain age, education, and status), standards that seemed to be in contrast to the kibbutz movement that we idealize so dearly.

  

Finally, we met with current members of Habonim Dror and Hanoar Haoved. One group of current members explained how they had formed a city kibbutz, and now still live in a kibbutz and movement structure with their families. Other Habonim Dror members explained their decisions to make aliyah, and one kvutza (56, members that are six years older than us) showed us their home where they continue to live communally and work for the movement.


The seminar was filled with new ideas and information, and the movement's phrase, "Aleh V'Hagshem!" (Arise and Actualize!) reverberated in my mind. The purpose of the seminar, I realize, is not to serve as a pressure for decisions that I make right now in my life, but rather to be a resource to help me make large decisions in the future for how I wish to actualize the values that I share with the movement. It can be overwhelming to hear about the history of movement members and feel that I must decide how to follow in their footsteps immediately, but I must keep in mind and encourage others to keep in mind that reflecting on those ideas later and with more perspective will be far more beneficial for both ourselves and for others as well.

Boneh Sikkum

The final week of Boneh was an intense one. During the day, we had shiurim relating to our final module: Youth Movements. We read about the formation of Habonim in England, read about the ideologies of other Jewish youth movements, and discussed what it means to be a youth movement as opposed to being a youth organization. We also concluded other components of our Boneh routines, and met one last time with our avodah "bosses." Mine, Amit, and Shahar's "boss" for working with the horses, Galit, put out quite a feast of jelly donuts, krembos, and popcorn for our last meeting. She stuck candles into a horseshoe to create a makeshift chanukkiah, and gave us each a horse keychain and an Ein Dor Riders bumpersticker. It was lovely to sit around and eat and talk, and Galit invited us to visit whenever we should find ourselves back on the kibbutz.

Our nights were often filled with asefot, particularly asefot to decide our rooms in our new house on Kaveret, One night, however, the North American kvutzot gathered for "Wish Night," where each person grants another Workshopper's "wish." Basically, everyone gives their assigned wish recipient something creative that that the giver thinks that the recipient would wish for. Another night was our final musicale of Boneh, and lots of acts went up to sing to the entire group as well as to the rakazim. Finally, one night included a tekes (ceremony), and each kvutza presented different gifts and the rakazim sang us a farewell song to the tune of a new Flight of the Conchords song. Chava, the Ein Dor seminar center's caretaker, spoke to us, as well as Aryeh and Varda, one of Ein Dor's founding families that has welcomed us Workshoppers into their home and has spoken to us as a group on two occasions.

After two days of extensive cleaning, the buses arrived on Sunday morning to take us all to our three separate houses in Karmiel, Rishon L'Tzion, and Akko. It was sad to say goodbye to friends that we've been living with for almost four months, but we all know that we can see each other often. Eventually, we boarded the buses and saw our final glimpse of Kibbutz Ein Dor as we pulled out of the front gate and continued down the curving road leading from the kibbutz...

...and went on to our new house in KARMIEL!!!!

And so, the journey continues.

State Struggles and Silly Simchas

Much has occurred since my previous post!

A recurring theme we've been focusing on throughout the past few weeks is one on the struggles leading to the creation of the state of Israel, as well as the struggles that continue to this day. We've looked at the tensions between Revisionist and Labor Zionisms, learned about the hardships of the Mizrachi and Russian communities in Israel's primarily Ashkenazic society, and critiqued Ben Gurion in giving the religious sect of Israel the right to control many aspects of Israeli structures (marriage, bus systems, etc).

Most notably, we've had many discussions about Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel's eight-day mission to attack Hamas military centers and officials in response to rockets continuously coming into Israel from Gaza over the past few years. We alluded back to Rabin Seminar, where we discussed the altered mentality of Israeli society from one seeing a near peace to one obsessed with security measures, and questioned how necessary violence really is and the alternatives to it. Throughout the course of the operation, Workshoppers checked the news as often as possible, giving one another updates as new events occurred. At last, a ceasefire was finally announced on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, a speaker came to talk to us from Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects testimonies from Israeli soldiers about misconduct that they experienced or witnessed in the occupied territories. I found the speaker absolutely fascinating. One thing he said that stood out to me was not, in fact, an infuriating example of abuse in the West Bank (such as soldiers posing with dead Palestinians), but a quick remark he made about not being permitted to speak at Hillels on college campuses throughout the United States. I feel that organizations refusing to show or shying away from showing an alternative perspective to what they promote is a common action that I've seen in the past few years. For example, an organization once came to my high school to, in the group's opinion, teach us "proper" Israel advocacy, which included not openly critiquing Israel's actions. My school did not invite a group with a counter perspective to speak to students. Even Workshop--a program that I'm gaining so much from and that yes, encourages open discussion and constant questioning of just about any situation--also, in my opinion, does not educate enough from the perspective of opinions that are not conducive to it's biases. An example of this is showing many videos criticizing West Bank settlements, but not showing videos or inviting speakers that share views from settlers' perspectives. I've taken part in both a right-leaning Israel program (Muss) and a left-leaning Israel program (Workshop), and I strongly feel that the best way to form a strong, knowledgeable opinion about almost anything is to learn about it from a multitude of perspectives. To avoid giving such an education or to pointedly refuse, as Hillels did with the speaker from Breaking the Silence, is, to me, essentially denying others the freewill to form an informative opinion.

Anyway, we've celebrated many simchas (celebrations) during the past few weeks! Last Thursday was my roommate, Amit's eighteenth Birthday.  To celebrate, Amit had a Bar Mitzvah themed weekend! This included an out of town dinner, a Bar Mitzvah service, a kiddish, a casino-themed party, and a post-Bar Mitzvah brunch. All Workshoppers who remained on campus had roles that they acted out throughout the weekend. There was the Bar Mitzvah boy (Amit, of course), his parents and siblings, the grandparents, the religious, divorced, and baby cousins, the seventh grade friends, the Rabbi and Chazzan, and many more! I played Judy, the president of the synagogue's women's club, as well as the DJ at the party. The weekend was spectacular! Everyone became really passionate about playing their characters and truly acted like they were at a Bar Mitzvah! I would also like to add that the food was absolutely delicious, provided by the "caterer" Nic Levy, and his "sous chef," Julia Devarti.

On Friday, us Workshoppers celebrated Thanksgiving! We split ourselves into different va'adot to cook various parts of the dinner. I was on the vegetarian va'ad, along with Anya and Sophia Weinstein, a galilnik who stayed with us on Workshop for a few days! The three of us made a scrumptious lentil soup, as well as a  beautiful tofu stir-fry.  Other va'adot made mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, roasted yams, cauliflower, broccoli, three types of string beans, salads, rotisserie chicken, stuffing, cornbread, apple pie, sweet potato pie, cinnamon twists, fried dough cookies, chocolate-chip cookies, and surprise ("if-you-dare") cookies. The cooking went on from Thursday night up until the meal began Friday night. It was such a warm feeling to see everyone working together to prepare our Thanksgiving feast! When we finally sat down to our meal, I found myself eating the most delicious food that I've had all of Workshop, and it was so nice to know that we had all made it together!

The past week also included a few more fun activities! On Thursday night, Anya, Sophia, and I decided to venture to Kfar Tavor. After buying ingredients at the Supersal (an Israeli grocery store) for our part of the preparation for the Thanksgiving meal, the three of us went to the cafe that a few of us went to back at the beginning of October. Yet again, the food was exceedingly tasty, and I was not disappointed! We then found ourselves caught in a rainstorm as we left the restaurant to meet our taxi, and we remained soaked until our return to the kibbutz. Once we put on warm clothes, we gathered the Galil girls and enjoyed a chocolate cake that we'd purchased at the Supersal. All in all, it was a great night!

Julia and I ran a game-show-style chevrati for our kvutza one night, along with the help of Sophia. Us game-show hosts would read out ridiculous facts about kvutza members, and the kvutza--which was split into four teams--competed in guessing whom each fact described. The teams were awarded points for their success, and at the end of the game had the opportunity to spend the points that they had earned at a "store" that Julia and I set up. The store contained cheap, useful items (plastic containers, notebooks, socks, etc.) that Julia and I had bought in Afula a few weeks back, and kvutzamates spent their points on items that were not intended for themselves, but for another member of the kvutza that each person was assigned. Kvutzamates then decorated their items, and are expected to give their gifts in creative manners throughout the week!


The coming week will be our last week of semi-normal Boneh scheduling before we begin Habo History Seminar and then Boneh Sikum. It's a bit hard to believe that Boneh will soon be drawing to a close!

Kvutza Creations, Rabin Seminar, and Idan Raichel

So much has been going on! To make it easier to explain the exciting things that have been happening, I'll divide this post into three sections: Kvutza Creations, Rabin Seminar, and Idan Raichel.

Kvutza Creations
(as seen throughout our kita)

To the right is is our bulletin board for kvutza Warm & Fuzzies and the projects, skills, gan (garden) ideas, and movie lists. The Warm & Fuzzies section was created by Maia and Anya, who have designated themselves to be on the "Warm & Fuzzies Va'ad" that they created. Each kvutza member has a beautifully decorated pocket attached to the wall, and other kvutzamates are encouraged to put notes and pictures (aka the Warm & Fuzzies) into one another's pockets. The projects list is a growing list of projects that we as a kvutza would like to do (examples: build a fort, create a zine, make homemade pita pizzas). The skill lists is a spot where kvutzamates can list various skills they have that others might find useful or might want to learn, and the gan ideas list is a place where kvutzamates can write suggestions for what we can grow in our garden (for which a va'ad was formed). Finally, the movie list serves as a guide for what movies we should watch as a kvutza, and the paper helps us to see our ongoing list of preferences.

Here, we have our Weekend Chart which I designed, along with the Birthday and Zman Nikayon Calendars which I'll describe next. The Weekend Chart is a space where kvutzamates can list weekend plans that are happening on the kibbutz and also fun events occurring across Israel. The chart also serves as a space for kvutzamates to write that they are traveling and need a place to stay.

The Birthday Chart is a chart that lists not only Workshoppers' and Brits' Birthdays, but half-Birthdays as well. I find it very useful to know everybody's Birthdays in advance!

The Zman Nikayon Calendar is a calendar provided by my va'ad, the Cleaning and Health Va'ad. The calendar lists when each kvutza member has toranut boker (rotation for washing the dishes and clearing the kitchen in the morning) and toranut laila (the same rotation at night). It also lists what each room will be cleaning everyday. Each room is named after a different Israeli political party (my room is Meretz, a social democratic party), and cleans together from 7pm to 7:30pm. The cleaning tasks include cleaning outside, the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the floors and kita. Once a cycle, one lucky room gets to clean their own bedroom! I really enjoy Zman Nikayon each day--I love the sense of communal responsibility as the entire kvutza cleans the house together, as well as the look of the clean house come seven thirty!

The last board I want to post about now is the general information and ep-ep calendar board. This board contains the monthly schedules of Boneh, the list of va'adot, various tzevet phone numbers, and a sign-up sheet for leaving kibbutz each weekend. The ep-ep (evening peula after an evening peula, basically an extra activity at night after programming) is a calendar created by the Chinuch (education) Va'ad. This is a calendar where members of the kvutza can sign up to run educational or fun peulot for all of Workshop. This is one of my favorite structures that my kvutza has, as it gives the opportunity to everyone in the kvutza to bring Workshoppers together and teach other Workshoppers about their own interests, enhancing everyone's knowledge of various topics and our relationships with one another. Some examples of ep-eps that we've had so far are a peula about graffiti run by Danny Berman, a "Nostalgia Night" (essentially a night of games relating to childhood television shows and movies) run by Jonah and myself, and a peula about oppression run by Amit. All of these ep-eps have been successful and I'm looking forward to many more to come!

Rabin Seminar

On Friday morning, all of us Workshoppers and Brits traveled to a seminar center in Modi'in (a town near Tel-Aviv) to gather with the Habonim Dror Australians, South Africans, and New Zealanders to engage in a seminar about Yitzhak Rabin, a former prime minister of Israel who was assassinated seventeen years ago in Tel-Aviv. I found the seminar to be phenomenal. The peulot we had were fascinating, and dealt with not only learning about the history of Yitzhak Rabin and the political and social direction of the state of the Israel before the time of his death, but also about the legacy of his assassination and the effect that it has had on the democracy of Israel's government and mentality of the Israeli people today. 

After the seminar on Saturday afternoon, all of the Habonim Dor Olami (worldwide Habonim Dror) members at the seminar journeyed to Rabin Square (the site of Rabin's assassination) in Tel-Aviv to attend a rally organized by Hanoar Haoved, Habonim Dror's sister movement in Israel. 20,000 people attended the rally, and notably not only including members of leftist youth movements, but members of the more religious not so left-leaning youth movement, Bnai Akiba. Other organizations represented at the rally were Avodah (Israel's labor political party), Meretz (Israel's social democratic party), and Peace Now (an Israeli activist organization that promotes a two-state solution). The rally held a lot of energy, with cheering and enthusiasm erupting from all across the square.

With the theme of the night focusing on democracy, speakers spoke about the issue, as well as calling for peace and activism of the youth. In addition to the excitement of being surrounded by thousands of people and of listening to the speakers and musicians on the stage, it was also fun running into old friends! Us Galilniks ran into our Madatz (junior counselor) madricha who made aliyah earlier in the month, our Bogrim (oldest age group at Galil) madrich, and a madricha that worked on Galil tzevet with us this past summer.

The rally was very empowering, and I left feeling satisfyingly inspired and further motivated for the rest of Workshop.

Idan Raichel

On Monday night, all of Workshop and the Brits left Yom Kvutza early and took a long bus ride into Jerusalem for the year's first Masa event. Masa is an organization that supports many groups going to Israel, and has provided many of us with scholarships. I was not so excited to listen to speeches about the importance loving Israel and having fun throughout the year as I was to see Idan Raichel, one of Israel's most prominent musicians. The first half of the event was quite absurd--with dancing to backdrops of Israel, blasting hava nagila in the background, and strangely filmed videos of Masa participants explaining to everyone just how amazing Masa is. The speeches also were not received favorably by the Habonim Dror group, with speakers simply saying how wonderful Israel is without saying anything all that substantial.

Once the Idan Raichel Project came onto the stage, the event became instantly more enjoyable. The music was incredible, and lots of event attendees pushed their way as close to the stage as possible!

This past week is a perfect example of just how busy Workshop can be! The days feel chock full of activity, yet it all seems to be happening so fast. I'm looking forward to the activities in the coming week!

 

So, Boneh's Really Begun

Boneh has really gotten into full swing! We now have a concrete schedule for each day of the week.

Sunday: We begin a shiur just after breakfast and aside from a small break, remain in the shiur until lunchtime. Each week the shiurim focus on a different topic. Last week the topic was anti-semetism, and this week the topic is Zionism. After an hour and a half break for lunch, Va'ad Chinuch (Education Committee) runs a section of the day called Chuggim (clubs), and Workshop and British Shnat members are encouraged to run small clubs that everyone can choose to attend. Following Chuggim is Ivrit (Hebrew), and the Workshoppers and Snatties are split into three separate Hebrew classes. After Zman Nikayon (cleaning time) which occurs Sunday through Wednesday at 7pm, everyone has dinner in the Cheder Ochel and then gathers for Erev Tarbut (cultural night), which is essentially a fun activity.

Monday: Yom Kvutza!

Tuesday: These mornings are avodah (work) for my kvutza! Each of us has different avodot around the kibbutz. I work with the horses along with two other kvutzamates. Last week, the three us painted the horses' jumping poles. I'm looking forward to interacting with the actual horses in the coming weeks. Other avodot include working with a kibbutz member who makes cheese, with the plumber, with the handyman, with young children, at the elderly center, machbesa, cheder ochel, mitbach (kitchen), and at the puppet shop. After lunch, we have a period of the day called "Hadracha," which is basically leadership training. Workshop then splits up for tzevet planning time, and then that reconvenes for Zman Pa'il (active time). Last week, everyone participated in fun relay races! Following dinner, everyone sits in a large circle outside the chader ochel for Moetzet Boneh (Boneh Council), which is essentially a town meeting, or Workshop-wide asefa. 

Wednesday: The day begins essentially identically to Sunday mornings, with shiurim in the morning up until lunchtime. After lunch however, we have a section of the day entitled "Israeli Society" prior to Ivrit. This is my favorite section of the day and I look forward to it throughout the entire week. I feel that it is extremely important to remain informed about modern Israeli issues and structures. During these past two weeks, our "Israeli Society" time has been dedicated to learning about and questioning Tzahal (IDF, Israeli Defense Forces). Anyway, after Ivrit and dinner we either have a speaker or an educational movie.

Thursday: Typically, the entire Workshop goes on a siyur each Thursday, however, occasionally we might have a Yom Meyuchad (special day), and thus remain on kibbutz. This was the case this past week, and everyone participated in a Yom Meyuchad about education structures.

On Thursday, we went on a siyur to Atlit, a British prison that was active before the official establishment of the state of Israel. The purpose of the prison was to hold Jews attempting to get into Palestine by via ship. After the siyur, a few of us went to Kfar Tavor to hang-out for the night. We walked around for a while, and even talked with some former members of Hanoar Haoved (Habonim Dror's sister movement). Eventually we stopped at a sit-down cafe/restaurant and had what was probably the nicest meal that I've had throughout the duration of Workshop. The next day, I left Ein Dor and stayed with some friends that my father has known since his involvement with the labor Zionist youth movement, Hashomer Hatzair. The family lives on Kibbutz Shomrat, which is located just on the outskirts of Akko. It was nice to relax with the family and walk around the kibbutz, particularly near the avocado trees!

I decided to stay on kibbutz this past weekend. All of my kvutzamates on kibbutz decided to have a special Friday lunch together. We assigned characters for ourselves, and then enjoyed the meal we had made while acting our parts!

Each Shabbat on kibbutz, a different machaneh has the opportunity to facilitate the weekend's programming and design the schedule to reflect the Shabbat atmosphere at their machaneh. This weekend was Galil Shabbat! My favorite parts were the oneg (in this case, as skit that we wrote and performed to poke fun at Workshop members) and our medurah (bonfire). I have to say, I loved collaborating with my Galil friends, particularly with Dan and Doron while writing the oneg, and again with all of the Galilniks while recreating the beloved medurah acts that are performed at Galil. Shabbat ended successfully with us serving ice cream, just as we do on Saturday nights at Galil.

Later in the week, all of us Workshoppers will be leaving the kibbutz to take part in Rabin Seminar, a seminar to learn about and commemorate Yitzhak Rabin. Yitzhak Rabin was a former prime minister and defense minister of Israel, and was assassinated at a peace rally in 1995.

I'm looking forward to another busy and exciting week of Workshop!

Just a Hike Across the Country

On Tuesday morning during Sukkot, us 44 Workshoppers along with Shnatties from Habonim Dror UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa met on the beach of the Mediterranean to embark on Yam L'Yam, a four day hike from the Mediterranean Sea to the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee, Israel's fresh water lake). After a short tekes (ceremony) by the sea, we got onto a bus to take us to a point where we would begin hiking. I learned that the trip wasn't quite hiking Yam L'Yam, but Otabus L'Otabus (Bus to Bus), as most hikes began with a bus ride and ended with a bus ride.

Anyway, each morning began with a 5:30am wake-up. We left the campsite by around 7, and started hiking in the early morning sunshine. The hikes were long--often until around 5:30pm--but the scenery was breathtaking.

Additionally, all of the Habonim Dror groups were split and mixed together, so half of my kvutza and I were in a group with Australians taking part in Kaveret, the second half of the Workshop/Shnat Tochnit (program). The Australians in my group are currently living in houses located in Akko and Rishon L'Zion. We spent the hikes playing games and getting to know each other. I was fascinated to hear differences about both the North American and Australian Habo movements, as well as differences between our Israel programs! For example, my kvutza is taking part in a kupa system, meaning that we have created a structure amongst ourselves to share spending money. The Australians have toyed around with kupa structures, but primarily just rely on personal money. Another difference is that the Australians have the opportunity not to live on Ein Dor and take part in Boneh, rather they have the choice to instead take part in Machon, a more formal Israel education program that is located in Yerushalayim.

At the end of each day, we all arrived at a campsite and set up either tents or mats. I chose to sleep on a mat each night, wanting to see the stars over my head. We all ate dinner together, and then one Habo group would run a fun yet relaxed activity for everyone.

It was wonderful to finally arrive at the Kinneret on the fourth day! After reflecting on the journey within our groups and having another short tekes, we said our goodbyes and returned to our various houses across Israel.

Today I was overjoyed to wake-up to pouring rain! Kvutzamates rushed out of the house and danced in the yard, and a few even took part in a mud fight! It was nice to experience our first real rain since we've arrived!

Yom Kvutza and Yom Kippur

Every Monday on Workshop we have "Yom Kvutza," a day where each kvutza engages in activities run by their madrichim. During this week's Yom Kvutza, we discussed issues of morality, questioning our rights to possibly impose our own morals, and our rights to define what is "good" and "bad." We also went over the rules and packing list for Yam L'Yam (sea to sea), the four day hike we are embarking on next week where we will travel from the Mediterranean to the Kinneret. I've completed Yam L'Yam before and I'm not quite as excited to repeat the adventure as I should be. I'm a miserable hiker--both in the quality of my hiking and my spirits while doing so. Anyway, Yom Kvutza concluded with a fun dancing activity at night which resulted in kvutzamates covering one another in colorful paints!

On Tuesday morning, I journeyed to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) to meet Renee, one of my very good friends from Akiba (now formally called Barrack), the pluralistic Jewish high school I attended just outside Philadelphia. I bought lunch on Ben-Yehudah Street and then the two of us took a bus to her Midrasha (center for Jewish learning for women). The fast began at five to five, and after praying until eight, the two of us fell fast asleep in Renee's dorm at nine. The next day, Renee attended services while I read, and then the two of us walked around Yerushalayim for a bit. Fasting became easier once we fell asleep again, and finally after some more praying it was time to break the fast! We devoured some ruggalach and then went out to dinner with Jeremy, another friend from Akiba who is currently studying at a Yeshiva (center for Jewish learning for men). As we walked around town, the families of almost every home we passed were building their Sukkot. I loved watching the Sukkot being built on the porches of apartment buildings, seeing so many families taking part in the same ritual all at once. Renee, Jeremy, and I then went into the old city to the Kotel (western wall), stopping often to talk with yeshiva and midrasha friends of Renee and Jeremy and eventually running into more friends from our high-school.

The next day, I took more transportation than I wished in order to meet the Workshoppers on a siyur at the Diaspora Museum located at Tel-Aviv University. The museum was very interesting and displayed information about Jews in the Diaspora--with the view of the Diaspora as an exile--up until the formation of the state of Israel. We discussed the sections of the museum as we went through, and once finished the exhibits we talked about Israel's role today since Jews still choose to live in the Diaspora.

After visiting the museum, us Workshoppers split into groups to eat lunch in a shuk and participate in  a fun scavenger hunt designed by our madrichim. We met back together on Rothschild Boulevard, and most Workshoppers boarded the bus back to the Kibbutz while seven of us remained in Tel-Aviv. One of my kvutzamates has an apartment in Tel-Aviv, so the few of us stayed at his place and enjoyed a night of exploring the city and relaxing late at night at the beach.

Back at the kibbutz, the British Shnatties joining us on the program have finally arrived! We're enjoying meeting the newcomers before hiking together on Yam L'Yam.

Today we're experiencing a noticeable change in the weather. Since we've arrived in Israel, each day as been extremely sunny and fairly hot. Today, clouds fill the sky and there's RAIN! Granted, it's only light drizzling, but rain in September here is something to celebrate!

Shabbat Shalom!

A Sweet New Year

Sunday night this past week brought Rosh Hashannah (the Jewish new year), and my friend Maya and I ventured to Zichron Yaakov to spend the holiday with my cousins, Leah and Zvi.

The two of us and a few other Workshoppers planned to take a bus from the kibbutz into the Afula bus station early Sunday morning, but the bus came twenty minutes early so we caught rides with Ezra, a kibbutznik that will drive Workshoppers to Afula and Tzomet Gazit--another bus stop--for a price. Once in Afula, Maya and I decided to catch a later bus to Zichron so that we could go the cafe we'd anxiously been waiting to eat at for the past two weeks: Aroma. 

We instantly found ourselves overwhelmed with the enormous assortment of delicious options on the menu. As someone who is lactose intolerant, I was disappointed to discover that Aroma's famous iced coffee--Ice Aroma, as they call it--could not be made with soymilk, so I ordered their iced mint lemon drink with an avocado sandwich and Maya ordered the Ice Aroma along with a bowl of roasted vegetables and gluten free bread. The tray also included a sweet surprise: Shannah Tovah chocolates!

After some confusion back at the bus station, Maya and I finally caught the correct bus to Gan Shmuel, a bus stop close to Zichron. The bus was filled with Israeli soldiers--returning home for the holiday, no doubt--and with no seats available, Maya and I sat on the floor for the duration of the ride. 

Once at the bus stop, we purchased a bottle of wine to bring as a gift for my cousins, and were then warmly greeted by Leah, who drove us to Zichron. My cousins live at the edge of a hill with an absolutely spectacular view.

A few hours later, Leah, Zvi, Maya, and I piled into Leah and Zvi's car and drove to a moshav (a small community of houses) near Natanya to have Rosh Hashannah dinner with Anat, Leah and Zvi's daughter. Anat's entire family was present--her husband, Erez, and her their three sons, Ori, Shahar, and Ayal--as well as Erez's parents. The Rosh Hashannah meal included various symbolic foods such as apples with honey, pomegranate seeds, dates, white beans, raw pumpkin, and more. The meal was delicious, and concluded with honey cake and a Birthday cake in celebration of Shahar's Birthday the next day.

The following afternoon, Maya and I decided to explore the town of Zichron. We walked down a street of shops and then relaxed for a bit in a park.  On Tuesday, Zivan, Leah and Zvi's son, came to Zichron with his wife, Miriam, and three kids: Elad, Li-el, and Eli. Maya and I spent most of the time playing with the kids outside. 

Later that afternoon, all of us returned to Anat's moshav to eat and socialize with the family, and then Leah and Zvi dropped Maya and I off at the Chadera bus station so we could get back to the kibbutz that night. Returning to the kibbutz was a wonderful experience--Workshoppers were quite excited to see one another after the long weekend, so the evening was filled with lots of warm welcomes!

The next few days were spent in shiurim with the focus on Jewish Community. A few Workshoppers--myself included--found ourselves sick and spent more time than we wished in bed, sleeping. I'm feeling much better now, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend on the kibbutz!

Shabbat Shalom and Shannah Tovah!

That Kibbutz Life

Today is Day Six of our stay on Kibbutz Ein Dor!

The Habonim Dror houses have their own special space on the kibbutz, but we journey to other spots as well. Everyday for lunch and dinner, us Workshoppers go to the Cheder Ochel which is located at the center of the kibbutz. A few kibbutzniks eat with us at lunch, but we're on our own at dinner. Each Thursday, falafel is served outside of the Cheder Ochel, and plenty of kibbutzniks gather to enjoy food, music, and one another's company. Nearby the Cheder Ochel is the Kolbo, the kibbutz's small convenience store. 

Us Workshoppers also make use of the kibbutz's Machbesa (laundry room). We drop our clothes into two bins labeled "Habonim Dror," and return to the Machbesa the following day to find our clothes freshly cleaned and organized. The kibbutz also has an amazing pool, which will unfortunately close in the next few days. There's also a factory where the kibbutz produces wooden spools that are later wound with wire, as well as a dairy with lots of cows!

Habonim Dror rents a few houses where Workshoppers--as well as Brits soon, taking part in the same program but calling it "Shnat"--and the Tzevet Boneh reside. My kvutza's house--smaller and less technologically equipped than the other house--is quite cozy. Nineteen of us live in five rooms (three kvutzamates live in the other house). We have a common/room hallway with some shelves and a couch, which becomes our small kitchen. We have two bathrooms and two shower rooms, each with two showers and two sinks. In the back there is a kita (classroom), where we have asefot and shiurim. Finally, both houses share a lovely backyard, with grass, trees, and a few wooden benches.

On to my roommates! I have three great roommates! First, there's Danny Shippen, or, according to him,  my "favorite roommate." Danny's from the state of Washington and goes to Machaneh Miriam in Canada. Then there's Carmel Laniado--she lives in Vancouver and also goes to Machaneh Miriam. Finally there's Amit Schwalb! He lives in New York and goes to Machaneh Na'aleh. My roommates are pretty silly, as can be depicted in the slightly blurry of us below. I'm quite happy :)

Yesterday we left kibbutz for the first time and went to Natzeret (Nazareth). We walked around a shuk (outdoor market) for a bit and went into two churches, both claiming to be over the spots were the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus. After Natzeret, we went to a beach outside Haifa and swam and hung-out for the rest of the afternoon before returning to the kibbutz and then going to the Workshop/Shnat House in Karmiel to meet the Habo Australians for the first time!

Today begins a free weekend that extends through Tuesday, thus including both Shabbat and Rosh Hashannah. The portion of us here for Shabbat took the opportunity to sleep in and then went to the Kolbo to buy food for the weekend. The rest of the day was spent simply relaxing, and the majority of us went to the pool in the afternoon. We did Kabbalat Shabbat together and then went to the Cheder Ochel for Shabbat dinner. 

On Sunday I am journeying to Zichron Yaakov with my friend, Maya, to stay with Leah and Zvi, two of my cousins. We'll be staying with them for the duration of Rosh Hashannah and return to the kibbutz on Tuesday night!

Chag Sameach!

Welcome to Israel!

It is so nice to finally be in Israel!

I should probably explain what Workshop is, in case anyone reading this is unfamiliar with the program. Workshop is a nine-month long Habonim Dror (the Labor Zionist youth movement that I belong to) program in Israel. The first shlav (section) of the program is called Boneh, and takes place on Kibbutz Ein Dor, a Kibbutz in northern Israel near the small city of Afula. Us Workshoppers will live on Ein Dor through December--taking part in informal shiurim (lessons), learning Hebrew, living communally in two kvutzot (groups), and traveling across the country.

The second shlav of the program--Kaveret-- is a bit different. The two kvutzot live in their own homes in separate cities in the country, continuing to live communally and helping out with Israeli kids. The second shlav also includes a trip to Poland.

I've been to Israel before. Aside from going on various two-week trips with my family and middle-school, I spent a trimester in Israel with my class during my junior year in high-school. That said, I'm expecting Workshop to be a completely different experience, and I'm very excited!

Us 44 Workshoppers arrived in Israel last Monday. Oded, an Israeli working at Galil (the Habonim Dror camp that I've attended since 2005 and worked at this past summer) came with our madrichim (counselors) to greet us at the airport! We spent the first week taking part in a Workshop Orientation--staying at two hostels and embarking on one hike. Our days were mostly spent in peulot (activities), which introduced us to the Workshop program and to our new kvutzot. Our madrichim are spectacular! Two of the madrichim are Habonim Dror members who have moved to Israel, and two are Israelis who are part Habonim Dror's sister movement, Hanoar Haoved.

We finally moved into the kibbutz on Sunday! It's been wonderful to feel at home. Each kvutza lives in their own house. One house is extremely large, complete with air-conditioning and wifi. I'm in the other house, which is much smaller and has no air-conditioning and no wifi. I've thoroughly enjoyed staying on kibbutz so far . We are currently taking part in a Boneh Orientation, and the kvutzot have been having shiurim with Tzevet (staff) Boneh, splitting into va'adot (committees), and having asefot (meetings) late into the night. While lunch and dinner are provided for us at the kibbutz's cheder ochel (dining hall), each kvutza is in charge of buying and preparing breakfast for ourselves. Each kvutza has a va'ad that buys food at the Kolbo, a small store on the Kibbutz. I'm on the Cleaning and Health Va'ad, meaning that I help create cleaning rotations for my kvutza, keep track of allergies, keep track of kvutza members who are sick, keep track of supplies, etc.

Today, each kvutza had a peula about Jewish identity in the morning, and a peula in the afternoon about protests in Israel. Then we all went to the kibbutz pool!

I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of this program. I'm fascinated by both Israel and Habonim Dror, and I'm looking forward to being more informed and more invested in them both. Mostly, I am looking forward to my kvutza process. Kvutza is a structure that I have always cared about deeply, and to finally have an opportunity to live with my kvutza for nine-months and journey on a process together excites me greatly.


I'm glad that I've been SO happy on Workshop so far, and I'm looking forward for it to really begin after the holidays!