With lots of fun activities lately. the weeks have been going by fast! In this post I'll focus on Chava Achot Seminar, Lag Baomer, Achad B'Mai, The Tveria Jam, Visiting the Cousins, and Yamei Kvutzot. I'll also make sure to note the fabulous food consumed during each!
Chava Achot Seminar
The final weekend of seminar concluded with Chavat Achot (sister farms) Seminar, where Kvutzat T'kuma engaged in a seminar with Avtiach, our sister kvutza of Israelis during Shnat Sheirut (Service Year) in Hanoar HaOved V'HaLomed. The word "chava" in the title refers to the term "chavat hachshara," meaning training farm. This, in fact, is another way of saying Workshop, as the title goes back to the years when kvutzot would practice for aliyah on training farms in Europe and in the United States. While we're not currently preparing for aliyah on an agricultural farm, we are still taking the year to prepare for our futures in the movement.
The seminar began with Kvutzat T'kuma visiting Avtiach on Thursday night at their home in Haifa. It astounded us to see that they had created what appeared to be a tiny kibbutz, right in the middle of the city. Unlike our living situation in Karmiel, Avtiach does not live in a house, rather their bedrooms, bathrooms, cultural room, salon, and mitbach are in separate buildings surrounding an open grass area. It reminded us a lot of our lifestyle on Boneh. In Avtiach's salon, the madrichim of both kvutzot ran trigger games for us to get to know each other before starting peulot the following day.
The next morning, both kvutzot arrived at the BAMA in Karmiel and split into two groups with members of both kvutzot in each group. Throughout Friday and Saturday, we engaged in conversations about a topic very relevant to us labor Zionist Israelis and Americans alike: Zionism. Two important discussions that stood out to me were what do we believe it means to be a Zionist today, and what are the differences between being a Zionist in Israel and being a Zionist in America. It was fascinating to hear the perspectives of people going through a similar process as me but in Israel, and also wonderful to learn about the differences not only in how we actualize our Zionisms, but in our programs themselves!
The seminar ended on Saturday night with Avtiach walking with us to our house to see how we live, before catching their bus back to Haifa. Personally, I wish that we had begun our relationship with Avtiach at the beginning of Kaveret as opposed to just before its conclusion, but hopefully we might have a mifgash (meeting) with them again at least once more before Sikkum Seminar!
Lag BaOmer
On Lag Baomer (the holiday between Pesach and Shavuot where it's a custom to build bonfires ), Max, Julia, and I ran a "Medurat Shokolad" (Chocolate Bonfire) that we planned for our chanichim. On Sunday night, the three of us met up in Tveria with the madrichot at the BAMA and built a bonfire next to the Snif. We were so excited when lots of chanichim showed-up! We introduced them to S'mores, ran a game that included feeding people apples and bananas dipped in chocolate fondue, played lots of fun trigger games, and enjoyed delicious fire-roasted potatoes. The night ended with Moran (the rakezet of the BAMA) telling a scary story to the chanichim, and I tried my best to understand its entirety in Hebrew. It was a wonderful night, and Max, Julia, and I felt proud that so many chanichim came and had a good time at our big event!
Achad B'Mai
On May 1st, both Kvutzat T'kuma and Kvutzat Rakefet met in Tel-Aviv to discuss our futures upon returning to North America. Afterwards, we joined the Brits, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, and thousands of members of HaNoar HaOved at the Achad B'Mai (May Day) rally! First, we explored the carnival, which included many open-mic stations for poets and bands, a cake and watermelon eating station provided by students at a movement cooking vocational school, and a face decorating station, among others. Everyone was dressed from head to toe in red and blue, and it was exciting to not only be surrounded by so many members of the movement, but to see the madrichot and chanichim from Tveria. After the carnival, we began to rally! The thousands of us present marched through the streets of Tel-Aviv, carrying signs advocating for workers' rights, blowing whistles, and singing songs of solidarity. Finally, we arrived at a field where everyone ate dinner and hung out in the grass, and speeches were made at a stage set up at the front. I split my time listening to the speakers up on the stage and conversing with so many of the members of HD Olami (World Habonim Dror) present!The Tveria Jam
Last Thursday night, Julia, David, Jeremy, and I went to a music jam in Tveria organized by the rakezet of Tveria's BAMA where Julia, Max, and I have messima. It was such an exciting night! Lots of madrichim that Julia and I knew from Messima were there, so it was fun to get to socialize with them outside of simply working with them. There were also drinks, sushi, and best of all, lots of live music! Julia and I joked around about getting up on the stage and singing ourselves, and when we told Orr, our melaveh, he signed us up to sing! The two of us sang "Winter Song," and dedicated it to Orr. It was thrilling to be able to be under the bright lights, singing to a large group of people while on Workshop!
Visiting the Cousins
The following morning after the Tveria Jam, I took a train to Tel-Aviv to meet up with my cousin, Tadeusz (son of the cousins that I visited with in Poland). The two of us had lunch together, and while our meeting was short, it was nice to hear about his life in Tel Aviv and to see him for the first time in two years! Afterwards, I took a bus to Yehud (a town outside Tel Aviv) to spend Shabbat with two other cousins, Benny and Miriam. One of the highlights of my stay with them was going to Herziyla and walking around the marina! Another highlight was the delicious dairy-free burakasim that Miriam made specially for me! It was nice to see these cousins once more before leaving Israel, and I look forward to of course keeping in touch and seeing them again.
Yomei Kvutzot
The past two Yomei Kvutzot have been very note worthy! Two weeks ago, Sarah and Bar had everyone put on blindfolds and brought us to Akko! It was a fantastic surprise! We split into small groups to explore the Old City. Abigail, Danny and I bought fresh-squeezed lemonade, falafel, and baklava before sitting and talking for a long time by the water. Afterwards, the entire kvutzah sat at the top of the Akko wall bordering the Old City to eat snacks and talk about our goals for the rest of Workshop. We ended our trip by watching the sea and the sunset and listening as Sarah read to us from the "Little Prince." Peulot are nice, but an excursion to Akko just to have fun and enjoy each other's company was an excellent alternative for the day.
Last week's Yom Kvutza was a bit more serious. The day was about both the types of relationships we see ourselves having with chanichim when we are madrichim at machaneh this coming summer, as well as about how we see ourselves bringing closure to our kvutza process. This included both talking in small groups and as a kvutza all together, and the end of the final peula resulted in us going around and each saying what we'd like to do as a kvutza in our final weeks of Workshop.
It's almost inconceivable to think about Workshop coming to a close. The eighteen of us have been living together for the past eight and a half months, sharing what feels like our entire lives. This post will be the last one I write while still on Workshop, so look forward to a post detailing Workshop's conclusion and reflecting on this unique, intense year as a whole.
