First off, I want to apologize for the delay in my writing. As you can probably imagine, the past month
has been very busy. I got to see family
in the North, “tan” on the beach in Tel Aviv, and celebrate holidays with
friends such as Jerusalem Day and Shavuot.
Jerusalem Day commemorates when the Jews got Jerusalem and the Kotel
back during the 6-Day War in 1967. Shavuot is a big holiday celebrating the
time God gave us the Torah on Mount Sinai.
The important part is that you are supposed to eat ALL foods with
dairy. Although a lactose-intolerant’s
nightmare, it was my dream. We had
everything from lasagna burekas to cheesecake and crème puffs.
This past weekend was really special for me, in fact my
favorite weekend thus far in Israel. My
boyfriend took me to a kibbutz he used to volunteer on before he went to the
army. Kibbutzim are communities that
developed in Israel based on agriculture and socialism. People that started kibbutzim also held
strong Zionist beliefs, such as taking desert land and reviving it to its
utmost potential. Most kibbutzim have
been modernized, and are not based on a socialist system. However, Neot Semedar, the kibbutz we
traveled to, located in the Arava desert (far South) is one of the few
traditional kibbutzim. Neot Semedar was
established in 1989, and the land was revived from an abandoned kibbutz.
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| The famous image of the kibbutz, that is the logo on their products. |
About 300 people live on this kibbutz, not including the
50-60 volunteers who come from all over the world. The people are very spiritual, not in terms
of religion but in their connections with each other and with the earth. Everything they grow is organic, and they eat
vegetarian (technically pescatarian).
There are most like 2 TVs total located on the premises of the kibbutz,
and you will never see a member walking around with a cell phone, especially at
meals. And that’s not to say that they
want to socialize with each other at meals. An interesting tidbit is that they
do not talk at meals; it is actually frowned upon. While most people associate eating with
socializing with friends and family, members use this time to connect with
their bodies and minds.
Let’s not say that this was an easy adjustment for me and my
loquacious boyfriend. A kibbutz member
came up to us during breakfast and said, “We encourage socializing outside of
the dining hall.” Never in my life would
I expect to hear that sentence, and I probably won’t hear it again.
The food was absolutely delicious: simple, fresh and
healthy. They grow vegetables, fruits, grains,
and raise hens (only for the eggs) and goats (only for the milk). They export products such as fruit nectars,
wines, cheeses, and olive oil but since the kibbutz doesn’t care about money,
they haven’t expanded their business.
Everyone on the kibbutz has an equal share. Every day the members and volunteers switch
their jobs so it’s equal. Members and
families can’t stay in the same house for more than five years, as not to get
attached to their particular plot.
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| The goats enjoying an afternoon stroll. |
It sounds nearly impossible to produce so many things in the
desert, but they did an excellent job at revitalizing this dry land. There are trees and flowers everywhere, a
man-make lake, and a natural spring. It
is truly a beautiful place, like paradise.
They would do so well with tourism, but they simply don’t care about
money.
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| The natural spring, amidst the Arava Desert. |
Just as the people are friendly to the animals, they are
also to the environment. They don’t
waste any food, because after every meal they compost leftover foods to make
fertilizer. They don’t even have air
conditioning. Instead, they have these
large cooling towers which circulate wind to somehow produce cold air.
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| Kayaking in the lake |
Not only do they care about the environement, but they care
about the arts. The music building is a
unique building they built which houses all of the art workshops. They also care about music and dance. During kabbalat Shabbat, some members
performed a 30 minute synchronized dance.
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| The music building, created by the members 10 years ago. |
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| Some of the members dancing during Kabbalat Shabbat. |
It’s hard to believe that a community like this exists in
this day and age. It might be hard for
some to grasp the concept of not using technology and being isolated in the
desert, but the people are truly happy.
They find joy in their hard work in producing amazing foods and
sustaining the land. It is a great
lifestyle, in terms of health and happiness.
I would never live like this permanently, but it put things into
perspective.
It was definitely an interesting and eye-opening experience,
and I really appreciated staying there and seeing all they did to revitalize the
land and treat the animals well. When
times in life get demanding and possibly overbearing, it’s important to
remember the simpler and finer things, such as the beautiful land we’ve been
given and the creatures living on it.
