I'm entirely enamored with Kibbutz Eih Harod. It's the most amazing kibbutz I've ever been in. It's one of the few remaining kibbutzes in Israel that are traditionally based on the original socialist principles. Situated in the Jezreal Valley, it's nestled into the incline of a hill that Josephus Flavius (one of the chief leaders and israelite defender against the roman empire) described as appearing like a perfect breast. After rising with the sun at 5, I laced up my shoes for an exploration run around the grounds of the kibbutz, passing by the cows and goats, childrens houses, fairgrounds , olympic size swimming pool, tennis court, basketball court,gardens, schools,and nature.
The homes are built to coexist with nature. At this kibbutz nothing is at odds. I held my nose when running past the mounds of manure but breathed in deeply when I passed fragrant orange groves intertwined with hilly and twisting village pathways.It was a ride, up and down and loops around until I felt sufficiently ready to shower and meet my friends for a late breakfast in the dining room at 830.
At breakfast we watched one elderly man sit and eat 6 full ruddy tomatoes one after the other while sprinkling each with salt and I thought about how I'd easily be convinced to build a home on this kibbutz and work in the kibbutz clinic. Maybe the work would reach dead end zone, but it's still so appealing to wake up to the freshness of the jezreal valley and be inspired by fertility of the soil...hhh. This could be taken so many ways, however, I have no dionysian longings. There are no random sprinklings of children on the way. I haven't planted any cabbage patch kids lately either.
Feeling inspired we embarked on a hike up Har Barkan which is one of the eight gilboa peaks. We went straight up the rock face and it was more rock scrambling than hiking, and was probably among the most difficult paths that I've taken in israel so far. I got designated to lead since I could point out good lines to follow up and danger zones to be careful around, but I was loving every single minute despite the fact that I refused to look down until we reached the absolute top at the military look out towards Jenin, when there would be no chance that I would go tumbling on a rocky ride back down to the bottom. My self preservation instincts remain intact.
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5 comments:
you have a nice way with writing, a nice turn of the phrase as it were. how long have you been there? how did you get there? why did you go?
(apologies if you have posted answers to these questions, this is my first visit...)
take care, I will drop back sometime.
Thank you. Very kind of you.
I've been here for several years but unfortunately have been out of Israel for much of that time.
I continued my life here in May 2008, but first came in November 2005.
My motivation to live here was simply that I wanted to contribute and felt I could do it best here in a place that I've always loved deeply.
I have held the kibbutz option open to flee to if the job market worsens here. Someone here says he can get me in. We shall see but only as a last resort.
I don't know... I dont think that I see you on a kibbutz...given that I don't really know you, it may be a fit but you may crave a bit more culture than you can find on a kibbutz. I would actually long for the diversity and cultural life of the city but I guess you could get into tel aviv pretty easily anyway.
If you were to go it shouldn't really be a last resort. It works best if you totally support the ideals of the kibbutz so you don't end up feeling resentful by the way it works. Lots of the younger generation have inspired the privatizations because of this. It's better if you're aligned with it's ideals. ie. egalitarianism etc..
Know you're pretty dead on. I would not be happy but I would have a place to sleep. LOL! I need big buildings and smog.
If there was an acting one I may be OK.
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