We head out together with our new Israeli friends on a tour of the Kibbutz. We start at a spot where there are three borders - Syria, Jordan, the Holam a Heights and Israel. The security fence is actually a few steps away from where we stand.We learn about the difficult life of those who established the kibbutz in 1937, on land nobody wanted, in a dangerous and hostile environment. We walk through the dairy farm and fields thinking that these are the kinbutz's source of income. Under the shade of a beautiful olive tree we gather. Ronen describes kibbutz communal living in it's purest form and how this socialist model has evolved over the years as many kibbutzim have privatized. The kibbutz we are staying at is authentic - work and contribute to communal living as much as you are able and earn as much as you need - eat together, live in a community, raise children together... Decisions are made collectively. We learn that ours is a wealthy kibbutz - not because of the dairy farm or agriculture - because of their plastic pipe factory. The kids are surprised to learn that most kibbutzim have alternate sources of income other than agriculture and many are extremely successful.
Word of the day: kibbutz coming from the word kvutzah meaning group
Israel is Number One:
1. Cows - every year there is an international competition to see which country produces the most milk. Israel wins every year.
2. Olive tree
3. Plastic pipes for hot water and irrigation pipes
Fun Fact: the biblical reference to "The Land of Milk and Honey" does not refer to cows and bees. It is symbolic. Milk symbolizes the juices coming from various fruits and honey symbolizes the sweetness coming from date trees.
After lunch, the kids enjoy a Shabbat afternoon of R and R by the pool. We spend the afternoon hydrating the kids and applying more sun screen. It is 34 degrees.
In the evening we separate into our bus groups for suedah shlishit followed by an educational program. Ronen shows the kids a photo of what he calls, the only last will and testament written by a Jew in Treblinka prior to entering the gas chamber. He reads the translation of the short Yiddish message written in blood. Ronen says that he believed that this message was intended for us - the generations after the holocaust. The author of the will basically calls for the next generations to take revenge for the Shoah. On a personal level, I immediately tense up, questioning whether this is the right message to leave the kids with. My fears disappear as Ronen describes what vengeance means for him. For him, the revenge of the Jewish people is the creation and maintenance of a strong army capable of defending the Jewish people. The kids articulate thoughtful interpretations of Jewish vengeance. Some comments include:
1. Keeping Shabbat
2. Having lots of Jewish children
3. Respecting Jewish holidays
4. Telling the stories of Rena, Sidney, Tommy, Ella, Ernest, and Teddy
5. Telling the story of our visit to Poland
6. Jewish education
I was so impressed. Each student from bus 1 shared a thought. We have become one family - comfortable sharing our feelings and thoughts with each other. Next Ronen asks, "if you could ask someone, dead or alive, one question about the Holocaust, who would you ask and what would you ask?" Again the responses are impressive. Some comments include:
1. To God: where were you?
2. To a survivor: what got you through?
3. To a German soldier: did you have an ethical dilemma with your orders?
4. To a German soldier: how could you murder innocent men, women and children?
5. To a German soldier: did you think about your own family when you were murdering Jewish families?
6. To a Jewish mother: how did you shield your child from the realities surrounding you?
7. To an Orthodox Jew: did you lose faith in God?
8. To a bystander from North America: Where was the world?
Once again all 34 students participate in a meaningful way.
Next, I ask the bus 1 chaperones to share with the kids what brought them to the March of the Living and why they chose to do it with the students instead of with other adults. We have been caring for these young adults for 10 days through devastating lows and euphoric highs. We have developed close bonds with them. Now it is our turn to share our personal stories with them, to tell them who we are. We conclude the session by declaring our faith in them, in their generation, in this journey.
The two buses meet for Havdalah and off we go to join bus 3,4 and 5 for a BBQ and party and of course the Hockey game.
Monica Mendel Bensoussan
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