Thursday, February 01, 2007
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Hashomer Hatzair is a Jewish Movement by Tal Beery
The following is something I wrote and does not necessarily reflect the views of every member of Hashomer Hatzair. It only reflects my views after spending the last two months learning about Judaism and reflecting on the ideology of our movement in this context. While it makes the relationship between Judaism and Hashomer Hatzair clearer than it had been before, it raises more questions than it answers. Please ask these questions. It isn’t every day that a historically anti-religious movement is billed as fundamentally Jewish, and any questions, comments or concerns are welcome.
_____
The Jews gave monotheism to the world effectively ending their connections to a world of many gods and relative morality. This is not all or even the most significant of Jewish contributions. The ideology of Hashomer Hatzair is founded on this and two other equally significant Jewish contributions, the desire for messianic redemption and the conception of collective fate.
Jews conceive of history as a process with a clear beginning and end. The end is an era of peace, of proximity to God’s limitless love. Lion will sleep with lamb and swords will be turned to plow shears. Greed, poverty, hatred, mistrust, and jealousy will all be not because every person will be profoundly fulfilled.
Jews believe that history progresses to this point, and that people’s actions can either delay or quicken their inevitable redemption. The sins of the few can delay the redemption of all and the unity and justice of humanity will bring about the utopian end. The chosenness of the Jewish people, therefore, is no crown, no unconditional privilege. God’s covenant with the Jews is their heavy burden. They must work to bring justice and peace to the world, knowledge of God’s oneness and mankind’s oneness with God.
The covenant between God and the Jewish people also emphasizes the collective fate of the Jewish community in the pre-Messianic era. The second Temple was destroyed, we are taught, because Israel was not united. If our fates are collectively bound, then the modern Capitalist emphasis on individual achievement and advancement, forcing us to compete with other members of our societies, is an elaborate deception causing many to stray from a true and just Jewish life. A Jewish socioeconomic system would replace competition with collaboration, would abhor poverty and cherish honesty and trustworthiness. Together we would strive for mutual advancement, recognizing that nothing in this world follows the rules of a zero-sum game.
Hashomer Hatzair labors to create that society, to bring more peace, more justice, and more brotherhood into the world, to quicken our pace towards our worthy end goal. Hashomer Hatzair does this in two ways. First, members of the movement take part in projects designed to improve people’s lives by building communities, initiating dialogue between disconnected communities, and educating youth responsibility and empowerment. Second, members are asked to build their own, more intimate communities. The small communities we create strive to reflect the society we hope to create; we cannot hope to build a peaceful and just society if we cannot build peaceful and just Hashomer Hatzair communities.
Our movement is historically anti-religious, but we find now that our century-old ideals are absolutely Jewish. In our current renewal, we are reacquainting ourselves with the ancient texts and teachings. But our practice of Judaism is not only focused on the study of those texts but is concerned primarily with actively manifesting Jewish ideals in our world. If everything that exists in the physical world is a reflection of the spiritual world, then our efforts to bring more peace and proximity between peoples in this world reflects our effort to bring ourselves and others closer to God.
_____
The Jews gave monotheism to the world effectively ending their connections to a world of many gods and relative morality. This is not all or even the most significant of Jewish contributions. The ideology of Hashomer Hatzair is founded on this and two other equally significant Jewish contributions, the desire for messianic redemption and the conception of collective fate.
Jews conceive of history as a process with a clear beginning and end. The end is an era of peace, of proximity to God’s limitless love. Lion will sleep with lamb and swords will be turned to plow shears. Greed, poverty, hatred, mistrust, and jealousy will all be not because every person will be profoundly fulfilled.
Jews believe that history progresses to this point, and that people’s actions can either delay or quicken their inevitable redemption. The sins of the few can delay the redemption of all and the unity and justice of humanity will bring about the utopian end. The chosenness of the Jewish people, therefore, is no crown, no unconditional privilege. God’s covenant with the Jews is their heavy burden. They must work to bring justice and peace to the world, knowledge of God’s oneness and mankind’s oneness with God.
The covenant between God and the Jewish people also emphasizes the collective fate of the Jewish community in the pre-Messianic era. The second Temple was destroyed, we are taught, because Israel was not united. If our fates are collectively bound, then the modern Capitalist emphasis on individual achievement and advancement, forcing us to compete with other members of our societies, is an elaborate deception causing many to stray from a true and just Jewish life. A Jewish socioeconomic system would replace competition with collaboration, would abhor poverty and cherish honesty and trustworthiness. Together we would strive for mutual advancement, recognizing that nothing in this world follows the rules of a zero-sum game.
Hashomer Hatzair labors to create that society, to bring more peace, more justice, and more brotherhood into the world, to quicken our pace towards our worthy end goal. Hashomer Hatzair does this in two ways. First, members of the movement take part in projects designed to improve people’s lives by building communities, initiating dialogue between disconnected communities, and educating youth responsibility and empowerment. Second, members are asked to build their own, more intimate communities. The small communities we create strive to reflect the society we hope to create; we cannot hope to build a peaceful and just society if we cannot build peaceful and just Hashomer Hatzair communities.
Our movement is historically anti-religious, but we find now that our century-old ideals are absolutely Jewish. In our current renewal, we are reacquainting ourselves with the ancient texts and teachings. But our practice of Judaism is not only focused on the study of those texts but is concerned primarily with actively manifesting Jewish ideals in our world. If everything that exists in the physical world is a reflection of the spiritual world, then our efforts to bring more peace and proximity between peoples in this world reflects our effort to bring ourselves and others closer to God.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
The Road So Far and the Road Ahead
Well hello there all you Hagshamaniacs,
Sorry to have been absent for this long, but Hagshama is a tough business and we’ve been busy with all that Tikkun Olam and Tikkun Adam stuff.
We’ve been settling in nicely on Kibbutz Mishmar Ha’Emek. We’re getting used to the house that we live in which has an amazing ability to keep freezing air from escaping making it crispy-cold at all hours everyday. Of course it’s all good, because we have Kvutza to warm us up. The Kibbutz is a nice place to be. We have a car which keeps us from getting too stir crazy here. We are able to stay ‘awake’ and connected to the rest of the country. We just had a meeting to decide what sort of activities we want to do with the Kibbutz. We are going to be attending lectures, do some hikes in the area, meet Kibbutzniks and their families, and learn about the economics here.
The Kvutza life is going well. As you can imagine it is hard, but we are learning a lot about living as a group, and a lot about each other in particular. It’s really amazing to live in this way, reflective of our ideology, and examine a text by Martin Buber who wrote long ago about many of the ideas we are experimenting with today in our Kvutza.
We are all starting to figure out our individual projects now too. Some of us are starting to work with Pardes, an educational organization that sprouted from the movement here. Some are working with Arabs and Jews at Givat Haviva. Some are working with young Arab students at an after-school program. Some are working with the North American Shnat Kvutza. All of us meanwhile are finding time to explore creative outlets such as drawing, photography, or writing.
Many of us are beginning to explore our Judaism. We’ve been meeting with an Orthodox Rabbi in Jerusalem. We are beginning with this viewpoint and will shortly be moving into other Jewish perspectives on the long road to better understanding of ourselves as Jews. This search, we hope, will lead us towards a better understanding of ourselves as Socialists, as Zionists, as a Kvutza, and as individuals... Oh and as Jew… But we just explained that…
Okay, moving on.
Our work in Barta’a is going really well. We are learning more and more about the students that we are working with, and the community that we are working in. It is hard. It takes its toll. We tried to have a Sycha after a day at Barta’a, but within a few minutes the discussion broke down into huffs, puffs, and rude comments. We were tired and tired of each other. This is the truth though. We are humans, we struggle, we get tired, and we are sometimes rude to those we love most. We are getting closer and closer to understanding what we have to offer that will help in strengthening their community, and each of them as individuals. It seems that we are already in a reciprocal relationship: Teaching and learning, learning and teaching.
Importantly, we are also doing. The idea for our Kvutza has been, in the broadest sense to examine ourselves and our world, and to fix ourselves and our world. While getting settled into our home we are also getting settled into our work, study and Kvutza. It’s often a struggle, but it’s worth it.
Until the next post,
Chazak V'Ematz
Kvutzat Orev
Sorry to have been absent for this long, but Hagshama is a tough business and we’ve been busy with all that Tikkun Olam and Tikkun Adam stuff.
We’ve been settling in nicely on Kibbutz Mishmar Ha’Emek. We’re getting used to the house that we live in which has an amazing ability to keep freezing air from escaping making it crispy-cold at all hours everyday. Of course it’s all good, because we have Kvutza to warm us up. The Kibbutz is a nice place to be. We have a car which keeps us from getting too stir crazy here. We are able to stay ‘awake’ and connected to the rest of the country. We just had a meeting to decide what sort of activities we want to do with the Kibbutz. We are going to be attending lectures, do some hikes in the area, meet Kibbutzniks and their families, and learn about the economics here.
The Kvutza life is going well. As you can imagine it is hard, but we are learning a lot about living as a group, and a lot about each other in particular. It’s really amazing to live in this way, reflective of our ideology, and examine a text by Martin Buber who wrote long ago about many of the ideas we are experimenting with today in our Kvutza.
We are all starting to figure out our individual projects now too. Some of us are starting to work with Pardes, an educational organization that sprouted from the movement here. Some are working with Arabs and Jews at Givat Haviva. Some are working with young Arab students at an after-school program. Some are working with the North American Shnat Kvutza. All of us meanwhile are finding time to explore creative outlets such as drawing, photography, or writing.
Many of us are beginning to explore our Judaism. We’ve been meeting with an Orthodox Rabbi in Jerusalem. We are beginning with this viewpoint and will shortly be moving into other Jewish perspectives on the long road to better understanding of ourselves as Jews. This search, we hope, will lead us towards a better understanding of ourselves as Socialists, as Zionists, as a Kvutza, and as individuals... Oh and as Jew… But we just explained that…
Okay, moving on.
Our work in Barta’a is going really well. We are learning more and more about the students that we are working with, and the community that we are working in. It is hard. It takes its toll. We tried to have a Sycha after a day at Barta’a, but within a few minutes the discussion broke down into huffs, puffs, and rude comments. We were tired and tired of each other. This is the truth though. We are humans, we struggle, we get tired, and we are sometimes rude to those we love most. We are getting closer and closer to understanding what we have to offer that will help in strengthening their community, and each of them as individuals. It seems that we are already in a reciprocal relationship: Teaching and learning, learning and teaching.
Importantly, we are also doing. The idea for our Kvutza has been, in the broadest sense to examine ourselves and our world, and to fix ourselves and our world. While getting settled into our home we are also getting settled into our work, study and Kvutza. It’s often a struggle, but it’s worth it.
Until the next post,
Chazak V'Ematz
Kvutzat Orev
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
The Ball is Rolling
Kvutzat Orev can now offically claim to have a permanent home in Israel! After some intense bureaucratic deliberation not uncommon in the old kibbutz movement, kibbutz Mishmar Haemek has finally agreed to let us stay there for as long as we would like. This is welcome news to a kvutza that has led a nomadic lifestyle from cold floor to cold floor for the last three weeks.
In other news, we are pleased to announce that our first meeting with the prinicpal and English teacher of the school in Barta'a was a great success. We were given the green light for even our most ambitious comminuty development projects and will begin work on Monday. We also received a tour of the school and met basically all of the students, who giggled and waved with excitement whenever we entered a room.
As we made clear to the principal, we intend to teach English with the educational methods we have cultivated in Hashomer Hatzair, i.e., with an emphasis on cultivating the innate curiosity of each child and empowering the group to take responsibility for its own education.
After meeting the children at the school, we are confident that they have the curiosty and discipline to enjoy such an education to its fullest extent.
STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES
-Kvutzat Orev
In other news, we are pleased to announce that our first meeting with the prinicpal and English teacher of the school in Barta'a was a great success. We were given the green light for even our most ambitious comminuty development projects and will begin work on Monday. We also received a tour of the school and met basically all of the students, who giggled and waved with excitement whenever we entered a room.
As we made clear to the principal, we intend to teach English with the educational methods we have cultivated in Hashomer Hatzair, i.e., with an emphasis on cultivating the innate curiosity of each child and empowering the group to take responsibility for its own education.
After meeting the children at the school, we are confident that they have the curiosty and discipline to enjoy such an education to its fullest extent.
STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES
-Kvutzat Orev
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Schmoozing with the 'other'
Yesterday Tal, Yotam, and I visited our friend Rauf at his home in Kfar Qara. Rauf is a very well known and influential community leader in the area, and is the director of the Jewish Arab coexistence program "In the other's eyes" at Givat Haviva, the Hashomer Hatzair center for peace activism. In the last four years, we have hosted his program at our summer camp (Camp Shomria), with three different groups of Jewish, Arab, and Bedouin Israelis living and learning together in what can be a profoundly difficult process. Rauf is by any measure a visionary with great hopes for humanity and confidence in the good of every person. He is also a proud Arab, Palestinian, and Israeli, an identity that shapes the way he approaches the difficult issues that we have come here to grapple with.
After feeding us an amazing post-Ramadan feast, we sat together and jumped right into discussing (in hebrew of course) some of the most contentious issues facing the region, from the political and social repercussions of the Israel-Lebanon war to the most fundamental theoretical assumptions of Zionism and its consequences for the people of this region. One point that Rauf drove home was the fact that bombs don't distinguish between Arab and Jew. When katyushas were falling on Israel this summer, Arab and Jew alike sought shelter together. The same applies with regards to the nuclear threat posed by Iran: the Arabs of the region feel equally vulnerable.
After dinner Rauf brought us on a whirlwind tour of the village, introducing us as Americans who work for a peace organization that are going to be teaching English in Barta. Everyone we met, thanks to Rauf's charisma and status in the village, was extremely welcoming. "America! Welcome!" resounded from the previously intimidating group of men at the cafe.
He then took us to Barta, which was my first time in the village where I will be spending the better part of 5 months working on this trip. Split in half by the green line, it is a fascinating nexus of different identities and also, due to the low taxes and cheap labor on the palestinian side, has become a bustling center of commerce in the Israeli Arab world. From shawarma to firecrackers to tshirts, people from all over the region are peddling their wares like crazy and making deals like there's no tomorrow.
During the ride home I was glad to be safely on route to a gated kibbutz, but happily removed from a comfort zone I would not seek to return to. I am very excited for what is to come on our journey.
After feeding us an amazing post-Ramadan feast, we sat together and jumped right into discussing (in hebrew of course) some of the most contentious issues facing the region, from the political and social repercussions of the Israel-Lebanon war to the most fundamental theoretical assumptions of Zionism and its consequences for the people of this region. One point that Rauf drove home was the fact that bombs don't distinguish between Arab and Jew. When katyushas were falling on Israel this summer, Arab and Jew alike sought shelter together. The same applies with regards to the nuclear threat posed by Iran: the Arabs of the region feel equally vulnerable.
After dinner Rauf brought us on a whirlwind tour of the village, introducing us as Americans who work for a peace organization that are going to be teaching English in Barta. Everyone we met, thanks to Rauf's charisma and status in the village, was extremely welcoming. "America! Welcome!" resounded from the previously intimidating group of men at the cafe.
He then took us to Barta, which was my first time in the village where I will be spending the better part of 5 months working on this trip. Split in half by the green line, it is a fascinating nexus of different identities and also, due to the low taxes and cheap labor on the palestinian side, has become a bustling center of commerce in the Israeli Arab world. From shawarma to firecrackers to tshirts, people from all over the region are peddling their wares like crazy and making deals like there's no tomorrow.
During the ride home I was glad to be safely on route to a gated kibbutz, but happily removed from a comfort zone I would not seek to return to. I am very excited for what is to come on our journey.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
COMING SOON
*Detailed description of our program
*Personal diary entries
*Political and ideological discussion forum
*Pictures!
We have been having a very intense time in the week that we have all been together. Things are moving forward quickly and we have made very important connections with prominent leaders in the Hashomer community as well as in the Arab communities of Barta and Kfar Qara. Overally, everyone we meet is enthralled that we are here for such a long period and with such commitment. We are in great spirits and are surviving despite our desperate lack of funding (at this very moment the MASA applications are in the works).
Also, if anyone has any connections in Israel regarding the rental or cheap purchase of a used 8 passenger van, your help would be GREATLY appreciated.
Chazak V'Ematz
Kvutzat Orev
*Personal diary entries
*Political and ideological discussion forum
*Pictures!
We have been having a very intense time in the week that we have all been together. Things are moving forward quickly and we have made very important connections with prominent leaders in the Hashomer community as well as in the Arab communities of Barta and Kfar Qara. Overally, everyone we meet is enthralled that we are here for such a long period and with such commitment. We are in great spirits and are surviving despite our desperate lack of funding (at this very moment the MASA applications are in the works).
Also, if anyone has any connections in Israel regarding the rental or cheap purchase of a used 8 passenger van, your help would be GREATLY appreciated.
Chazak V'Ematz
Kvutzat Orev
Monday, October 09, 2006
Israir Flight 337 NOW DEPARTING
On tuesday at midnight, Sol, Jane, Tal, and Yotam will board a plane with hundreds of other frugal travelers and zip off to the national homeland of the jewish people. Emotions are running high as we anticipate this great step in our process of hagshama. I just cant wait to go through security and have to face down questions like, "what are you doing in israel?". my response of course being, "well, im not really sure but we're gonna play it by ear." The concerned officer then asks, "Well, where are you staying?" I scrunch my face and say, "well, im actually not really sure. I figure we'll crash wherever until we can set up some housing and get to work in the west bank! Did i mention I'm a socialist???" Oy vey.
The toughest part about this is just having to be some kind of symbol in the eyes of other people. To the religious zionists im a traitor. To the international left wing community i'm a racist. To my friends at home I'm a member of a cult. To old shomrim, the elders of my own movement, I'm a naive kid with no sense of the real world. Well, I guess they should all be pleased to know that they are all correct. I'm living in a dream world, suckling off of my cult for support and some semblance of structure and meaning. I hate all races. And I'm a fair-weather zionist. I cant even believe i'm going there in the winter months. Do you really think that if the shit hit the fan I would be clamoring for a sharp stick and charging the enemy? I am an American, i seek to avoid conflict at all costs.
Muki Tzur once told me that I should write down what I am thinking. I told him that I'm not sure if I can do that. He asked why. I said because I dont have hands. He said, you HAVE hands..They are down my pants. I said, those arent my hands. He said, well if theyre not yours then whose are th- AHHHH!!!!. I said, Muki, for what do you scream? He said, I'll write you a letter about it.
The toughest part about this is just having to be some kind of symbol in the eyes of other people. To the religious zionists im a traitor. To the international left wing community i'm a racist. To my friends at home I'm a member of a cult. To old shomrim, the elders of my own movement, I'm a naive kid with no sense of the real world. Well, I guess they should all be pleased to know that they are all correct. I'm living in a dream world, suckling off of my cult for support and some semblance of structure and meaning. I hate all races. And I'm a fair-weather zionist. I cant even believe i'm going there in the winter months. Do you really think that if the shit hit the fan I would be clamoring for a sharp stick and charging the enemy? I am an American, i seek to avoid conflict at all costs.
Muki Tzur once told me that I should write down what I am thinking. I told him that I'm not sure if I can do that. He asked why. I said because I dont have hands. He said, you HAVE hands..They are down my pants. I said, those arent my hands. He said, well if theyre not yours then whose are th- AHHHH!!!!. I said, Muki, for what do you scream? He said, I'll write you a letter about it.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Natalia's message
Hello to you all,
It’s a great honor to be allowed to visit and publish in the HHNA Bogrim Hypersociety blog…
This would be a rather peculiar way to introduce myself here and be involved in your discussion, but Michal convinced me that it will be much more practical and useful if you would hear this “report” in first hand and not through her mediation.
I feel a little weird about integrating my thoughts here without formally knowing you all but, since I’ve heard so much about you, I would assume you heard some things about me as well… so anyhow, briefly- my name is Natalia, from Pelech, I’ve been meeting with Jane, Michal, Yael ofer (from time to time Dave and even some of you people there- overseas since October) and I’m glad I have the opportunity to be accompanying this project you all are doing and planning. Besides being a madricha, I’m also a part of “Kvutzat Mifratzim” in pelech, teacher, and environmental education facilitator in school and with people of special needs. Besides that I think I am a caring, loving human being, in a constant process of learning about this world, myself and besides that I try to do something about it.
Michal,
Is this an OK way to introduce myself?
Regarding Deir El Assad project, I’ve met this week with Mamoun (the Teacher that accompanied us around the village last week) and Mai (who’s a friend and works in “Link-for the Environment” NGO (http://www.envirolink.org.il/ ) who also lives in the village.
Actually, it was through the conversation with Mamoun that the idea for the project came up and so the idea was to make partnership with Mai and Mamoun for the implementation of the project, addressing the different relevant bodies and authorities together with them.
They both were enthusiastic about the idea and had also additional information and connections to make the idea work.
Mai told us that she has met the engineer of the village (or of the regional municipality, I’m not quite sure) and he told her that Deir el Assad is in the process of raising money for the rehabilitation and restoration of the monastery.
This is very good because it means that it won’t fall on them like an idea “out of the blue” if we come to them with this, it rather shows that this is relevant and we could join and be important partners of this initiative.
Also, their idea (as far as Mai knows) was to recruit the money and rehabilitate the monastery for tourist aims eventually, but I believe this doesn’t hurt the ideas of the project as Michal and Jane presented to you on the blog because it addresses a need of the village and something that could have great effect anyhow, if it will be the youth of the village, you, and people from pelech working on it together.
Mai has promised to meet ASAP the engineer (he’s abroad now for 10 days) and get from him the relevant information.
Mamoun called a friend of his at the “Authority of Antiquities” to get more information about the place. His friend said that the place is formally under the care of this body indeed, but the land on which the monastery is located is owned privately and so he also promised to meet him face to face soon with more information.
Anyhow, since this project would be a really big one, it is important to create all the needed partnerships here in terms of authorities, money raising, advising and more.
I assume that in the coming month we will have the information to understand whether this is possible (with a lot of money raising)…
Besides that, Mamoun and Mai were glad to hear the idea of you volunteering in the village and promised to help in anyway.
Regarding the living issues: I brought it up with them as well. They said that it would be good if families’d host you. The idea of you living in an apartment as a kvutza there seems to be more complex because of the conservative tradition there. You wouldn’t see their young women and men living together. Young people leave home only if going to study elsewhere and they would be living separately men and women.
They did not reject completely the idea of you renting an apartment there and living all together but it seemed to me as something done for politeness.
They also said that you could live in pelech and be hosted in the village by families for weekends or different occasions.
Mamoun also offered to teach you Arabic, Islam and more.
For now, there is a lot of background work to do in order to make the monastery project a possible one. If this could work it will be one of the greatest things happening in the village life- for sure. Since there is some politics to do in order to make it work- it will take sometime until we have the final answer. If it will be accepted, there’s going to be a massive money raising work to be done at NA and here. Rehabilitating a place like this is an expensive project.
So, this is my report for now, I’ll write to you more once I know newer information.
Shabat Shalom, Be well and continue with the good work.
Natalia
It’s a great honor to be allowed to visit and publish in the HHNA Bogrim Hypersociety blog…
This would be a rather peculiar way to introduce myself here and be involved in your discussion, but Michal convinced me that it will be much more practical and useful if you would hear this “report” in first hand and not through her mediation.
I feel a little weird about integrating my thoughts here without formally knowing you all but, since I’ve heard so much about you, I would assume you heard some things about me as well… so anyhow, briefly- my name is Natalia, from Pelech, I’ve been meeting with Jane, Michal, Yael ofer (from time to time Dave and even some of you people there- overseas since October) and I’m glad I have the opportunity to be accompanying this project you all are doing and planning. Besides being a madricha, I’m also a part of “Kvutzat Mifratzim” in pelech, teacher, and environmental education facilitator in school and with people of special needs. Besides that I think I am a caring, loving human being, in a constant process of learning about this world, myself and besides that I try to do something about it.
Michal,
Is this an OK way to introduce myself?
Regarding Deir El Assad project, I’ve met this week with Mamoun (the Teacher that accompanied us around the village last week) and Mai (who’s a friend and works in “Link-for the Environment” NGO (http://www.envirolink.org.il/ ) who also lives in the village.
Actually, it was through the conversation with Mamoun that the idea for the project came up and so the idea was to make partnership with Mai and Mamoun for the implementation of the project, addressing the different relevant bodies and authorities together with them.
They both were enthusiastic about the idea and had also additional information and connections to make the idea work.
Mai told us that she has met the engineer of the village (or of the regional municipality, I’m not quite sure) and he told her that Deir el Assad is in the process of raising money for the rehabilitation and restoration of the monastery.
This is very good because it means that it won’t fall on them like an idea “out of the blue” if we come to them with this, it rather shows that this is relevant and we could join and be important partners of this initiative.
Also, their idea (as far as Mai knows) was to recruit the money and rehabilitate the monastery for tourist aims eventually, but I believe this doesn’t hurt the ideas of the project as Michal and Jane presented to you on the blog because it addresses a need of the village and something that could have great effect anyhow, if it will be the youth of the village, you, and people from pelech working on it together.
Mai has promised to meet ASAP the engineer (he’s abroad now for 10 days) and get from him the relevant information.
Mamoun called a friend of his at the “Authority of Antiquities” to get more information about the place. His friend said that the place is formally under the care of this body indeed, but the land on which the monastery is located is owned privately and so he also promised to meet him face to face soon with more information.
Anyhow, since this project would be a really big one, it is important to create all the needed partnerships here in terms of authorities, money raising, advising and more.
I assume that in the coming month we will have the information to understand whether this is possible (with a lot of money raising)…
Besides that, Mamoun and Mai were glad to hear the idea of you volunteering in the village and promised to help in anyway.
Regarding the living issues: I brought it up with them as well. They said that it would be good if families’d host you. The idea of you living in an apartment as a kvutza there seems to be more complex because of the conservative tradition there. You wouldn’t see their young women and men living together. Young people leave home only if going to study elsewhere and they would be living separately men and women.
They did not reject completely the idea of you renting an apartment there and living all together but it seemed to me as something done for politeness.
They also said that you could live in pelech and be hosted in the village by families for weekends or different occasions.
Mamoun also offered to teach you Arabic, Islam and more.
For now, there is a lot of background work to do in order to make the monastery project a possible one. If this could work it will be one of the greatest things happening in the village life- for sure. Since there is some politics to do in order to make it work- it will take sometime until we have the final answer. If it will be accepted, there’s going to be a massive money raising work to be done at NA and here. Rehabilitating a place like this is an expensive project.
So, this is my report for now, I’ll write to you more once I know newer information.
Shabat Shalom, Be well and continue with the good work.
Natalia
Friday, March 24, 2006
CHECK THIS OUT
SHNATEJAS
I have a plan for a year long program. I don't mean to take the wind out of the current Shnat plan being developed -- it's great that people are making strides from all different directions simultaneously. These different streams of creation will surely entangle and feed off each other in the very near future.
That said, the program that I have conceived has developed from the same basic considerations with a different solution. I went on Mifgash three years ago and was inspired by the energetic movement towards urban kibbutzim. The Shomrim on the trip came from different backgrounds and interests but by the end we were really on the same page and wanted more than anything to share our experiences. And as soon as there was a critical mass, we would definitely start communot. So far I think these are the basic goals of anyone who sees the communa movement as the next phase in hagshama.
My proposal is that we start a communa now in the U.S. Specifically, there is a communa now in Austin, TX that has a lot of momentum. The goals of the year program (codenamed ShnaTejas and pronounced ShnaTechas) are:
* Learn through experience what communa culture is like
* Refine the objectives/direction of the communa & movement
* Become active in the local community
* Refine/define reasons for living in a communa
* Be experienced in establishing and maintaining a communa financially, socially, and movement-wise for a full year. These duties include:
- Running peulot for one another
- Hosting weekly Shabbat dinners (Sha-Pot Lucks)
- Benefitting the local community through projects
- Maintaining a website and communication channels
- Sustaining ourselves financially (eventually through our projects)
- Establishing a non-profit org for the communa
* Developing a new leadership program for Hashomer Hatzair
* Living our hagshama today!
Just as Shomrim used to gather from all over North America in Liberty and learn to farm, learn to function communally, bond their kvutzot, and define their goals for several years before making aliya and establishing kibbutzim, so we need a platform to leap from. Some people are ready for Israel now, want to learn Hebrew, see themselves developing these skills in Israel, etc. That's great! I don't want to detract those people at all. However, there are advantages to starting a communa here:
1) First of all, there are social factors in our favor here. We all speak what passes for English, we have bank accounts, we have cars and stuff, we can lease houses and get jobs. I don't think those are the challenges the communa needs to face now. Eventually, if a kvutza/communa makes aliya together, they will face these issues and all the other challenges associated with establishing in a new country.
2) Living in one place for a period of a year or more is the best way to develop kvutza and experience living as a communa. Having spurts of time in different places, never having steady jobs or long-standing communa activities, working on projects temporarily and then moving back to the U.S. -- this is more of a seminar-style program. This program will have a stronger communa-living component.
3) We are close to home and family. Some people will find Israel difficult for security and other reasons. JetBlue flies directly from Austin to NYC for $79 each way (flights elsewhere are cheap as well). We will be active in HHNA throughout the year, host seminars, and start a ken.
4) We are financially independent. Rather than saving up money now, waiting on a long line for hand-outs from the Israeli govt, or potentially compromising the integrity of the program because of funding issues, the Austin Communa is financially independent and will only become more so as the number of members grows. Currently, Bina is a full-time substitute teacher and I am a full-time student while tutoring and teaching piano part-time. We could potentially earn enough next year to pay down serious student loans, etc. (You might also consider transfering to UT or ACC for the year and keep studying.)
5) Austin is the liberal capital of the American South and one of the most liberal cities in NA. It is rife with social opportunities, projects, co-ops, support networks, etc. There is no way to summarize this point briefly, so I will just say that many excellent opportunities are right in front of us both figuratively and physically. We live in Central Austin by everything, in a house in a magical neighborhood with year-round beautiful weather.
Those are some of the benefits of staying in the U.S. I don't propose to abandon the Zionist dream. On the contrary, I believe that by establishing communa, we will have the resources, experience, and tight kvutzot that are the basic elements necessary for meaningful aliya. There are many angles to look at this issue. For example, only this program leaves the option to stay longer than a year. Funds are limited enough for the Israel Shnat program, plus after a year you will be exposed to the military draft. The Austin Communa is a project that can accept new members and continue to grow year after year, creating facts on the ground (tachles)!
The other important element that is unique about this idea is the Hashomer leadership program built in. As a movement, we are starting to adopt the Israeli model of having madrichim for kvutzot at all stages, even when they are in hadracha. However, we don't offer a real hadracha training program. Thus, a program will be developed to train throughout the year. Everyone will be responsible for planning peulot for the communa on a rotating basis. Plus, there will be a rotating position of madrich communa for 1-2 months who will also be responsible for planning a weekly peula in addition, plus plan an educational seminar for the communa and guests, etc. This program will be elaborated in the future.
There are pros and cons with every plan. I am aiming to draw people who want to establish communot now and help them spread in NA. Personally, I'm somewhat disillusioned that after three years of going on Mifgash what we've produced is a new seminar in Israel and one communa (ours). Bina and I are committed to Austin for the next few years for our own reasons and work our asses off, but we're still working towards communa and growing it slowly but steadily every day.
Our feature outreach project at the moment is our weekly Shabbat dinners: http://www.shapotluck.com/ . Soon we should have a website for the communa and we will start organizing our core group of people towards activation in the community.
I will stop now and let the conversation develop (hopefully). It's not all thought out, which is fine because it should be jointly developed by all the people who are interested.
Chazak & Ematz!
Omri
I have a plan for a year long program. I don't mean to take the wind out of the current Shnat plan being developed -- it's great that people are making strides from all different directions simultaneously. These different streams of creation will surely entangle and feed off each other in the very near future.
That said, the program that I have conceived has developed from the same basic considerations with a different solution. I went on Mifgash three years ago and was inspired by the energetic movement towards urban kibbutzim. The Shomrim on the trip came from different backgrounds and interests but by the end we were really on the same page and wanted more than anything to share our experiences. And as soon as there was a critical mass, we would definitely start communot. So far I think these are the basic goals of anyone who sees the communa movement as the next phase in hagshama.
My proposal is that we start a communa now in the U.S. Specifically, there is a communa now in Austin, TX that has a lot of momentum. The goals of the year program (codenamed ShnaTejas and pronounced ShnaTechas) are:
* Learn through experience what communa culture is like
* Refine the objectives/direction of the communa & movement
* Become active in the local community
* Refine/define reasons for living in a communa
* Be experienced in establishing and maintaining a communa financially, socially, and movement-wise for a full year. These duties include:
- Running peulot for one another
- Hosting weekly Shabbat dinners (Sha-Pot Lucks)
- Benefitting the local community through projects
- Maintaining a website and communication channels
- Sustaining ourselves financially (eventually through our projects)
- Establishing a non-profit org for the communa
* Developing a new leadership program for Hashomer Hatzair
* Living our hagshama today!
Just as Shomrim used to gather from all over North America in Liberty and learn to farm, learn to function communally, bond their kvutzot, and define their goals for several years before making aliya and establishing kibbutzim, so we need a platform to leap from. Some people are ready for Israel now, want to learn Hebrew, see themselves developing these skills in Israel, etc. That's great! I don't want to detract those people at all. However, there are advantages to starting a communa here:
1) First of all, there are social factors in our favor here. We all speak what passes for English, we have bank accounts, we have cars and stuff, we can lease houses and get jobs. I don't think those are the challenges the communa needs to face now. Eventually, if a kvutza/communa makes aliya together, they will face these issues and all the other challenges associated with establishing in a new country.
2) Living in one place for a period of a year or more is the best way to develop kvutza and experience living as a communa. Having spurts of time in different places, never having steady jobs or long-standing communa activities, working on projects temporarily and then moving back to the U.S. -- this is more of a seminar-style program. This program will have a stronger communa-living component.
3) We are close to home and family. Some people will find Israel difficult for security and other reasons. JetBlue flies directly from Austin to NYC for $79 each way (flights elsewhere are cheap as well). We will be active in HHNA throughout the year, host seminars, and start a ken.
4) We are financially independent. Rather than saving up money now, waiting on a long line for hand-outs from the Israeli govt, or potentially compromising the integrity of the program because of funding issues, the Austin Communa is financially independent and will only become more so as the number of members grows. Currently, Bina is a full-time substitute teacher and I am a full-time student while tutoring and teaching piano part-time. We could potentially earn enough next year to pay down serious student loans, etc. (You might also consider transfering to UT or ACC for the year and keep studying.)
5) Austin is the liberal capital of the American South and one of the most liberal cities in NA. It is rife with social opportunities, projects, co-ops, support networks, etc. There is no way to summarize this point briefly, so I will just say that many excellent opportunities are right in front of us both figuratively and physically. We live in Central Austin by everything, in a house in a magical neighborhood with year-round beautiful weather.
Those are some of the benefits of staying in the U.S. I don't propose to abandon the Zionist dream. On the contrary, I believe that by establishing communa, we will have the resources, experience, and tight kvutzot that are the basic elements necessary for meaningful aliya. There are many angles to look at this issue. For example, only this program leaves the option to stay longer than a year. Funds are limited enough for the Israel Shnat program, plus after a year you will be exposed to the military draft. The Austin Communa is a project that can accept new members and continue to grow year after year, creating facts on the ground (tachles)!
The other important element that is unique about this idea is the Hashomer leadership program built in. As a movement, we are starting to adopt the Israeli model of having madrichim for kvutzot at all stages, even when they are in hadracha. However, we don't offer a real hadracha training program. Thus, a program will be developed to train throughout the year. Everyone will be responsible for planning peulot for the communa on a rotating basis. Plus, there will be a rotating position of madrich communa for 1-2 months who will also be responsible for planning a weekly peula in addition, plus plan an educational seminar for the communa and guests, etc. This program will be elaborated in the future.
There are pros and cons with every plan. I am aiming to draw people who want to establish communot now and help them spread in NA. Personally, I'm somewhat disillusioned that after three years of going on Mifgash what we've produced is a new seminar in Israel and one communa (ours). Bina and I are committed to Austin for the next few years for our own reasons and work our asses off, but we're still working towards communa and growing it slowly but steadily every day.
Our feature outreach project at the moment is our weekly Shabbat dinners: http://www.shapotluck.com/ . Soon we should have a website for the communa and we will start organizing our core group of people towards activation in the community.
I will stop now and let the conversation develop (hopefully). It's not all thought out, which is fine because it should be jointly developed by all the people who are interested.
Chazak & Ematz!
Omri
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Progress!
We here at Hagshamania would like to just give a shout out to all the Bogrim working hard every day to make this program happen. We all know how tough it has been to keep the dream alive, but it really seems like things are coming together. Keep up the good work!
Sunday, February 26, 2006
STOP EVERYTHING AND EXPRESS YOURSELF
Whats going on? What have you been up to lately? What have you been thinking about? Please post your latest thoughts and concerns related/unrelated to any and all aspects of this project. This means YOU!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
BREAKING NEWS RE: GH '06-'07
Jane Manwelyan writes:
Sorry we weren't able to be a part of the conference call (technical difficulties) but we had a meeting with Lior yesterday, and here are the things that we talked about.
1. Lior is going to be our madrich next year- which may have been obvious to some, but I wasn't so sure. But he said it, flat out...so he's really in it for the long hall...good for him, and good for us! This means that he'll be running peulot for us once a week, and generally looking out for our well-being.
2. We spoke specifically about the structure of next year. On mifgash we said that the first 3 months should be spent in Tel Aviv, taking ulpan, and being involved in Hashomer culture.
What this means more specifically is that these first 2-3 months will be ALLLLL about our education as a kvutza. Ulpan will take up 2 evenings a week (Monday and Wednesday) which gives up the opportunity to take trips Thursday-Sunday. On these 4 day tiyulim we will do everything from hiking in the north to visiting kibbutzim that interest us. We will study together, run peulot for one another, have guest lecturers and seminars, and partypartyparty in tel aviv.
Also at this time, we will be working for the world movement. (I guess when I say "we will" I mean "we can and I think we should") There's a pretty serious problem in Hashomer: new olim (particularly from south america and eastern europe) are not integrated into the Hashomer Israel culture. Many of them feel just as alienated here as they did back home. Yulia, a 17 year old girl from Ukraine, said to me at an olim seminar, "I felt like an outsider in Ukraine as a Jew, and now I feel like an outsider as a Russian in Jerusalem." She, and many others like her, came to Israel without their parents and without a social support system. While we are in Tel Aviv, we can be the bridge that can help bring these hashomer olim and hashomer israelis together.
Your thoughts...?
3. After those 2-3 months, we will then go up to Pelech for 1-2 months. More on this phase a little later, because I'm not sure how much people know about Pelech and the opportunity that we will have when living there to, in a sense, really live in and be a part of the new Hashomer kibbutz.
Pelech is in the north, which will also allow us to take day trips to the community in which we will be working. So, instead of just going straight from tel aviv to living there full time, we will have a solid transition period, which will allow us to get to know the community gradually and to ease in to becoming a part of it.
I will ask Natalia, our wonderful madricha who lives on Pelech, to help me and Michal write something about what Pelech is and what it's all about.
4. The physical project: Michal, Lior and I have a series of meetings in the upcoming 2 weeks pertaining to this phase of the year. After that, we should have a much better idea about what our options are, so as soon as we have those, we can all start discussing them and chosing one of them.
5. The last 2 months: we come back to tel aviv and, with our wonderful hebrew and 10 months of crazy emotional life-altering soul enhancing truth seeking experiences...we once again get involved in the every day workings of Hashomer israel. Except this time, in addition to having peulot run for us, we will be running some peulot as well.
This will be a time of sikuming, reflection, learning, teaching. It will allow us to come full circle and share what we've learned with Hashomer israel as well as the world movement. It will also be a time to make plans for the future!!!
6. $$$$
Everyone who is coming to Israel next year MUST MUST MUST fill out their individual MASA forms and send them in ASAP.
Here's the website: http://www.israelexperience.com/masa/english/
You will need a letter from the lishka confirming that you are a part of the program, and if you have any questions about the application process (which I'm sure you will because some of it is convoluted and nonsensical) then talk to Adam and Guy...PLEASE! When you're filling it out, you've gotta say you're doing shnat, becuase that program has been approved by MASA. I applied last year and I got $4,000 from them...although I haven't actually gotten the $ yet. So if you apply now, there's no guarantee that we'll even find out that you've been approved by the time that you're in Israel. So please please please...hop to!
Ok, that's a whole lot of info...but if you've still got specific questions, you can always always call me or michal...really, we sit by our phones allllllll day and just wait to hear from you. So don't be shy. Guy and Adam have our phone numbers, you can even go to the lishka and call us from there.
Chazak and Ematz!
XOXO
Jane
Sorry we weren't able to be a part of the conference call (technical difficulties) but we had a meeting with Lior yesterday, and here are the things that we talked about.
1. Lior is going to be our madrich next year- which may have been obvious to some, but I wasn't so sure. But he said it, flat out...so he's really in it for the long hall...good for him, and good for us! This means that he'll be running peulot for us once a week, and generally looking out for our well-being.
2. We spoke specifically about the structure of next year. On mifgash we said that the first 3 months should be spent in Tel Aviv, taking ulpan, and being involved in Hashomer culture.
What this means more specifically is that these first 2-3 months will be ALLLLL about our education as a kvutza. Ulpan will take up 2 evenings a week (Monday and Wednesday) which gives up the opportunity to take trips Thursday-Sunday. On these 4 day tiyulim we will do everything from hiking in the north to visiting kibbutzim that interest us. We will study together, run peulot for one another, have guest lecturers and seminars, and partypartyparty in tel aviv.
Also at this time, we will be working for the world movement. (I guess when I say "we will" I mean "we can and I think we should") There's a pretty serious problem in Hashomer: new olim (particularly from south america and eastern europe) are not integrated into the Hashomer Israel culture. Many of them feel just as alienated here as they did back home. Yulia, a 17 year old girl from Ukraine, said to me at an olim seminar, "I felt like an outsider in Ukraine as a Jew, and now I feel like an outsider as a Russian in Jerusalem." She, and many others like her, came to Israel without their parents and without a social support system. While we are in Tel Aviv, we can be the bridge that can help bring these hashomer olim and hashomer israelis together.
Your thoughts...?
3. After those 2-3 months, we will then go up to Pelech for 1-2 months. More on this phase a little later, because I'm not sure how much people know about Pelech and the opportunity that we will have when living there to, in a sense, really live in and be a part of the new Hashomer kibbutz.
Pelech is in the north, which will also allow us to take day trips to the community in which we will be working. So, instead of just going straight from tel aviv to living there full time, we will have a solid transition period, which will allow us to get to know the community gradually and to ease in to becoming a part of it.
I will ask Natalia, our wonderful madricha who lives on Pelech, to help me and Michal write something about what Pelech is and what it's all about.
4. The physical project: Michal, Lior and I have a series of meetings in the upcoming 2 weeks pertaining to this phase of the year. After that, we should have a much better idea about what our options are, so as soon as we have those, we can all start discussing them and chosing one of them.
5. The last 2 months: we come back to tel aviv and, with our wonderful hebrew and 10 months of crazy emotional life-altering soul enhancing truth seeking experiences...we once again get involved in the every day workings of Hashomer israel. Except this time, in addition to having peulot run for us, we will be running some peulot as well.
This will be a time of sikuming, reflection, learning, teaching. It will allow us to come full circle and share what we've learned with Hashomer israel as well as the world movement. It will also be a time to make plans for the future!!!
6. $$$$
Everyone who is coming to Israel next year MUST MUST MUST fill out their individual MASA forms and send them in ASAP.
Here's the website: http://www.israelexperience.com/masa/english/
You will need a letter from the lishka confirming that you are a part of the program, and if you have any questions about the application process (which I'm sure you will because some of it is convoluted and nonsensical) then talk to Adam and Guy...PLEASE! When you're filling it out, you've gotta say you're doing shnat, becuase that program has been approved by MASA. I applied last year and I got $4,000 from them...although I haven't actually gotten the $ yet. So if you apply now, there's no guarantee that we'll even find out that you've been approved by the time that you're in Israel. So please please please...hop to!
Ok, that's a whole lot of info...but if you've still got specific questions, you can always always call me or michal...really, we sit by our phones allllllll day and just wait to hear from you. So don't be shy. Guy and Adam have our phone numbers, you can even go to the lishka and call us from there.
Chazak and Ematz!
XOXO
Jane
Monday, February 13, 2006
GH Frustrations Yield New Ambitions
Karl Marx's Alienated Labor and Private Property and Communism
Questions for discussion:
What is alienation? It is something that can be overcome?
What is Marx's view of history? Where are we in his view?
Are these texts out of date, or are they still relevant to our movement?
Questions for discussion:
What is alienation? It is something that can be overcome?
What is Marx's view of history? Where are we in his view?
Are these texts out of date, or are they still relevant to our movement?
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Geshem Hapoel Conference Call Goes Crazy
Today some 8 or so interested persons from around the world partipated in a teleconference of the future. While the main event -- an update by Michal and Jane as to what projects they had learned about -- proved to be beyond the ability of the movement to have happen, the conference went on unabashed. The prevailing theme of the rest of the discussion was the relationship between "having money" and "having a project", a touchy subject considering the fact that without money we have no project but without a project we can't really get any money? Right. After deciding to table this discussion to a time when Michal and Jane could be cross-examined, the telecommunity proceeded to discuss the difficulties inherent in teleconferencing and passed a proposal requiring all members to register with msn messenger, through which future meetings would be facilitated. A bit dissappointed, a bit frustrated, the team said its goodbyes and hung up, perhaps unsure they would ever talk again.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Interesting question, Jonny!
Has living in Israel always been the essence of Zionism? Is there Zionism in a permanent Diaspora?
Discuss...
Discuss...
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
So you want to post a blog on Hagshamania do you?
We here at Hagshamania are thrilled with the responses that have been coming in. As you all know, its your participation that makes Hagshamania an effective element of the Second Stage of the Hagshama process. It is because of this that we have decided to open maingpage blogging opportunities to any and all who wish to participate. To be added to the team, please respond to this post with your blogspot name. If you don't have one already, don't get one. Just remain silent and hope that an angel will come to you, determine how you feel and what you think, and then relay those feelings and ideas to the rest of the movement. We in turn will discuss these feelings and ideas with the angel and hope that the angel explains our side of the story to you as accurately as possible.
P.S. Important dates coming up!
Soon- Bogrim Seminar
April- Poland Trip
June- Construction seminar
JulAug- Hagshamosh 2006
Sept- Geshem Hapoel begins!
P.S. Important dates coming up!
Soon- Bogrim Seminar
April- Poland Trip
June- Construction seminar
JulAug- Hagshamosh 2006
Sept- Geshem Hapoel begins!
Friday, January 13, 2006
Geshem Hapoel: HHNA 4-year program
The few days following Mifgash provided some of us with the time to process a bunch of the sometimes scattered and always lofty questions that had been churned up during the week. Some of these include: How should we, as HHNA Bogrim, continue to live our lives? What tools do we need to accomplish our goals? What are the obstacles that stand in our way? As for the first question, we believe that this one is the most intuitive. Having myself come home to Brooklyn and plopping right back into a world of chaos and confusion, I long for the days of the not so distant past, when I could confide in my fellow shomer/et, find support and strength, and feel empowered in whatever decision I made. In my kvutza I have a thinktank, shrink, and swat team all wrapped in one. In my kvutza I am a very special person with something very special to offer. Why not just keep this good thing going? I want to take it with me wherever I go: missons to mars, missions to the grocery store (What kind of lettuce do I get? I just don't know!), missions to university, and so on.
It is the lattermost mission that I would like to discuss further. For all of us late industrial capitalists, it can be tough weighing out the piorities that seem to be so clearly placed before us. One of these is an emphasis on higher education, not merely for the practical reality that I will be worth more in the free market, but that I will develop into some kind of mature uber-citizen of the world order. I believe that this is true. Not that higher education, in the form it takes today, is some kind of transcendental good, but that in order to have power in todays society, it is necessary. I believe that in order to do good in the world, one must meet the world on its own terms and proceed to guide it from there. That is why we have invented a 4-year program for HHNA Bogrim to serve the movement (us) most effectively.
Year one: Kvutza life in Israel. It is during this year that the kvutza will have its first period of growth, living and working among the Israeli movement while learning from and contributing to the growing organism that is Hashomer Hatzair.
Year two and three: Kvutza life in Cambridge, Mass., USA. It is during this year that the kvutza will continue to grow, interact with society, found a ken in the city, run programs for the interested public, and enroll, as a kvutza, in Harvard business school. During these two years, the kvutza will not only be taking classes together and supporting eachother academically, they will be active members of the academic community. The communa will be the ideal setting for hosting discussions, lectures, seminars, and parties, serving as a social and idealogical nexus for all who are interested. "A socialist commune going to business school??? What???" Yes. And that's not all. Our members will have the strength of vision, support of their chaverim, and support of the entire hashomer community to be the best students they can possibly be. We will lead the class, offer more new ideas and more real human backbone than has ever strolled through those burly gates.
Year four: Kvutza life in Israel. It is during this time that the kvutza, well matured from their years of dynamic learning and interaction, will come back to Israel to spread the seeds of knowledge. Everything that we learned, experienced, decided about life and what is important for Israel and the world, will come right back to the hashomer ken. We consider ourselves the enablers, the team that will give hashomer the tools to reaquire, in new techtonic forms, internal social relationships and the the means of production. This means that we are giving the future generations of the movement the tools that they need to make their dreams come true. One cannot defeat a dragon without a sword, nor a giant without a slingshot. We are the slingshot makers. The battle will not be fought on friendly soil.
It is at the end of the 4-year program that the kvutza will convene and decide what the next four years will look like. PhD in robotics? political science? Or maybe just found a kibbutz, or go our separate ways. In any event we will have contributed more during these four years than we could have individually over a lifetime.
Please offer your, um, comments.
It is the lattermost mission that I would like to discuss further. For all of us late industrial capitalists, it can be tough weighing out the piorities that seem to be so clearly placed before us. One of these is an emphasis on higher education, not merely for the practical reality that I will be worth more in the free market, but that I will develop into some kind of mature uber-citizen of the world order. I believe that this is true. Not that higher education, in the form it takes today, is some kind of transcendental good, but that in order to have power in todays society, it is necessary. I believe that in order to do good in the world, one must meet the world on its own terms and proceed to guide it from there. That is why we have invented a 4-year program for HHNA Bogrim to serve the movement (us) most effectively.
Year one: Kvutza life in Israel. It is during this year that the kvutza will have its first period of growth, living and working among the Israeli movement while learning from and contributing to the growing organism that is Hashomer Hatzair.
Year two and three: Kvutza life in Cambridge, Mass., USA. It is during this year that the kvutza will continue to grow, interact with society, found a ken in the city, run programs for the interested public, and enroll, as a kvutza, in Harvard business school. During these two years, the kvutza will not only be taking classes together and supporting eachother academically, they will be active members of the academic community. The communa will be the ideal setting for hosting discussions, lectures, seminars, and parties, serving as a social and idealogical nexus for all who are interested. "A socialist commune going to business school??? What???" Yes. And that's not all. Our members will have the strength of vision, support of their chaverim, and support of the entire hashomer community to be the best students they can possibly be. We will lead the class, offer more new ideas and more real human backbone than has ever strolled through those burly gates.
Year four: Kvutza life in Israel. It is during this time that the kvutza, well matured from their years of dynamic learning and interaction, will come back to Israel to spread the seeds of knowledge. Everything that we learned, experienced, decided about life and what is important for Israel and the world, will come right back to the hashomer ken. We consider ourselves the enablers, the team that will give hashomer the tools to reaquire, in new techtonic forms, internal social relationships and the the means of production. This means that we are giving the future generations of the movement the tools that they need to make their dreams come true. One cannot defeat a dragon without a sword, nor a giant without a slingshot. We are the slingshot makers. The battle will not be fought on friendly soil.
It is at the end of the 4-year program that the kvutza will convene and decide what the next four years will look like. PhD in robotics? political science? Or maybe just found a kibbutz, or go our separate ways. In any event we will have contributed more during these four years than we could have individually over a lifetime.
Please offer your, um, comments.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
And....begin
As I sit in Dave's house in Od Hasharon I can only think to myself "What can't socialism give me?" and the answer is...the bliss of a comfortable life in the suburbs! God I love high speed internet its so awesome. I guess right now the way to post a blog is to click the "respond" link or whatever at the bottom of the message. I hope that this can be a forum for constructive yet extremely entertaining brainstorming and cultural regalia. So go for it, let the world know what you think. Maybe someone will listen. Maybe someone will care. Maybe, just maybe, you are a genius.
C v'E
-The S Man
C v'E
-The S Man
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