“I want you to explain your entire life, all of it; every single detail, in three words.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s something that I can’t do. I couldn’t even begin to try, but I can honestly say that I know someone who can do it in two.
Having spent part of today at Kibbutz Tiraat Tzvi, I now see why people live on kibbutzim. In the home of Mark and Rina Goldberg, the world of the kibbutz has treated them well. Even though the kibbutz life is a sheltered one, there is a kind of freedom that can be found nowhere else in the world. In many ways, there is much less worry in the life of a kibbutznik. In a community that stresses cooperation and togetherness, the Goldbergs see kibbutz life in two words: Gan Eden.
I may think that is a tad extreme, but this is all about the kibbutz family and family life. Both our group and the families had a good time when we met, so if one of them says that a kibbutz is Gan Eden, we don’t say בטח; we say בדיוק.
Another family we met with was that of Kadish and Bat-tzion. Kadish fell in love with kibbutz life when he first arrived in 1950. He deeply appreciated the value of labor and thought that everybody, from the CEOs of the kibbutz to those who swept the floors, was equally important in keeping the kibbutz up and running. He would have been pleased with the way kibbutzim were operated had they not changed. However, as he said, “Life is not static; you can either go with it or against it” and Kadish has chosen to go with it.
For many within this unique group of religious pioneers, a kibbutz is truly Gan Eden. But even for those who have not found a paradise, they have still found their home.