After an intense 10 days of exploring the depths of our history in Poland, we arrive at kibbutz Ein HaNatziv. We’re greeted by Elchi, one of the locals of the kibbutz, who explains to us how it all works around here. A kibbutz is all about community and shared responsibility. Every person plays an essential part of contributing to the maintenance of the kibbutz, land and livestock within it in. And, for the next little while, we have the opportunity to experience a small taste of life on a kibbutz by working, helping the community and earning our keep. All together, we settled into our cabin and took time settle in. We went to the cheder ochel and it was amazing to see half the community eating in one place and even more so we were able to be a part of it. During our free time, we were able to go to the local pool and beautiful Mayan as the heat was scorching hot. Later that evening, we attended a kibbutz wedding between two people who live on the kibbutz. It was amazing to see the community come together to celebrate and you could feel the simcha around you and I couldn’t help but smile.
We arrived on a Thursday, which meant that night we’d have mishmar, which is a tradition in Harova where everyone sits together and tisches, with snacks of course. Everyone was exhausted so the evening ended pretty early so that people could get some sleep. The next morning, we were able to sleep in for the first time in weeks. 9am seemed like midday to us after Poland wake ups. We were taken to Sachne, Nir David. A beautiful Mayan where we’d all be able to swim. We stayed there for a few hours and then came back to prepare for Shabbat. As Shabbat cane close, we headed down to the famous Ein Hanatziv sign where every hachshara takes a photo. Afterwards, we went to daven Kabbalat Shabbat all together. Our Friday night meal was in the cheder ochel with others who live on the kibbutz. The next morning, we went to the shul of the kibbutz and davened there and then had kiddush. We then had shiur, lead by myself and Gaby Steinberg with the theme of 17th of Tammuz. Shabbat day, I went exploring around the kibbutz. I have a passion for animals and discovered a small petting zoo with horses, birds, rabbits and sheep, which was an absolute dream for me. We had lunch together in the moadon and then had free time to catch up on sleep and learn. After Shabbat was over, we’d begin our week of early mornings and hard working. The first day was a fast but we still participated in work like everyone else on the kibbutz. We woke up at 5 am and Boaz with his tractor and a carriage hooked behind, took us to the olive fields where we planted “ perfume” sachets onto trees.
Looking forward to continue living the Kibbutz life next week!
Nemi Lobel, Sydney, MTA, Midreshet Harova
