Kibbutz Bet Nir

At 22 years old, I was backpacking around the world after graduating from college on a $20/day budget when I got to Israel and heard volunteers could live and eat for free in exchange for working 6 days a week. Sign me up! That’s how I came to Kibbutz Bet Nir. Looking back 40 years, my heart is full of affection and respect for the people I was fortunate enough to come in contact with at Kibbutz Bet Nir. The positives are more numerous than I probably know, but among them…

• Respect for the people of a country that I knew little to nothing about
• Real exchange of ideas with people from very diverse cultures
• Lifelong friends

Driving back to Bet Nir today, I was absolutely amazed at the 4-lane highways where small, dirt roads used to be and communities, warehouses, and commercial centers where there was nothing but open, farm lands.

I remember trying to get to Bet Nir from Tel Aviv the first time. The bus took me to the highway 5 km away. I hitch hiked the rest of the way, as did everyone wanting to go there. Cars were few and far between. My various travels to/from the kibbutz blur but on at least one occasion, I got a ride on a mail truck and another time with an army jeep. Farm trucks were also a possibility. Today there was a fairly steady stream of cars and the road was paved so it made the long trip look simple.

My first shock was that there are now roads on Bet Nir. There was no need for roads before because there were only a couple cars that were owned by the kibbutz. If you needed one, you reserved it in advance. We had only foot-paths and we walked everywhere. While the kibbutz still has members, there is expansion land on which a homesite can be purchased. The residents of the expansion land do not have to become members but they can register their children in the private school for a reasonable fee and take advantage of the peaceful life in the closed community. Priority is given to member’s children.  A friend told me that when he was young on the kibbutz, he loved the peaceful life and thought he’d never want to live anywhere else. But by his mid-twenties, he couldn’t wait to get away from it and considered it very boring. After living for two decades in Tel Aviv and abroad, he is happy to be back raising children in what he now characterizes as a  caring, safe community. Funny how the same thing appears so different depending on perspective. His parents are still kibbutz members so his children can safely walk to school then to their grandparents and back home while he and his wife work outside. There is a fence and security provided by outside professionals; a small change since the days when members took turns on guard duty. This is a picture of one of the new resident’s homes–a mansion compared to the modest members’ homes.

Every home I went in was tastefully decorated.

It was really nice to see my old friends with grown children and sometimes even grandchildren. Below is a picture of my dear friends, Edi and Etie. They are still kibbutz members but only one of their three sons has chosen to stay so far. It will be interesting to see how they feel 10 years from now when they’re likely to be married with small children.

On Saturday I basked in the joy of good friends reunited after way too long. We’ve each had some hard days as well as great blessings but everyone seemed to be weathering life with a youthful spirit and a sense of humor. In my eyes, everyone still looks the same as they did back in the day. There’s something very special about old friends.

Here I am with Naomi, Yehezkel, Gingi, Malka and Edi. Each one has lived or traveled abroad but they keep coming back home to Israel.