A contemporary Chanukah message from the shelves of our archives:
“These candles…”
Before us are eight days of celebration, a holiday that has always captured a place in our hearts. Chanukah is such a popular, grass-roots type of holiday, because its heroes were from the people. A populist, democratic victory won by the general populace. Even the miracles of those days were brought about by the plainest of people, by their courage and their faith.
And what is the main theme of Chanukah? That's a bit hard to say, though it is obvious that heroism is central to the story. We remember the heroism of the victories of days of yore, yet certainly they were also victories of the spirit that pounded in the hearts of the victors. Undoubtedly, Chanukah since its origins has been a great celebration of Jewish nationalism. Just the same, “these candles…”, viewed by religious tradition as a remembrance of the miraculous vial of oil, are also a symbol of the aspirations of mankind in the midst of winter, a universal spiritual yearning.
“These candles that we light….”, they speak with us in a common language. They are the light of an Israel renewed in its homeland, a universal beacon to mankind, and therefore a source of happiness to us all.
Kibbutz Hazorea, 1962
What's happening at the Kibbutz Holidays Institute?
Our own Mirik Gerzy was awarded a well-earned PhD in Talmud from the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem. Congratulations to her and her family.
Mordy Stein has returned to us after a year of Doctoral research, with help from the Avi Chai Foundation.
Our archivist, Ehud Rabin is now being aided by Leah Shtein, who is computerizing the catalogue files.
Binyamin Yogev (Bouja), executive director of the Institute, continues to be aided by the rest of the permanent staff: Tzippi Bucks, Be'eri Zimmerman, and Ednah Hadar.
A few days before Yom Kippur we hosted the academic leadership of the Scholion Center, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Attended by hundreds from Beit Hashita and environs, the evening opened with a program honoring the memories of the eleven soldiers of Beit Hashita who fell in the Yom Kippur War thirty years ago. Three scholars of the Scholion Center --- Profs. Avigdor Shinan, Yisrael Yuval, and Amiyah Liblich --- spoke of the “U'netaneh Tokef” prayer, its relevance to the High Holidays, and the unique melody composed for it by Israeli songwriter Ya'ir Rosenblum.
Our Institute organized the annual ceremony of the Efra Goren Prize, held on Chol Ha'moed Sukkot at Kibbutz Ha'ogen. Efra fell in the Yom Kippur war, and the recent passing of Efra's father, Zecharia Goren, hung heavy over the proceedings. As happens each year, monetary prizes were awarded to university students for academic research on Jewish cultural expression and pluralistic approaches to holiday celebration.
Also on Sukkot was the annual “Hakhel” celebration at the Ramat Ef'al Campus of the Kibbutz Movement, near Tel Aviv. Each year, thousands of Israelis --- religious and secular --- gather for a mass celebration of Jewish identity and learning in the spirit of pluralism and tolerance. As usual, our staff conducted two sessions, one of which was held in a huge Sukkah and included a musical celebration with audience paticipation, led by our director, Bouja.
Our Website: continues to be one of the most popular Hebrew language sites on the Jewish holidays, with thousands of visitors daily. Input to the site is a joint effort of all our staff, with graphics and programming by Dani Kenly.
The teachers training seminar is in its tenth (!) year, still conducted on our premises at Beit Hashita, and still coordinated by the indefatigable Azariah and Ruth Alon. The series includes ten tours of various extraordinary sites in our region, from Biblical times to the present, as well as lectures on topics in Jewish history and tradition.
Every other Sunday evening, the renowned Muki Tzur is by us for his ongoing lecture series. The first part of every session covers topics in Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, and the second part covers the spirit and culture of the pioneers of the Second Aliyah at the beginning of the 20th century.
Each Monday morning, we conduct a Beit Midrash program at the “Mechinat Yemin Ord” program in Chazor Haglilit. Sponsored by the Avi Chai Foundation, this unique educational enterprise brings together 18 year-old boys of Russian and Ethiopian origins, who experience a year of preparation before their enlistment in the Israeli army.
We have started our third year of the “Immigrants Teaching Immigrants” project in Migdal Haemek and Nazerat Ilit, and the fourth year in Afula. The project is sponsored by the UJA-Federation of NY, with help from the Israel Absorption Ministry. The project provides veteran immigrants with the knowledge, skills, and tools to conduct holiday celebrations with other immigrants in their communities.
We are continuing for a second year “Holiday Centers”, in Migdal Haemek and Nazerat Ilit. The progaram is under the auspices of the Partnership 2000 of the Central Galilee/Michigan areas.
Bouja is again leading Kabbalat Shabbat festivities in Nazerat Ilit, every third Friday night.
And finally, as usual, the Kibbutz Holidays Institute is a beehive of ongoing activity, with groups visiting us on an almost daily basis. These include groups of teachers and educators, units of the Israel Defense Forces, leaders of youth movements, new immigrants, students, and visitors from overseas.
These visits together with all our other programs and activities, reinforce us in knowing that more and more Jews of all ages and backgrounds are looking to enrich their lives with a pluralistic Jewish experience.
