By Alyse Feldman
When we arrived to Kishorit, I didn’t think much of it. It looked like a large kibbutz I had been to and when I was told we were going to be working in a garden for the morning, I was a bit skeptical. What could this possibly have to do with Jewish education in North America?
But that’s when things changed. We watched a short video about Kishorit and my entire perspective changed. Kishorit is a kibbutz-style community where adults with special needs and severe mental illness can come work and live for life. It is an embracing community where the members aren’t simply given busy work, but are placed in jobs that suit their likes, needs, skills, and more. The members, like a traditional kibbutz, are expected to give as much as they can and take what they need from the community. Kishorit has a bakery (which provided me a bit of morning happiness with it’s delicious chocolate chip cookies upon arriving) in addition to a large garden, a dog kennel, goat farm, cheese factory, a winery, and more.
Working in the massive garden ended up actually being a lot of fun. We worked in small groups doing various work all over the top of the mountain their garden is located on. We laughed as we picked snap-peas and ate probably half of what we picked. The peas were crispy, fresh, sweet, and so tasty! I ate fresh cabbage and peas while talking with friends and looking at the incredible view. One of the Kibbutz members came over as we were finishing up, looked down at me and said “Wow, you are tall!”. He was also and we laughed about how tall we both were although I had no idea how to answer his question of quantifying my height in meters. At the end he smiled and handed me a little bouquet of yellow wildflowers. It was very sweet!
After a light lunch we went for a tour of Kishorit where we learned how the kibbutz strives to keep their members and workers happy, and also to produce the best products. The winery, which supplied us with a taste of the first rosé I have ever liked, is only 6 years old and has already won national awards as well as awards in European competitions. The dog kennel where they breed schnauzers had adorable dogs in addition to an entire room with cases and shelves of awards. The coolest part about the kennel is that the members who work there to train the dogs end up being the ones to take them to Europe and show them. It’s a wonderful opportunity for learning and growth of the members as well as means that each award for a dog is an award and accomplishment for a person, too.
We went to their democratic high school, where we saw a performance by their rock band. A democratic school is an interesting concept where the students choose what they learn, and at their own pace. Additionally, decisions in the school are put to a vote where a teacher, a student, and the principle each have one vote with the exact same amount of power. It’s a way to give young people who may not have complete control over everything in their lives a way to feel in control of their education. It is not always an effective educational model, but this particular school thrives in this system.
My personal favorite part of the day was on the farm. Have you ever seen a goat give birth? Now I have... four times. The baby goats couldn’t even walk when they were set out of the pen, to learn to walk right where we were standing. It took each one about 5 minutes before it was able to get up and take a few steps without collapsing back into the hay. They were tiny and adorable as they made little bleating noises and attempted to use their legs, which were more like wet spaghetti. When they were taken to be cleaned up, we went to go play with the young one-week old goats. As soon as I walked into the pen, I was surrounded. There were goats jumping up to be held, sheep sniffing my legs, goats wanting to be pet, goats here, goats there, goats everywhere! It was so adorable and such a happy few minutes. There are few things that could compare to the happiness of being surrounded by baby animals seeking nothing but love and attention. I squeeled when they all jumped on me at once, and laughed the entire time, my eyes were filled with tears at experiencing such joy.
I completely fell in love, not just with the animals, but the whole concept of the place I was in. The workers were all kibbutz members and answered many questions about the sheep, the farm, and what it was like to work there. They did their work with such ease, making it clear that they were experts who did this day in and day out. But the light in their eyes when asked about living and working there told us so much more than even their words. These people seem to truly love each day; they love what they do and their passion for their work, their kibbutz, and the animals is undeniable.
It was a truly special day in a special place and I feel so lucky that I got to see Kishorit. It really opened my eyes to be able to see the simple joys in the world.
