Sunday 28 October 2012

The Weekly Report: 25/10/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

Our northern group arrived well to kibbutz Lotan, a beautiful kibbutz in the Arava area of Israel, just 40 minutes north of the city of Eilat. They were well received by our southern group that organized a welcome party for them and who are also in charge of the Shabbat beyachad that will take place this weekend.
Both groups were well received by rain, it stormed in the Eilat area as it has not stormed in a while, if the average amount of rain is 1.4mm for the whole winter period in Eilat, it rained during the last week 6mm and its not even winter yet.

Both groups helped out to take the Sukka down and both groups have been working hard and studying hard. Our northern group is living in an ecological neighborhood in the kibbutz, living in mud huts and learning how to take care of our Mother Earth.

On a sadder side of news, this week the oldest survivor from Auschwitz passed away at the age of 108. Although it is not Holocaust Remembrance Day, I feel that it is necessary to mention this news and to acknowledge that brave generation.

This next piece of news I don’t know if some you will see it also as a sadder side or not of the political circus in Israel, Netanyahu and Liberman have decided to join forces and will be running as one political party during these next elections that will take place in January 2013.

Back to our shnatties, I will be seeing them this weekend during our Shabbat beyachad; I will be sending pictures with our next weekly report.

I wish you a great weekend and a Shabbat Shalom,
Michael

Weekly report by Liz H (southern shnat)

This week to celebrate the end of the harvest the date girls went to Eilat on a group date and the next day had a party on a boat with the surrounding kibbutzim in the area. Fortunately for e girls the rain (yes actual rain not just slight rain) wasn't during the party although it was when I had to milk the goats and let me tell you that wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. Together as a group we took down half the sukkah on Tuesday with josh on the sidelines due to a toe injury. Kitty entertained us during the day with songs that substituted the words with...That afternoon instead of sleeping like a normal person Jordy decided to milk goats with Sandra (ex-shnattie and her host mother) which makes jade the only one of us not to. Shoshana has started to feel better and rejoined the kibbutz workforce. Sophie continues to be the best in the kitchen at making eggs and Lily is loving work as much as ever. Tomorrow the Shabbat beyachad begins and we promise to let you know how it went next week. Goodbye and goodnight

Ther Weekly Report: 18/10/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim and Shanties Shalom Rav,

What a way to finish the week, our northerners finished their orientation seminar which was very successful, there a few events that happened that I want to comment on, last Saturday we took our shnatties on a tour of the Old City, some of our shnatties have never been to Israel before and it was amazing to see their faces while they took the view in. During the tour we incorporated a Seudat Shlishi prepared by Louis P. and Gabriel P, here is a song they wrote for the group that I want to share with you:

" Sweet as Louis, sweet as Danny, sweet as Gabie on our tongues. Sweet as Sulia, sweet as Vicky, sweet as Ruby on our tongues. Sweet as Emily, sweet as BP, sweet as Horne on our tongues. Sweet as Rhiannon-e, sweet as Joe-e, sweet as Jake-e on our tongues. Sweet as Danielle-e, sweet as Liana-e, sweet as Lou-e on our tongues. Sweet as Natan-e, sweet as Laura-e, sweet as Asher-e on our tongues. Sweet as Gabriel-e, sweet as Shnatties, sweet as honey on our tongues!"

And after the song they gave everyone milk and honey.

After visiting the Kotel we went back to the Jewish Quarter to do an Havdala service led by Joe G. and Rhiannon H., the vibe was so intense that it even got the Charedi people around us swinging to the melody and a Charedy couple were so inspired by the group that they actually stopped what they were doing and felt the need to join us.

At the moment both groups are in Kibbutz Lotan, our southern group hard at work while our northern group is starting their Ecological kibbutz group bonding experience. This next weekend I will see both groups as we are having a Shabbat Beyachad prepared and led by our Southern group (Jordy K. and Sophie G.), once I come back with pictures I will post the on our facebook group.

I want to wish you all a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom

Michael

Weekly report by Asher F. (northern group)

So here we are after the first amazing week on Shnat Netzer 5773!

We’ve experienced lots of amazingly fun, exciting, and helpful peulot sessions, including ones about where in Israel we can visit, Israeli politics and its conflicts with the world, and playing with bazooka bubble gum. We bonded over talks, song sessions, services, and most of all, banter.

We’re sitting here at Kibbutz Lotan being bitten by flies and 250 metres away from the Jordanian border. We were given a tour of our bustan, the part of the Kibbutz with domes that house 3 of us each. Lotan is the ecofriendly kibbutz of Israel, using solar power to heat water, waste to make fertilized soil, and mud and straw to build

the ‘igloos.’ Tonight was just a chill hangout night, as we had a long bus ride and intense heat in the day. Tonight will be very exciting because we get to meet the southern Shnatties for the first time!

With oodles of love

Mr A Fingerhut x

Weekly report by Jade K (southern group)

19 Northerners arrived this morning to share our home for the next 3 weeks

235 tonnes of dates were picked in this years harvest (of which Jade, Jordy and Shoshana were responsible for about 20%, they are very proud)

26km were travelled to an Ashram near Mitzpe Ramon on Friday for a music festival, we danced all night and ate potatoes cooked on an open fire

25 000 date sacks were folded by Jade and Jordy at work today

11 New paintings were put up by Kitty when she decorated the house today

1.5 hours was spent having a sing-along in the cheder ochel on Tuesday night

10 kitchen staff ate burgers for lunch as a special treat

700 eggs were cooked by Sophie over the past 7 days

1 guitar from Shnat Zahav was retrieved from the clutches of the infamous

Habo Australia and New Zealand Kvutzah (also knowonn as the fake shnat Teva) on a secret mission to Karmiel

4 Habo South Africans came to visit us all the way from Haifa

111 goats now live in one group thanks to Liz's special goat herding skills

8 shnatties

28 days to go

We'll be home before you know it...

The Weekly Report: 11/10/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim, Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

This week shnat got bigger; this week we received the new northern Shnat - Shnat Yam 2012-13

WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHNATTIES

we received 19 new shnatties that began their individual and group journey, 4 representatives from NFTY, 2 from LJY and 13 form RSY, at the moment they are in Jerusalem where they have their orientation seminar, next week they will traveling to kibbutz Lotan to start their group experience and will meet our southern shnatties that are about to finish Shnat and could give our new shnatties good tips on how to make the most out of Shnat.

I have attached some pictures of our Orientation Seminar and next week I will be posting more pictures on our facebook group which we invite you to join: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/netzer.olami/

Our southerners helped to pack away the sukka and dance with the torah on simchat Torah, it was a rather short week because of the holydays, they prepared a welcome video for our new shnatties and will be welcoming them next week in Lotan, our southern shanties are also in charge of preparing a Shabbat beyachad which will take place towards the end of October.

As for Israel news, last night for the first time since being liberated, Gilad Shalit was interviewed and he spoke about his time in captivity, it was very emotional hearing him say the things he did to keep his mind sane. How he played chess with his captives, how he would roll his socks or shirt into a ball and throw it into the garbage (basketball), how he would invent weird games to keep his mind going, how he would draw the map of Israel, of his neighbourhood, of his house so that he wouldn't forget what it looked like, to keep his imagination flowing. He still captivates us, even today a year after being liberated he is still Israel's son.

I want to wish you all a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom,

Michael

Weekly report by Natan J. (Shnat North)

Friends, family and everyone else in my life that i am having to live without. I woke up on thursday having had 45 minutes of sleep after an evening of flights, travel sickness, stress and mass american shnattee appreciation. We had arrived at the flat at 3 am, to a mini american pajama party to welcome us into Beit Shmuel. We watched the glorious sunrise over Jerusalem together from Beit Shmuel and by the morning we felt we had been there for weeks, so exhausted yet comfortable we were.

Opening Tekkes took us up to the roof of the hostel, and subsequently took our breath away. The old city lay there in front of us, sun kissed in the morning light, calling out to us. I felt so far from home, and yet simultaneously at home.

We are all well prepped after our rules and regs and are equipped with basic hebrew and cannot wait for the challenge that awaits us. A challenge we shall all rise to, and in the timeless words of Joe Grabiner, we are so so joyful.

 

Weekly report by Sophie G (Shnat South)

Ah! What a week! And now comes that time in the week where one must write the weekly report, preferably in a witty and comical way. Recollecting a week of shnat is increasingly difficult with all the chuggim, work days, yomai chinuch and such. But this week did hold some highlights, including kathryn's joyous 19th birthday, shoshana and jordana's return from their families, simchat torah and my making up a witty and soulful song about the dishwasher during my two and a half hours in the dishwashing room at work (lyrics to come).

Sunday was a chofesh day for erev simchat torah. A day of catchup, preparation and cleaning for simchat torah. The house was emptied of furniture and filled with soap and water, transforming our living room into a slip'n'slide. There was so much room for activities! But as the day grew on we showered and got into our finest clothing for the chag. The shule service was like any other, expect that it was followed by 2 hours of dancing with the torah around our beautiful sukkah. Just as those festivities died down, the shnatties were preparing for a little celebration of their own. The day after (monday) was to be kathryn's birthday, so we had planned a little surprise party, animal themed, in her honour. Starting in our house, we eventually moved to the bustan to join her in bringing in her birthday.

Monday came as a shock with 7 am toronut in the cheder ochel, actually mildly enjoyable. Being the day of the chag, no one had work. We spoiled kathryn on her birthday with little surprises and a roof top game of pass the parcel at 11 pm. And a few hours later, in the early morning, shoshana arrived home from her chofesh with her mum.

Tuesday: yom chinuch; always a blast! The day started with a 'hike' through the desert to lotan's pepper and melon fields, where yuri managed to successfully convince lily that the army used the nearby shed to produce tanks. They don't. Following out early morning sand dune climb, us shnatzim learnt all about the details of jewish weddings, and how these become issues in modern israel. Turns out some religious communities still do the shoe throwing thing. The day concluded with and round of "hypothetical kibbutz dilemma" solving, helping us to understand the day to day obstacles kibbutz lotan has to overcome.

Which now brings me to today, wednesday. Today we were all back at work, and what a work day it was! Liz for the first time was a second milker, with a bit of hesitance, but persisted with the goats and their new kids. Kitty has dealt with the many visitors that are at kibbutz for the wedding of the first kibbutz baby tomorrow. Shoshana, jordy and jade have been picking away at the date fields. Lily has been preparing to say goodbye to her beloved GA's in the ecokef. Josh has continued his garden adventures and has just left to go up north for the weekend. And what have i done? I hear you ask. I have fried and scrambled many a egg in the kitchen and have come up with quite the ditty, if i do say so myself, about my dishwashing experiences. And it goes a little something like this:

 

There's a spoon in the trolley, for you to eat your brocolli

There's a knife for the eggs, to get some energy to move your legs

And you know about them plates, so you can eat while your with your mates

And when you're done with all this crockery, you can laugh but i wont take mockery

When you bring them, to the dish washer

And i'll be dishin' while i'm whishin' for a permanent position you know

I think it's great when i'm scrubbing on those plates

And you can watch while i wait

For my dishwasher

I'll spray on the tray all the day all through the way

of the dishwashing cycle

I'll rinse all the mince like a prince i won't wince

when i get sprayed in the face

'cause in the dishwasher, you get sprayed in the face

 

So that is a little song to leave you with, feel free to make up a tune as you read it. Until next week! Shnatzim out.

 

The Weekly Report: 04/10/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

This week we were surprised by a very special guest, a special guest that we hope comes to stay for quite a while since Israel is in need of it, this week it started raining and it was a blessing.
on a less happy note, Israel said goodbye to a legend, Abraham Eden past away, Abraham was the commander that during the Independence War when he got to what today is Eilat and did not have an Israeli flag took a sheet and ink and drew the flag.

Israel is on vacation this week celebrating Sukkot and it is so nice to see so many balconies with sukkot in them, i took my family to the beach where my son took it upon himself to throw back all the sand into the ocean, two small fistfuls at a time, we did not have the heart to tell him that we were only going to be there for an hour and he will not get the job done, but it was fun seeing him enjoy himself.

our shantties helped build the sukka in kibbutz Lotan and some even volunteered after hours to help move the chairs and tables from dinning room to the sukka.

they had an activity with Hanna where Kitty did a maamad for them that led to start thinking and planning what they want to do before Shnat finishes, and i do hope and wish that our shnatties take advantage of the time left until the end of Shnat.

next week not only will we be receiving the Shnat group but we have a new madricha, Reut, that will join our staff and i want to take this opportunity to welcome her and to wish her luck.

I want to wish you all a great week and chag sameach

Michael,

 

Weekly report by Kathryn H.

What a week its been for us here on kibbutz, what with eating in the sukkah and all the goat milking shifts weve been picking up to help out as much as we can around the kibbutz.

For those of you who dont know, Goat Milking is quite the expirience, although Liz gets to do it everyday, the rest of us are all too happy to try out a different work branch every so often and really get our hands dirty. Milking can take up to about three hours but with good music and a whole bunch of friends it takes no time at all and is actually quite enjoyable! There are these scary milking machines with buttons to start the suction and this really complicated process of hearding the goats and screaming "Yalla!" at them until they get up on the milking platform, its all rather stressful and difficult to try not to hurt the really pregnant goats.

A few friends from Machon came down to the kibbutz to celebrate the Chag with us at the beginning of the week, we had a load of fun having ideological debates and dancing at the pub.

Josh participated in an inter-kibbutz soccer match over the chag, but alas we lost. But had a great time playing. He's still working in the garden with another volunteer. He says its hard work but he seems to really enjoy it, and that what counts!

Jade has been hard at work with Lily and myself planning the sikkum seminar for the southerners, she. Keeps us all on out toes and has amazing ideas. Shes playing guitar again and is generally smiling and happy, keeping the rest of the group smiling and happy too.

Liz has been helping out more and more in the goats and knows exactly what shes doing! She certainly helped me out the last time i went there. She really enjoys her work.

Shoshanna has been absent from our lives for far too long. Last i heard she was off galavanting israel with her family enjoying the high life of the watsu and the well awaited time with her Mom. (COME HOME SHOSH!)

Lily spent the chag with her family in Yavne, but came home briefly to say hello, get a few things and make her way with a friend to the Zorba festival. She also spent time with one of our friends from South Africa who is visiting on her gap year. It was so nice to have some more of that Saffa Spirit around the house. Holding the fort all by myself with these Aussies is not an easy task!

Sophie has been writing songs all over the place! You should really hear the one about the dishwasher she has been writing at work! Her friend is visiting us for a few days on his chofesh, so the house is gull of all sorts of interesting people!

Jordy just got back from her trip with her family, full of stories and pictures of all the fun she had with her parents and grandparents. (it seems everyones families are here)

And now me, Kathryn. This week in tourism we have been snowed under what with the chag and all. The office people had to recruit some of the shin shinim and volunteers to help us out! The laundry room has never looked as crazy as it did this past week. Mountains of laundry! I had to say goodbye to one of the girls i work with yesterday, shes off back home to holland and ill surely miss her.

Yom Chinuch this week was really interesting. We had a class with Daniel the Rabbi about the calendar of the jewish year. All the holidays make so much more sense now and having lived them in Israel and not in the diaspora has made all the more clear as to why we have them. Not only are they all connected to the seasons but to the moon cycle as well. Who woulda thought? Jade drew us an amazingly colorful diagram that were going to stick in our house. We also helped out with the clothes swap that the kibbutz ran buy sorting out all the clothes.

Channa ran a really fun peulah for us where we acted silly and ate chocolate and played pass the parcel for a good few hours, and then fell asleep on the grass in the sukah.

A you can see, its been quite a hectic week here on Shnat, but were all going strong and being cool. Thats it until next time!

Much love from all of your kids. (Is that a pun about baby Goats?)

The Weekly Report: 27/09/2012

Dear Parents, Snifim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

Another week has passed, this was a special week for this week we celebrated Yom Kippur, on this day Israel just stops everything it's doing and the whole day is dedicated to Yom Kippur, I would say that it is a very silent day since no one works, there is no public transportation however it is not a silent day, I find it interesting that this is the day that the kids in Israel go out to ride their bikes, it is the day they can ride in the middle of street because there is no transportation of any sort that day, no motorcycles, cars. Buses etc. it is not a silent day because you hear a lot of children laughing in the street and this is a very alternative way to spend Yom Kippur, of course you can find the more traditional ways to celebrate, but I think that it is interesting that kids wait all year for this day.

Also this week past week the time changed in Israel and now even though it is still hot like summer we are on winter time, to be honest I don’t understand the need to change the time in Israel (it is not like we have heavy winters) and neither do many Israelis and it has become a political thing, not only the changing of the time but the fact that the time is changed around Yom Kippur a month and half before Europe changes their time, it seems that there is a lot of pressure from religious parties to change the time before Yom Kippur and thus fasting an hour less.

At the moment our shnatties are helping kibbutz Lotan build the Sukkah, help that is very much appreciated.

In a week the Shnat group is going to get bigger we will be receiving the new northern group, 19 shnatties will be arriving to start their journey, they will ne heading down to Lotan and meeting our lovely southern shnatties.

I want to wish you all a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom.

Michael

 

Weekly report by Shoshana B
A week in the life the shnat Teva eight

It began with a workday after the chag finished late
Sunday or yom rishon as we say
Was a regular, hectic, hardworking day
Lily fostered some plants and re-invented Eco living
Kitty folded and cleaned a cosy bed tourists giving
Jordy and Shosh picked date after dates
And josh gardened and then troped a tractate
For Wednesday was the day to repent
But we are not there yet! Let us backtrack, to a weekend well spent
Young jade and Elizabeth attended a seminar
To learn how to argue about Israel from here and afar
The social aspect provided a great deal of pleasure,
However the focus on advocacy was more bias than leisure
Meanwhile on the kibbutz a storm was a brewing
As people begun their preparations for yom hakippurim
Tuesday was yom chinuch and we learnt to say sorry
And as the hours clocked over some began to worry
Because in the desert it turns out it is not simple to fast
And those with less fortitude were concerned how they would last
Then yom kippur arrived and Liz and jade returned
And so on the somber day of repentance we learned
Services purely in Hebrew are hard,
And being away from home throws you off guard
And when the day ended we were all a bit relieved
For the yomim noraim can be quite aggrieved.
And from the eve of yom kips the succah was erected
And to construct the rest the shnattim were elected
And so Thursday passed and Friday will too
Lugging palm fronds and clicking frames as succah are wont to do
And that my dear readers brings you up to date
With your brightest and tightest shnat Teva eight
As we look to sukkot and only six weeks left of our year
Our skin starts to tremble as our ending is near
And the talk of new shnatties begins to stir
Feelings of nostalgia and panic and excitement all blur.
But that is the nature of Shnat netzer
Something you can never really describe until you too get there.

Love your shnatties