Life On A Kibbutz

Till I draft to the army in November I am living on a kibbutz, Tirat Tzvi. It is located in the Beit Shean Valley about 10 minutes from the Syrian border. It is actually weird for me to be living on a kibbutz, being a fierce advocate of Capitalism, and the Free Market. But a kibbutz is also an interesting palace to live.

First of all the place is gorgeous, absolutely stunning. There is nothing like coming out of one’s house to run, and being greeted by warm air, peacocks running about, and a beautiful and I mean beautiful vista of mountains and fields. I must note however while the mornings may be warm, the day is HOT. In my room the AC is on 25 Celsius, that is about 77 Fahrenheit and it feels cold, quite cold. A cool day here is only 100 degrees.

People also do things in a far more communal style than most places. While this Kibbutz is privatizing to an extent there is still a communal dining hall, which people eat in. There is a laundry facility, where each person has a number and they write it on all their cloths and then they turn in their laundry and it is returned to a box with their number on it.

A place such as a Kibbutz can be really hard to understand for people who live in America, or even people who just visit. It’s really a way of thinking about things, it’s more about the group than any one person. Its also a way of life focuses on not letting work get in the way of enjoying life. For instance there is a pool on our kibbutz and at 5:30 every Monday people meet at the pool to swim and relax together and then have a dinner of hotdogs at the poolside.

In my book one of the best things here is what the kibbutz produces, meat. Lots and Lots of meat, meaning we eat lots and lots of meat. Being a Meatatarian this rocks, but it really is not fun for our one vegetarian.