8 Tevet 5784
December 20, 2023
Dear K.I.N.S. Family
Today, the Senior Class and I returned to the Anava Winery to work in the vineyard and the adjacent olive orchard. The kids were assigned two tasks in the vineyard: string wires to finish the vineyard trellises and dig out a perimeter fence while flattening the ground around it. While in the olive orchard, they were pruning olive trees that had gone unattended for nearly a decade and, as a result, were no longer bearing fruit.
The students worked with pruning shears and saws, wire-cutters, shovels, rakes, and hoes, not the typical tools for seniors in high school, but, as the owner of the 100 dunam property (that's about 25 acres) explained to us, more than 150,000 Palestinian workers are no longer coming into Israel, and more than 300,000 reservists are serving in Tzahal. This wartime has created a severe shortage of workers. Without our students and the thousands of other volunteers from Israel and abroad, the economy would suffer severe setbacks, especially in the agricultural realm where crops must be cared for or lost.
In the vineyard, our volunteer efforts were especially important because this will be the first year the grapes can be harvested and used. After all, as he explained, this year, the fruit is no longer "orlah" (forbidden by the Torah to eat) but "neta revai" - and once redeemed it will be permitted fruits. But only if the fields would be ready to yield a harvest. As one of our students commented, never before did she realize the risks farmers take when raising crops and the long-term investment needed. And with that, she had an "ah ha moment," finally appreciating why we pray for rain!
And yes, I did string wires for the trellises (I can now tell you how the vine grows upwards, spreads out on the second wire, and then expands upwards onto the third wire). I was also digging with a hoe and even did a little pruning, all of which I discovered afterward was documented by our students on Instagram.
But they couldn't possibly document the nachas I had watching them work and seeing their connection to the land grow.
This evening, we had a panel of three former ICJA students speak to our seniors about their aliyah journey. Heather Andron, Aliza (Mainzer) Hughes, Orpaz (Levy) Levi, and Aaron Friedman. Each had a different story of their aliyah but shared the same story of their love for Israel and the opportunities Israel has provided for their children. It was one of those great moments when one generation looks back and shares their experiences with the next generation.
But it was more than that, because they reflected on what living in Israel at this time means. One of the most inspiring stories was of Aaron Friedman, a former K.I.N.S. member, who made aliyah when he was twenty-seven and was exempted from the draft. When the war broke out, he heard about the special program Israel had created for older Charedi yeshiva students. To enlist, Aaron enrolled in a yeshiva to enlist in the army through that program. He did his two weeks of basic training, graduated as the "chayal mitztayen" and has been serving for the past six weeks as a reservist. He arrived in full uniform and with his M-16 (active duty soldiers must carry their weapons), and he told us - "This has been the biggest privilege of my life, to protect my land and my family, to be part of the Jewish story. Because this is not just a fight for Israel, this is a fight for the entire Jewish people."
Another interesting moment was when Aliza Hughes (another former K.I.N.S. member) told the kids that despite her optimism, Israel is at war, and there are concerns and worries. But then she said that watching the news, what is happening on American college campuses seems just as scary.
This is an unfortunate reality of the media - something the Ralbag wrote about in Sefer Shoftim nearly a thousand years ago, that what people want to read and learn the most from are the extremes of life. Watching the American news, the only pictures you see are of Israel at war. Nowhere do you see the exceptional chesed, the volunteerism, and the day-to-day normal parts of life?
While on previous trips, I saw and learned so much about the tragedy of October 7th, this trip teaches me about the blessings of October 8th and beyond.
The challenges before us are great, but so are the Jewish people, and we will come out of this stronger and better.
To prove it, one needs to go no further than an amazing audio message I heard from Iris Chaim, the mother of Yotam Chaim, who was one of the three hostages whom Tzahal accidentally killed. The recording was sent to the soldiers in Battalion 7828 Unit 17, and she told them that she was "sending them her love and hugs," assuring them that she and her husband and children bear no animosity towards them for the death of her son, "only Hamas, ימ"ש was responsible." "Take care of yourselves... visit us as soon as you can so we can tell you that what you did, despite the sadness, must have been the right thing in the moment." (Click here to hear the full Hebrew audio.)
Now, that is true greatness, and that is the reason we can be assured that we will emerge from this crisis closer to the ultimate geulah.
B'vracha,
Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky
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