The Rebel: Yom Kvutza; 4-26.

Living in a Kvutza is awesome, and with about four weeks left, it is starting to become the time of making my future plans for college and thinking about what it is exactly I want to do with my life. Somethings I really enjoy about this life style are the relationships always present around me, the sense of a collective, and a constant urge to improve Israeli society. In most places in the world, every day there are certain motions gone through which seem normal and fitting. Specific structures are the norm, and daily habits are rarely though of being changed, questioned, or challenged, and when those actions are taken, they are rarely heard about, seeing as they are so against the norm, and on such a small scale. During this Peula, we talked about what it means to be a rebel. A rebel could rebel in a variety of ways. For example, I feel that in a world it where it is hard to avoid individualism and unavoidable competition, the lifestyle that I lived the past few months has presented structures where by living as a collective with shared money among many other things, it is possible to rebel against those things present in society. Or, on another hand, a rebel could be a child in class causing trouble because he feels no connection to the material. More examples and a better understanding will come up soon:
Lets look at something cool.
The Rebel: Albert Camus.
What is a rebel? A man who says no: but whose refusal does not imply a renunciation. He is also a man who says yes as soon as he begins to think for himself. A slave who has taken orders all of his life suddenly decides that he cannot obey some new command. What does he mean by saying "no"?
He means, for instance, that "this has been going on too long", "so far but no farther","you are going too far', or again "There are certain limits beyond which you shall not go." In other words, his "no" affirms the existence of a borderline. You find the same conception in the rebel's opinion that the other person is "exaggerating", that he is exerting his authority beyond a limit where he infringes upon the rights of others. He rebels because he categorically refuses to submit to conditions that he considers intolerable and also because he is confusedly convinced that his position is justified. It is in this way that the rebel slave says yes and no at the same time. He affirms that there are limits and also that he suspects-and wishes to preserve-the existence of certain things beyond those limits. He stubbornly insists that there are certain things in him which are "worth while..." and which must be taken into consideration.
In every act of rebellion, the man concerned experiences not only a feeling of revulsion at the infringement of his rights, but also a complete and spontaneous loyalty to certain aspects of himself. Thus, he implicitly brings into play a standard of values so far from being false that he is willing to preserve them at all costs. Up to this point he has, at least, kept quiet and, in despair has accepted a condition to which he submits even though he considers it unjust. To keep quiet is to allow yourself to believe that you have no opinions, that you want nothing, and in certain cases it amounts to really wanting nothing. Despair, like absurdism, prefers to consider everything in general and nothing in particular. Silence expresses this attitude very satisfactorily. But from the moment that the rebel finds his voice-even though he has nothing to say but no-he begins to consider things in particular. In the etymological sense, the rebel is a turncoat. He acted under the lash of his master's whip. Suddenly, he turns and faces him. He chooses what is preferable to what is not. Not every value leads to rebellion, but every rebellion tacitly invokes a value. Or is i really a question of values?
An awakening of consciesness, no matter how confused it may be, develops from any act of rebellion and is represented by the sudden realization that something exists with which the rebel can identify himself-even if only for a moment. Up to now this identification was never fully realized. Previous to his insurrection, the slave accepted all the demands made upon him. He even very often took orders, he baled. He was patient and though, perhaps, he protested inwardly, he was obviously more careful of his own immediate interests-in that he kept quiet-than aware of his own rights. But with loss of patience-with impatience -begins a reaction which can extend to everything that he accepted up to this moment, and which is almost always retroactive. Immediately the slave refuses to obey the humiliating orders of his master, he rejects the conditions of slavery. The act of rebellion carries him beyond the point reached by simply refusing. He exceeds the bounds that he established for his antagonist and demands that he should now be treated as an equal. What was, originally, an obstinate resistance on the part of the rebel, becomes personified. He proceeds to put self-respect above everything else and proclaims that it is preferable to life itself. It becomes, for him, the supreme blessing. Having previously been willing to compromise, the slave suddenly adopts an attitude of all or nothing. Knowledge is born and conscience is awakened.

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Something this text really got me thinking about is how i associated the word "rebel" before, and how i associate it now.For a while i refferred to a rebel as someone who for the sake of causing a disturbance in a violent, or non violent way,for no particular reason does so, just for the sake of it. However, recently when I have though of a rebel, I have thought of rebeling for a purpose, and for the sake of a just cause, or even for the sake of freedoms that should be a given, but are not, such as the Dror, Hashomer Hatzair, and other movement members did in Warsaw. This text really made me think about things in a more unique way, and I definitely realize that rebelling, in a lot of situations is extremely neccessary.
Lets look at a few things he wrote. First, "What is a rebel? A man who says no:"..."He is also a man who says yes as soon as he begins to think for himself."
-Again, we can even look at third level oppression. In some situations, one can be so oppressed, that they are not even aware of another reality. By saying "no" to the current and realizing whats going on, you can then say yes, and have freedom to do whatever you want, and the power to liberate yourself.
-As I talked about in the begining, there are certain norms in the world today, and to some those norms could limit the intention to create a different society. By Simply having the power to say no, we can create a cool reality! Weather it be alcohol, social hierarchy within the community of my chanichim, or one choosing that they want to pursue something else with their life by not going to the army, or by not going directly to school. We have the power!
-Ok, here is another thing i really liked about this one. Kind of like how the text began, he now brings up that one moment where one realizes that they deserve to be an equal, and I think he says it pretty well.
"The man concerned experiences not only a feeling of revulsion at the infringement of his rights, but also a complete and spontaneous loyalty to certain aspects of himself. Thus, he implicitly brings into play a standard of values so far from being false that he is willing to preserve them at all costs."
What does he mean by bringing in a standard of values so far from being false? Well, to me, there are certain values that I feel should be a code of all people, such as shivyon erech haadam, and perhaps it is at this moment, where the rebel realizes what that really means, along with the fact that this value has been absent in his life, and now that he realizes it, he will do all that he can to stand up for that value, seeing as that person by no means should not be an equal.
-Alrighty, here is another thing.
"Not every value leads to rebellion, but every rebellion tacticaly invokes a value. Or is it really a question of values?"
This is a good question: What is the reason for rebellion? and from where does that rebellion stem? Is it that a value, for example equality, is the reason for rebellion? or does every rebelion tactically invoke a value?
Every value is importnat. The way i see it is that rebellion is the manifestation (I dont know if that is the word im looking for...)of certain values coming together in order to create this rebellion.
This lead to a cool sicha about things that we value, and if it is neccessary to rebel against society to make these values more prevelant in our lives. Things like the way the economic world works. Is that something that brings forth issues with what can be seen as equality? Is it worth rebelling against? How about the aclohol culture in teenagers? Is that in itself a rebelion? If so, is it neccessary to rebel against the rebellion? I think it all depends on what you value.
-Lets move on to the end:
"Knowledge is born and conscience is awakened."
This is how Camus finishes. It seems, that as a result of being so oppressed, within everyone there is a spark that is always going to stand up for what is right. When this knowledge he talks about is born, and conscience awakened, how does that get sparked, and what is the reason for it?
To me, it leads to the question of is all rebelion based on equality?
What other factors could there possibly be? Its hard for me to imagine anything as strong as that. Why dont you think about it, and discuss it with your friends!
I hope that you have to power to rebel for what you value!
-Erez.

Zionism as a Constant Revolution: Peula with Miriam!

I finally got around to posting this one, i forgot!

After growing frustrations from parts of my daily life that continued to get to me, such as bust drivers yelling at me or our neighbor barging into our house with a giant stick, I found myself annoyed with the society around me. The whole thing we are trying to do here is to act on the needs of the hour, do what is necessary to improve Israel, and shape it to be the place it should be, and not what it is now. There are times, such as during Messima, where I am so hopeful and excited about what were taking part in, and then there are times which i mentioned. However, the next morning my attitude changed, as Miriam came over and ran a great peula for us, reminding us all what's going on, and giving us the choice to do what we feel is neccessary.
Zionism as a Constant Revolution: (Based on an article written by Shlomo Avineri) With my thoughts like this!
The essence of ZIonism, when it was originated, was to change the abnormal status of the Jewish people. This was a goal which many of the Zionist philosophers beleived to be impossible without a state. (abnormal status of the Jewish People: Is it really abnormal for a people to exist without a home country? Do the Jewish people need a home country in order to be connected? What comes to my mind when I hear of the abnormal status of the Jewish people, is a people such as the Irish capable of maintaining a connection to their peoplehood without having a country? To me, what made the status of the Jewish people abnormal, was the constant persecution carried out on them, their unique roll economically, and the changes during the Post-Haskala era.)
Being Jewish from the time of the Exile until the Emancipation, was not just a matter of belief and mitzvot, but also belonging to a community, a congregation. A Jew alone was simply not a Jew (eg minyan, shochet, synagogue, mikve and wedding witnesses.) (What makes a Jew a Jew? In todays world, you could get a million different answers. Does the same situation exist today, where your Judaism is a sign of being part of a peoplehood, and a community, or do we need to do things like follow the mitzvot, put on tfillin, and pray? Of course we can do both, but is it a problem choosing one over the other? I had an interesting experience the other day when I visited the Kotel, and found myself discussing this question for 45 minutes with a guy who begged me to put on tfillin, where he kept coming to the conclusion that it is crazy to think you can be part of the Jewish people if you don't follow through with mitzvot such as putting on tfillin. I explained that my Judaism has a different way of being carried out in my life, by doing the things which i do every day. This situation led me to this question. hmm...)
Post-Haskala, Secular Jews had to find a new communal meaning to their existence: Zionism restored the public norm aspect to the Jewish people, after the dismantling of the religious public aspect. (Again, Judaism does not simply mean following mitzvot, we are a whole people with a rich history. Rather than following old laws and following the word of God "blindly," and i mean, the line of "because God said so, we have an opportunity to create a new Jew, one who is capable of believing in humanity, and who is wiling to put in as much effort as possible to improving things through action, rather than by standing around and waiting. We can do it!!! The idea of Zionism is what gave the Jewish people the idea of community and people hood, of being connected. Can you be a people without one main center? Is it enough to be connected to just your local Jewish community, rather than being in one place all together? I hmm?)
What is the difference between Israel and other Jewish concentrations? Other communities are gatherings of individuals, but their place of their togetherness has no intrinsic meaning. On the other hand, Israel's collective existence bears a moral and normative significance. The state of Israel is the public expression of the Jewish people. And as such, it replaces the traditional communal religious boundaries that preserved the Jewish people. (What a thought! Are other communities JUST, gatherings of people? Can a diaspora Jewish community be an expression of the Jewish people, even without being connected to the rest of the Jewish nation? what do you think?)
This success haas meant that the most unifying factor today across the Jewish world is the State of Israel. More than religion. More than any distressed Jewish community in any state the in world. For me,, from my experience, sitting in a minyan every morning for 12 years did not quite make me feel anything towards Jewish peoplehood, or towards religion. Israel to me, has made me feel much more connected than religion.) Over the years world Jewry's relationship to the Zionist movement became similar to the relation that Irish or an Italian immigrant has to their homelands. And even more so, considering the involvement of North American Jewry in Israel is greater than that of an Irish Americans in their homeland. This is a glorious success considering that the Zionist movement began as an insignificant minority within the Jewish people.
Life in the western diaspora was characterized by high percentages of Jewish involvement in middle classes: economically, intellectually, culturally, etc. But when the Zionist revolution began one of its objectives was to turn Jews into a 'normal' nation that included a full range of occupations. This has since changed. Furthermore, materialism, privatization, consumerism, and a 'survival of the fittest' culture are now thriving in Israel. But if Israel shall be only a mirror to world Jewry, if it shall be just another western country, if it shall be just a New-York on the middle east coast, it will stop being such a large center of identification as it is today. (Although this is not the main point which I am coming away from this text, it is still something very serious which the state of Israel is falling victim to. For an idea of what these concepts may mean, i suggest you read my post about the levels of oppression- When Israel was founded, it was meant to be a beautiful place, where concepts such as collective, hard blue collar work, justice and equality were meant to blossom. But after seven months of living in Israel, I cannot agree with this point more. This is one area where my frustrations kick in. Why even bother attempting to create this society, one like Herzl dreamed of, when these issues are present. In fact, they seem to be more important that things like the collective and equality. Since privatization began, things are much different, There is no longer a very active kibbutz movement where incredible values are practiced. Instead, a society is being created where there is no room for the other person, where you must be on the top, no matter who you put down in order to get there. Zionism, to me, is not being a consumer, or having so much national pride that you forget you are a human being and that there are other people here too, Zionism is the opposite to me. It is a collective mindset, equality, and giving equal rights to all people.)
The Zionist revolution is a constant revolution. A revolution aiming to bring the Jewish people into a situation of self-providing both economically and socially. A situation in which the nation is responsible for its own destiny. No longer an abnormal congregation living on the fringes of other nations, dependent on their kindness. Zionism is a constant revolution in the Jewish people's tendency to seek a good existence, by dealing with need of building a national society whose purpose is providing the communities needs, and not a sole concern for the individual. The Zionist revolution is necessarily a social revolution concerning all aspects of life. Therefore, Zionism will not survive if there will be no constant revolution in the Jewish way of life, always seeking the mold itself while updating to reality.
For many years, the greatest struggle of Zionism was the physical existence of the State of Israel. This constant threat was the immediate cause of identification with Israel. Today, Zionism is required to continue its revolution, by forming a unique just and moral society, thus influencing both the whole Jewish and wider world.

What does it mean to be Zionist, and why does it matter? The answer to me is a home for the Jewish people, where equality is practiced, and a materialistic world does not trump a world of care for one another. However, that is not what I see every day. It is our responsibility to make Israel the place it should be, and we can! This peula with Miram really pumped me up! Kol ha Kavod to Miriam!