Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu By Karen Guth it is difficult to give credence to those who say that we are living in the "post- Zionist" era as we read about the latest Nefesh B'Nefesh flight of North American Jews landing in the Holy Land with their fortunes, hopes, and dreams. Our family made aliyah in 2000, before Nefesh B'Nefesh existed, and what we have seen is a blossoming and revival of the Zionism that created the modern State of Israel. One that, we hope will bring us to a future of continued growth, innovation, and please G-d, peace in our region. Although there are many areas where one can witness the success of the Zionist endeavor in Israel, there is one place in particular that has steadily embodied the noblest aspects of our Movement.

This place is Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, in the "Becca," the Beit Shean Valley. For the past six years I have spent two to three weeks every summer volunteering on the kibbutz. I teach English to the "Chaverim." My students range in age from 7 to the mid-80s. They join me everyday, for private and semi-private lessons. We read, write, laugh, and talk to each other. Our sages tell us that we can learn from many people - our parents, teachers, friends; however, from our students we learn the most. This has certainly been my experience, all of my life as a teacher, and especially in Sde Eliyahu.

Sde Eliyahu just celebrated its 70th year of existence. Most of its founders were young Jewish youth from France, Italy, Eastern Europe, and Germany who narrowly escaped the horrors of the Shoah. Many came alone, without family, to pre-State Israel to build a community based upon, Jewish religious values and Socialist ideals of sharing with one another, and caring for the welfare of the community, not just meeting the individual's needs. Today, the kibbutz still values those ideals, which provides a sharp contrast to the Western, "what's in it for me" philosophy. Sde Eliyahu is the home of Mario Levy, the father of organic farming in Israel. Now in his 80s, Mario continues to plant, tend and harvest his organic vegetables and lecture on organic fertilizers. When you speak with Mario you know you are in the presence of one who is kind yet strong, intelligent yet humble, dedicated yet flexible. Mario says that the greatest asset we have here in Israel is our ability to "think," to problem solve. This skill is one that we must preserve and nurture if we want to continue to survive and to thrive.

Sde Eliyahu is also the home of Malka Hess, one of the leading experts in educating young children in kindergartens. Malka and her hus- band Kloni are founding members of the kibbutz. Malka continues to write and lecture on her philosophy of creating learning environments with real objects, to encourage young people to work together, problem solve, and create art that expresses their innermost feelings and beliefs. Her philosophy has been embraced all over Israel and in many other parts of the world. She was among the first in the kibbutz movement to argue that children should be living with their parents and not in children's houses.

Currently, Sde Eliyahu grows, packages and sells a whole line of organic spices and grape juice. An extension of their organic farming business is the Bio-Bee and Bio-Fly products. The kibbutz raises bumblebees, which they sell to greenhouses to help them pollinate their flowers. They also breed different types of bugs, which eat insects or their larva, both of which can be detrimental to crops. This allows farmers to keep from having to use pesticides. Bio- Continued on p. M42 Fly is a relatively new endeavor. The scientists at Sde Eliyahu grow fruit fly larva, sterilize the males of the species, and put them back into nature. Because they are sterilized, they are not able to inseminate the female eggs, thus bringing the fruit fly population down and enabling farmers to have healthier and better produce. Sde Eliyahu is also a sanctuary for old and injured donkeys. The donkeys love to eat the weeds around the date palm trees, which enables the trees to remain healthy and pesticide-free. Many barn owls also make their home on the kibbutz, helping to control the mouse population.

Every summer the kibbutz youth run a two week summer camp, for children from all over the country with Down Syndrome. The magic that spreads through out the camp during this time, makes one feel that, if only for this, the nation is worthy of Moshiach's speedy arrival. Over the years, Sde Eliyahu has been home to several groups of Ulpan students, young people learning for conversion to Judaism, lone soldiers from abroad, and post army kollel students who learn religious studies and work.

The values of work and learning go hand in hand at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. There are always classes, lectures, and opportunities for members to continue their higher education, become involved in projects outside of the kibbutz and even work in other areas not affiliated with the kibbutz. A recent article in an Israeli paper stated that Sde Eliyahu has more combat soldiers in the army than any other kibbutz. In addition, studies have been conducted that show the life expectancy in the kibbutz far exceeds that of most other places in the world.

Over the past six years I have had the honor and blessing of becoming a part of these clmverim's lives. We share with one another our stories, our successes, our failures, and our dreams. The kibbutz is thriving because of its combined faith in Judaism and hard work, building the Land, keeping the mitzvot, and caring about our fellow Jews. In other words, the Zionist Idea. If Sde Eliyahu is any indication of where the Jewish people in the land of Israel are going in the future, those people on the Nefesh B'Nefesh flights are not a part of any "post-Zionist" era, on the contrary, they are very much a part of the fulfillment of the prayer in which we realize the ingathering of our exiles to revitalize and rebuild the holy land of Eretz Yisrael. Kol ha'kavod to you all. May we all, with G-d's help, continue to go from strength to strength. For more information on Sde Eliyahu check out: unncbio-tour.com or httjrJ/uww\$de.org.il All the pictures on this page are of Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu