For the holiday of Passover...

March 28, 2010

What a day on the farm! Of course, here, every day on this lab for life is a day of learning, but today was an extra - special day.

After waking up, I wrote a little (my new favorite pasttime), went down to the Israeli home, ate a couple of Loquats on the way for breakfast… (one of the many new delicious fruits in my life. (Unlike anything I have seen before.)) The wild carrots are in full bloom everywhere, next to wild barley, and wild oats and many others I cannot name…yet.

Lo and behold, Zehava our beautiful wild dog was in the middle of giving birth to pups!! Finally!!! What an experience, the pups were so CUTE!!!

After that, Yitchak the founder of the farm, and one of my many mentors here, asked to join him to learn how to prune a transplanted almond tree. The tree was being transplanted to the middle of a garden bed here because its previous home was being destroyed by developers less than a mile from the farm. Every day, the city of Modi’in grows larger, and the wild low forest shrinks. So the tree was brought to the farm, and pruned and cared for today in order to give it a new home, a chance at life again, (pruned in order for the tree to focus its energy to its roots.) Covered, trimmed, ashed, and aloed, the tree should do well next year or two. Not only will it have a chance to provide us with fruit, but also shade and microclimate to the surrounding garden beds.

The really funny part about the development of this “city of tomorrow’ as it is dubbed, known as Modi’in (translation: information) is that JNF, the Jewish National Fund, thinks that it is doing good when it plants Pine trees to the other side of the farm, the side not being razed - a planned forest!!… What a funny oxymoronic idea! What JNF does not recognize is the fact that pines are not native, nor are they animal or plant friendly, (they are more of pioneer tree, than a mature one, like the native cedar or oak) So while the natural low grassland / savanna is being destroyed on one side of the farm, a planned monoculture of pine trees is being created just meters away (the farm is quite narrow.)

Its such a shame, the wild is being destroyed on all sides here. Whatever is not a planned city, or a planned forest, is a planned plot of monoculture farming. I will miss the rabbits, deer, cows, mongoose, snakes, lizards, jackals, among the million of plants, animals, and insects that have inspired me over the last seven months. I will also miss the rock outcrops, their own stories of evolution, and their carvings- my own connection to the people living here whenever they were here, whoever they were. Whatever. Israel unfortunately, is still too Western at the moment for me… the city planning is so ridiculously outdated!! They should really call it the City of yesterday.. or the city for Americans circa 1960, or the city of cars and malls, or the city that sucks... whatever.

On a positive note: New life, that is what the farm of Eve and Adam is all about. But not just that, it is an educational farm, here to teach the public school system and community of Modi’in that we have much to learn when observing nature.

Take for example, Zehava. Zehava is a wild dog undomesticated, very different from your usual pet. Instinctively, she knows how to be a good mother. She is a strong. She really does not need our help.

Compare this to Big Momma, our oldest sheep. She gave birth to two beautiful lambs when I arrived in September. Us humans have conditioned Big Momma, and unfortunately, she forgot her instincts of how to be a good mother, and both lambs died. She never answered the lambs call, and she never offered her babies her milk. It is not surprising that Big Momma came from a human home, while Zehava is wild. Of course, Not all domesticated sheep are like this, another sheep here just gave birth to a beautiful lamb and she is as good a mother as I’ve seen.

To observe the subtle energy of nature, that is what I am here for..
I believe that this observation of nature is exactly what Adam was commanded to do in Eden. “To observe it and to guard it” That was man’s goal. Our fall from Eden occurred when we ate from the tree, when we started using and abusing nature, when we started distinguishing from right and wrong. I have learnt here to distinguish that part of the tale to the time when Man evolved from hunter gatherer to a farmer. No longer in tune with the migrational seasons…

We, of course, are no longer like animals in the wild, programmed by instinct to act. We have a choice, to guard it and watch over it or to suffer after abusing it. To “create” or “destroy” as it says in the story before the garden of Eden.

Passover is this week. I am very excited. For the first time, I believe that I understand why The Israelites needed to leave the civilization of Egypt to learn from the wilderness of the Sinai desert for 40 years.. Only in the desert, did God choose to give Moses the special book I call the Guide...

I plan on doing some wilderness training this Chol Hamoed, should be fun…

March 29th,
Actually, now that Zehava finished giving birth, I need to tell Zehava’s story in full, because it provides us with another example of Man’s fall. Yesterday, Zehava gave birth to two puppies, after an hour or so, about five of us crowded her, and one of us, while trying to help her by giving her some water, accidentally dropped water on her leg. She got scared and ran away… and we were left with two newborn pups with no mother’s milk or warmth to provide.. For two hours we searched for her, until C found her under the mud house with more pups.

What is amazing is that because of human intervention, Zehava gave up on two of her pups!!! I may be wrong, maybe she would have returned for them, but if we did not keep the pups warm, and eventually return them to her (C – amazingly crawled under the house just to give them back), then the pups could have died..

So the question arises, What is man’s place in nature? Do we ruin everything? It is really a hard question to answer. If Zehava did not have us to watch over her pups, (after we wrongfully abused her) then she would have lost 2 children! We are not supposed to control it, when we control anything, we destroy it.. We can try to fix our own mistakes..

This morning, storks migrating from Africa to Russia flew overhead once again, as well as a local eagle I cannot name… The eagle and the stork flew so differently. To me, it is clear who is more advanced, complex, smart, if you will. The stork flaps its wings (not as much as other birds, But) quite a lot compared to the eagle. This eagle, by using the energy of the wind, flapped far less, far more graceful than its cousins.

With that I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of life on the farm, I wish I had a camera, and could upload pics to show you all of these wonderful creatures I’ve mentioned, (I cannot describe them in words) … And I hope you enjoy your holiday as well…

Shalom.

Trip up North

So I realized that the only way that I will blog is if it is not in chronological order. Can’t explain why now. So I am skipping lots of weeks because we just went on our first trip with all the Eco’s and its fresh in my head.


First organized trip. Northern exposure. We traveled to Nimrod’s Castle, the Temple of Pan at the Banyas, and day one we slept in the woods of Kibbutz Tziv’on. The kibbutz fell apart, and families have got together to start over ecologically, Ecological kibbutz.
One of the guys just got back from touring Permaculture in Japan, showed us his amazing slideshow of wasabi farms, mushroom farms, ecocenter in Fuji, lots of stuff.


Second day. We went to Yehudia to hike down a mountain/canyon, jumped off cliffs into cold water, tried to fish with spears ( fun, but not effective) , hiked up the mountain the other way (exhausting) went to a Druze village (Hurfesh) just to get Kna’fe- I explained that it tastes better in Brooklyn. No one believed me, but that’s cuz I tell them that everything tastes better in NY, even the falafel... but really most israeli food tastes better in NY. Maybe not the falafel, but definitely the kna’fe and lets not forget Mimi’s Hummus on Cortelyou...

Third Day, we worked on the ecological kibbutz doing mud walls and sculptures. Then we went to the first wildlife reserve in Israel, Hula valley. The birds were on their migration pattern from Europe south to Africa, lets just say it was good timing, lots of birds, among the water buffalo, muskrats, turtles, (one hedgehog- but that was the next day (it was not blue)) . That night we went to Nahalal, the first Moshav in Israel. Planned like a radiant garden city, it was the highlight of the trip. One of the moshav families were converting their slice of land into an eco-center, very cool, huge mudbuilding, we ate homemade pita and hummus, shakshuka.... food was clearly a central highlight of the trip.

What else…

It was nice to experience the ecological/ permaculture centers in the North, just in order for us to appreciate that we were now part of a large family in Israel, well networked, and only growing… very happy to camp in a kibbutz and moshav – both with small groups of Israeli's and ppl from abroad devoted to sustainability in Israel.

I am already excited for the next hike, which I believe is to Ecological kibbutzes in the South. Very excited. till then I will have to suffice with my own ecological farm. Today we potted worm compost and soil preparing for strawberry season.

Till the next post, be well.

week 2 (actually just weekend 1)

Ah!!! Where to start?! I don’t have much time, the new year is starting in 20 minutes, so hear I go. Last week, I spent a beautiful Shabbat on the farm, we made a ton of mud oven baked challah and desert, and many other delicious foods. I tried so many new vegetables ans fruit that its hard to keep track of all the names, maybe I can spend one post just on that. we had lots of wine too, extra bonus. Saturday we relaxed and had some veggie chulent. We took a short hike to a waterhole, as in a tiny hole in a mountainside that turned out to be an old arab village’s cistern. Being that it was one of the many days that reached extremely hot temperatures, we were all thrilled to experience an ice cold pool of water. I got stuck on my climb out the waterhole. No dig deal.

There is no Central Air, nor Ice, nor any ice cream /ices which makes the middle of the day almost unbearable. Fortunately we have a siesta break after lunch for usually about an hour, where most just lounge and rest.

Saturday night a bunch of Eco’s went to Tel aviv. We had an incredible time, once we got there,at least. It took over two hours cuz none of us knew we had to flag down the bus with our hole body. We filled the waiting time with a fun game called the sausage circle, where every question is answered with the same word. IF you laugh, you lose.

Once we arrived in TA, we went straight to the beach, to get some unhealthy

Fast food! Appetizer – Ice cream, main dish – cheese boureka (From ABoulafiyaH!!!, desert – falafel balls with a side of coca-cola ( surprise! no corn syrup in Israeli coke! So much better)

We then managed to work off most of those calories on the many outdoor recreational work-out/gym stations placed all over urban Israel. At first it seems so odd, but they are everywhere and it makes sense when you think of all that pent up strength in the many soldiers. This particular one was on the beach, fully equipped with just about every machine you would see in a modern gym, except you pull your own weight. . We then lounged, danced, and went for an early morning dip in the mediteranean. by the time we got to the hostel the sun was just about rising.

Sunday, we woke up late!!! ( First time in Israel, which for me is an accomplishment) We went shopping in the old arab part of town, now a massive flea market otherwise known as Jaffa. We heckled and argued with angry arab shop owners for a couple of hours and I got much needed time munchers. A pokemon console for my gameboy, (turned out to be some other Japanese e- monster game where you get their numbers, and you got to give them a call for them to show up to the battle.- I’ll get back to you on the real name of the game) and a mini guitar – that broke later that day. I was hoping to learn to play a little. Oh well.

We then ate at Dr. Shakshuka, can you guess what we ordered?

After that, we went to the beach and caught up on our sleep.

The aussies then led us to the other side of town to eat a SABICHE sandwhich. In so doing, I completed the trifecta of Israeli fast food, Falafel/( and boureka,) shashuka, and the sabiche (– fried egglant, egg, and hummus, among other things) the sabiche was best and the crowd favorite. The place was called Sabiche Frishman on Frishman Ave. the last thing worth mentioning about the cuisine are the lemonana’s (mint lemonade(Iced)) really outstanding in the heat.

On the way back we took a two hour detour to the famous tel aviv food market, I think its called merkaz carmel, which was a first only because it was closed and the mounds of garbage were in the street (I was used to seeing full of food and people.) Lets just say the scent was quite fowl, but worth the visit for the experience and the late- night bulk purchase of breads and veggies. Another hour walk to the bus, and I was home, on the farm.

Monday we started permaculture class! I guess I am keeping that for my next post, cuz I am running out of time…

Happy New Year, and don’t forget, this day is not just the day of judgment, but also the day of remembrance. Remember creation and how we depend upon all aspects of god’s creation. Remember, first pereck last pasuck, ‘He saw all that he had made, ( The entire system) and said "very good" Turns out God is an environmentalist too.

Week One

On my landing in Israel: I finished an incomplete on the plane ride for my B.A. degree (two more INC’s to go) and I watched two movies, both great, the sci fi thriller Star Trek, and the Dead Poet Society (a must see.) unfortunately it was an overnight flight on which I did not sleep so I was exhausted my first day, but on the flip side, landing in Israel woozy, realizing that I will be doing exactly what I want to be doing, I felt giddy all over for quite some time.

The farm's dubbed Hava v’Adam or Eve and Adam - The Ecological Farm,. A pun- since Hava in Hebrew is both Adam’s partner but also the word for farm. The place is more than an ecological farm, because surprisingly very little of the produce leaves the premises. The farm is a way of life, without waste, without unknown chemicals, (and without meat of course,) and that is why the place is also dubbed an educational farm.

Leaving Ben gurion airport, I took the train with two heavy luggages (not easy) to modiin (a sad place- but more on that later). I saw a woman reading an article about the hillul hashem of the Syrian Jews right next to me, and asked her what stop to get off, we got to talking, and she ended up giving me a ride to a farm she was very familiar with. I, the idiot that I am, only had the po box address and no phone number to a farm that received mail an hour away from its land. I was very lucky that I found this nice lady.

Upon arrival, I am surprised to see the farm entirely gated (8 ft tall), and with a security guard. The place looks like one big mess, with mud buildings (one built of a ship container), solar panels, an olive press, and many other odd looking tools and gardens all placed so randomly. I could not believe that there was actually some order to this madness.

I met my one of my three teachers, Nadav (all-knowing guru) who gave me an oldschool wheelbarrow to bring my stuff up to my very own GEODOME. Actually I share it with my new friend and roommate, ben bobker. Much more spacious than I imagined, the geodome has a diameter of about 15 feet! Much bigger than any room or dorm I ever had or shared. The dome frame is made of wood with metal joints and the tarp is insulated so it looks with tin foil among other things, so it feels like I am living on the moon.

I actually did a moonwalk or two on my first day. Not Michael Jackson’s kind, the real kind.

I ate lunch with the 20 shin shins or shnat sherut Israelis (most 18 yrs old) who are living “downstairs” on the farm. The downstairs or first two acres of the farm is the shin shin’s territory, the upstairs is the eco’s (Americans and aussies) on the Eco-Israel program and we are told not to invade the other’s land. The main floor- the actual plots of farmland, the greenhouse(s), the crabapple tree, the platform, the orchard, the sheep, the chicken pen, the geese, the three donkeys, the worm farm, the craft buildings, the patios, all shared by both, but also by the two kindergartens on premises, the many farm employees and haim’s family (haim is the actual farmer in all of this). So it’s actually a big community. And we also have a community garden for modiin residents. And since I named it all, I might as well mention the store at the entrance selling local products. And when I say shared I mean shared, for this farm is mainly NOT a producer of products or produce to sell outside the community. The farm sustains the Lives of the shin shins and ecos, of the plants animals and land. The farm is truly self-sufficient.

That was Tuesday. On Wednesday we toured the farm and were introduced to the many ancient and modern technological systems sustaining this holistic lifestyle, on Thursday we met the founder, Yitzchak. An old man with a nice beard and shorts, he explained to us his philosophy. This farm is a place for education. It has no curriculum, no structure. It has one subject only and that subject is life.

Some call it perma-cultural design.

Thursday night, two of my new friends, Anna and Danielle, both from Boston, took an hour walk to modiin’s city proper. The architecture is quite homogenous, a great example of an entirely modernist (the entire city was planned). The city tries too hard to be a modern interpretation of an ancient historic city, yet fails miserably. The building design is not all that bad, and the houses are cool if you’re a fan of modernism. But the city was designed with the modernist belief that the automobile is the chosen form of transportation, and for this the city really sucks. The city is not walker friendly, there’s very little culture, slim to none coffee shops, bars, etc… Except for really large malls with everything you need. Last time I go there for a night.

Also – we saw a woman using an elliptical machine at ten o’clock at night in a thin strip park running between two halves of a highway. So weird.

Before I go, I want to mention that the food here is amazing. Its funny, but this summer I felt that I must fatten up before moving here. No meat is allowed on the premises. (You must consume it all at the gate.) The food here is abundant and delicious. Its not entirely homegrown, but a good percentage is. We get necessary oils and grains en masse from bulk stores. Just to give you an idea about the food, I will detail Yesterday’s lunch. A Pea soup with cumin spice (tried to get recipes but the people who made it weren't sure), and a spicy curry stir-fry over paprika-ed yellow rice. For desert, homemade cookies and apple pie. And when one is hungry you just go up to the millions of plants and eat what you want. Tomatoes, corn, FIGSSSSS, (crazy fig tree small hike up a mountain) sabras (look it up), sunflower seeds, carob, etc… and I just harvested some basil for Shabbat dinner, and I am heading to go grab some eggplant from the vine to add to my daal I am helping make for 25 ppl tonight. We cook our own food, three meals a day.

OK - One last thing worth mentioning is what I plan to learn. If you don’t know yet, its agriculture, building, and food. Those are the big three. But it’s going to be a lot more than that. I also plan to erase my millions of bad habits. I already got rid of two, those being that I am bad with names, and waking up late. Woke up at seven today but a five AM the two days before. It may be the jetlag - we'll see.

I hope you enjoyed that snippet of my life. And let me know if it’s too long. I figure the first entry can be a little long. I realize that future posts will need to be editted down, because this is even too long for mew to try and read. I hope I can update it weekly on Fridays (weekend is Friday Saturdays here) I want to describe the many complex systems set in place here, as well as my work (and recipes) , and everything else.

and the outdoor solar shower is frikin awesome.

Miss you all.

Abraham