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