Page 27 - C.A.L.L. #29 - Winter 2007

usher in an age of collective enlightenment, not just for Jews but for humanity as a whole.

It was only in I989, thirty-five years after Ashlag's death, that one of his spiritual heirs, Rabbi
Mordechai Sheinberger, inspired a group of his students to live according to Ashlag's communal
ideals, and Or Haganuz was born. The initial group was made up exclusively of baalei teshuva
("possessors of repentance") - formerly secular Jews who have adopted Orthodox Judaism in
adulthood. Sheinberger, it seems, wanted Or Haganuz to be free from many of the habits that have
accompanied Orthodox Jewish life for millennia.

One such habit is the relationship to work. Traditionally, many Orthodox Jewish communities
encourage males to devote themselves full time to the study of the Torah, supporting them with
donations. At Or Haganuz, only a handful of select gifted scholars engage in full-time study; for
most, the main spiritual practice is work. "Our life here is guided by the principle of 'Love your
neighbor as yourself,'" explains Rabbi Asherov. "And 'love' for us is a very practical commandment:
Your primary concern should not be your welfare but your neighbor's. Love of one’s neighbor
means that your motivation for work is securing your neighbor's needs."

This aspect of Judaism, says Asherov, has been neglected by Orthodox Judaism. Little wonder. By
his own admission, transforming someone's motivation to such a degree is the hardest thing there
is to do. Yet he claims that through the study of the Kabbalah, as well as through the constant
guidance of their teacher, Rabbi Sheinberger, people change.

The way resources are allocated at Or Haganuz may be an indication of this change. In true
communist fashion, everyone works according to their ability and receives according to their
needs, and all the income is collected into
a common kitty. "And who decides," we
ask, "how much you should get?"

"You decide," says Asherov. "When
members need some money, they
withdraw as much as they need from the
kitty. In the log book, they only write
down the amount they took out, not their
names."

Life at Or Haganuz is no summer camp. A
typical day starts at 4:00 AM (though
some start as early as 2:00 AM) with a
few hours of Kabbalah study. At 6:00 AM,
morning prayers are held. At 8:00 AM, kids go to the local schools and parents to work, mostly in
one of the Or Haganuz-owned businesses, which include a printing press and publishing house,
two regional supermarkets, and a large Chinese medicine school and treatment center. There are
two more scheduled communal prayer times, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.
However, meals - including the Shabbat meals - are taken at home, preserving the traditional
structure of the Jewish family.

Commitment is measured at times of adversity. While living at Or Haganuz is never without
challenges, the recent conflict between Israel and Lebanon raised the stakes considerably.
Although well within the range of Hezbollah Katyusha rockets, none of the residents agreed to be
evacuated, even after the village was directly hit. It was a statement of their commitment to a
lifestyle that they see as both characteristic of the Messianic Age and the means of bringing this
age about. And while their numbers are increasing steadily, they hope that through personal
example and their efforts to spread the teachings of the Kabbalah many more will be inspired to
adopt their lifestyle, both in Israel and abroad.
Igal Moria

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