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KALEIDOSCOPE

ideological wagon later on. The one exception would be Yitzchak Tabenkin, from Ein Harod
Meuchad, who was in favor of large, diverse, ever-growing kibbutzim.

Smaller, compact communities have closer social ties and are better equipped to overcome
crises and hard times. There have been several attempts to create urban communes, like Efal,
Ramat-Rachel and Glil-Yam, but they all failed for lack of cohesion, and because there was
too little interpersonal contact at work and at mealtimes, since each and every member was
allowed to choose a different place of work.

Of late, a new crop of urban communities have appeared, including Migvan in Sderot, Tamuz
in Bet Shemesh, Reshit and Bet Israel in Jerusalem and Mish'ol in Nazareth Illit. A further
variant includes educator kibbutzim like Ravid and Na’aran. All of which have the benefit of
a kind of common mission in society, which provides them with essential meeting
opportunities, but still leaves enough breathing space for the individual. In addition, even
smaller groups of 10-15 graduates of Israeli youth movements have appeared of late, living
communally and doing all kinds of community tasks.

Apropos, I am reminded of a recent article by a prominent Kibbutz writer, Ezra Dalumy,
who wrote under the heading "Journey into Anti-Egoism" as follows:

I have a fantasy to fulfill: to find 30-40 comrades, tired of the infinitesimal
discussions imposed upon them by the privatization struggles, and to set out together
on a journey toward anti-egoism in a model-kibbutz, free of all the faults of present-
day kibbutz. It would be located in one of the community expansions presently being
built in some of those despairing kibbutzim.
Of late, this kind of thinking increasingly causes me trouble, produces inside my head
a strange composite of retiring- and-giving-up- musings, alternating with flashes of
fighting spirit lighting up and switching off in turn. Those reflections seem to appear
each time when I try to consider within myself, what would happen, as a matter of
fact, if there wouldn't be Kibbutz anymore?

Timothy Miller, a professor of religious studies at Kansas University had no difficulty in
getting the figures about existing communities. By doing a bit of daring juggling, the
professor reaches (and almost makes us reach too) the conclusion, that "the world wants and
needs community".
Not that I am against giving the world whatever it desires, however let us first have some
solid proof of the extent and stability of this surprising new trend!

I believe that people the world over long for community. While that assertion is just
about impossible to test, a number of indicators point in that direction. Social
alienation seems to me widespread, with large numbers of people dissatisfied with

the prevailing way the world is organized. They may have radically different visions
of an ideal world, but a fair number, it is reasonable to guess, see lack of community
as a cause of much of the restlessness and anomie we see all around us. The kinds of
community that can bring meaning into life are many, but it is another fair guess that
more than a few of those longing for community see intentional community as
something that could put meaning and fulfillment into their lives…

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