Page 32 - C.A.L.L. #36 - Summer 2013
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Back to Kibbutz
By Jan Martin Bang
I was lucky enough in my life to have crockery, rubbing shoulders with people
been a member of Kibbutz Gezer for in their work clothes from the
nearly 16 years, and even though it’s different branches. The dining hall was
now over 10 years since we left, coming crowded, there were more members
back to visit is still a strong and joining every year, people kept having
inspiring event. Once you have been a babies, and parking prams became an
kibbutznik, you remain marked for life. issue.
Maybe others not, but I was, forever
infected by The Great Dream. Even if It was intensely social. Supper nearly
only for occasional flashes, for me this always took a couple of hours. A lot of
remains forever. Here are some of my time was spent talking to people,
flashes. sometimes moving from table to table in
order to get together with
In the early years of different people as they
Kibbutz Gezer, there came to eat. And afterwards
was a large board at there was always the outside
the entrance to the crowd, sitting around
dining hall. On it were smoking and watching our
horizontal tracks, each kids play together. The
one denoting a branch dining hall really provided
or work place. Every the physical framework for
member had a wooden an intense community
counter with his or her building activity, a space for
name on it, and every social interaction.
evening the work Jan Martin Bang
organiser would shuffle the counters Kibbutz Gezer was never a religious
around according to the needs of the community, though there were always
different branches. Next morning, when religious people living there. The culture
you came in to breakfast, you could is decidedly Jewish, with celebrations
check where you were working that day. marking the Jewish calendar, and with
A fairly simple system, one that gave a Hebrew the main language. At about the
lot of flexibility, and typical of a young, same time as the Christian Easter in the
idealistic community. spring, Passover is one of the great
Jewish festivals, the high point
When we came to Kibbutz Gezer there consisting of a celebration dinner, the
were only very basic facilities in our Seder, during which the Israelites’
houses. It was quite complicated to cook exodus from Egypt is recounted. This
any serious meals there, and anyway, lasts several hours, with readings,
meals were provided in the dining hall. I discussions, presentations and drinking
enjoyed a certain feeling of ideological of at least four glasses of wine. In
asceticism, eating off trays with plastic Gezer’s third year we were there as
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