Page 18 - C.A.L.L. #38 - Summer 2014

To the editors of C.A.L.L.,

A few days ago I received your C.A.L.L. magazine – thank you for this issue. I was
interested to read the various articles on intentional communities around the world.
When I got to “Kibbutz Shorts” my interest rose to a higher pitch! What caught my
attention was “No Private Property”. Those words are exactly the main purpose of
community.

Having grown up on a Bruderhof community in Paraguay, South America, we children
were taught that no one owns anything. Everything a family needs will be provided by
the community. Later living in a community in Connecticut, USA, I married one of the
daughters of Hans and Margaret Meier. Spending considerable time over the following
years at Hans and Margrit Meier’s house, I came to love the many discussions that Hans
had. He was socially minded and loved to discuss topics of the day. In the 1960’s and
1970’s he hosted many kibbutz members who came to visit him and our Bruderhof
community. The most frequently discussed topics were: What do the Kibbutz movement
and the Brudehof share in common? What is your and our witness for Israel and the
world? We discussed these and many questions down to the details! One question which

came up more than once was the word “community”. Hans always said, “It means common
unity. We all should be united in our communities”.

…I was glad to read at the end of your article that you are asking for input, discussion

and dialogue. All I can say is that when I first learned about the Zionist movement and
what was happening in Israel, I got very excited. Our Bruderhof started to learn some
of the Israeli dances and songs and wished for more visits and contacts with the
Kibbutz movement. Once when we had visitors from Israel, one of them said, “Your
Bruderhof movement and our Zionist movement are like two movements on two sides of
a river. Now the river is so wide that no bridge can span the water”. Hans Meier
responded, “Down river it gets harder and harder, but if you and we go upstream back
to the Source, we will meet there”.

So we still hope for the time when both movements come together at the Source. We
need to discover again that community is more than houses where individuals live, but a
joy and strength in living, working together to have a common table where we eat
together. A place where we worship and praise together a place where “Shalom” is lived

out. This will be a witness to our country, to our neighbours, and indeed, to the whole
world.

I greet you with our greeting of “Shalom”.

Paul Kaiser
Danthonia
4188 Gwydir Hwy

Elsmore NSW 2360
Australia

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