In the footsteps of Zionism and pioneers in the Land of Israel (the beginning of redemption)
Where: First moshavot, Degania, Ports of Jaffa ,Water salination plants.
Duration: 1 days
What to bring: Shoes, hat, sunscreen, water
Language: The tour is originally in English.
My grandparents, if they were living in the Land of Israel today, would not believe their eyes. Or maybe they would believe. They were people who were ideologues, who lived their lives in exile in particularly dark periods for the Jewish people, living through humiliation, pogroms, anti-Semitism. And they did the unbelievable. They came here to rebuild the people and the land. They did not come to a foreign country. This place was familiar to them in great detail, from stories of father to son, stories of mother to daughter, from Bible stories, from the Talmud, and from the legends. Their vision was simple: A return to Zion, the ingathering of the exiles, revival of the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, sovereignty over the land of Israel. You can say that this was in fact the vision of the prophets.
Indeed, the energies that were extinguished for 2,000 years erupted here. And the result is spectacular.
Activities
The return of the people of Israel to their land - as the vision of the prophets - is the greatest miracle. The struggle against the Turks and the English, the struggle against the desert and the fever, and the struggle to defend against Arab rioters reminded everyone of the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, one hand builds while the other holds a sword for protection.
Some see this period as "the time of the Messiah," or as in the Talmudic saying, "the Beginning of Redemption". We will talk about this.
We will tour the first moshavot, built with the assistance of Baron Rothschild, but we will dedicate most of the tour to the pioneers of the second and third aliyah. We will visit Degania, the incubator of the pioneers, and we will talk about the motivations of this small, young group. Who were they? What was their ideology? What did they leave behind? How did some 2000 young people push forward the establishment of the State of Israel, against all odds? What did they talk about? What did they dream about? How did they spend their nights? What songs did they sing? What institutions did they build? The impact of this group is still felt today in almost every aspect of Israeli society. We will visit the Kinneret cemetery and tell the story of the Rishonim - the first pioneers. We will visit electricity plants and the Dead Sea Works, the ports of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, visit the settlements in the desert, and the water salination plants.
As we travel from place to place, we will learn some of the songs and about the lives of these pioneers.