The last time I set foot on Kibbutz Ma'ayan Tzvi, I was 8 years old, my sister was 12. She was in preparation for her Bat Mitzvah. And to remember the difference between a Bar and Bat Mitzvah, her and I made up this catchy song, "Bah like a Sheep goes Bah, bar like you eat at a bar." and we would repeat this same refrain each time going higher in pitch. It was a truly one of our greatest hits, part of our collection of songs that is still remembered as a family classic. And, now I return to the birthplace of the infamous song.
My warm and knowledgable (and incredible tour guides) cousins on my mother's mother's side (Netheim), who I spent Thursday night with in the Lower Galilee took me back here to the kibbutz for my pilgrimage.
For those of those that don't know, a kibbutz is a realized vision of utopian socialist society in a closed community where everyone works on the main industry for that kibbutz (farming, fishing, manufacturing, etc) and shares basically all resources: child care, car, food, everything. They have modest houses, kids play freely, and no sense of capitalistic tendencies. If a child wanted to take a dance class, the kibbutz would support it. This kibbutz was founded in 1938 by Germans fleeing the rising anti-semitism in Europe and it was here where part of my family settled and still lives til this day in 2024.
The first generation of those that founded the kibbutz were idealistic.The second generation was semi-idealisticAnd, the third generation (today) has already privatized the kibbutz to a large extent
My cousins and I surveyed a 2 story house under construction on the top of the hill with a wide balcony that is being built on the kibbutz, dwarfing all the other modest houses below. The communal dining hall that was in operation when I visited in 1992, was closed down and is only used on special occasions. And, the industry that once supported the kibbutz, fishing and agriculture is now not enough to keep the lights on.
My cousin said that when he was a child, he would work on the kibbutz by driving tractors after his studies at school every day. It wasn't a question of whether you worked, it was a way of life.
But, despite the utopian vision of a kibbutz, there were some obvious pain points:
Though children were raised by their parents, the children of all the families slept together in the same house. Kind of like a slumber party, but it was all the time. And not until later, did they realize this was not psychologically healthy for children to be separated from their parents homes when they go to sleep. A bit of difficult childhood memories for some.
There was also the issue with money. What happens if you want to leave the kibbutz? You don't have an income. And though you receive a financial sum when you leave, it's not like your parents can support you financially because they also live on the kibbutz.
Only 10% of the kibbutz in Israel remain in the classical sense, meaning that they still hold the same ideals and visions of its founding. What makes that work is that there industry is high grossing, so much so that if the family living on the kibbutz wanted to take a trip, the kibbutz can pay for it. You can have a wealthy kibbutz, too.
In 1980 this kibbutz financially collapsed which was the start of the change in economic structure, so it had to adapt to the economic realities.
A view from the kibbutz.
My cousins
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