We started off the day super early around 6 a.m. and followed that with a 2 hour bus ride to our first destination the Aliyah Museum. Where we learned about the following:
The First wave of Aliyah took place between 1881-1903. Around 25-35,000 families with young children came here to escape persecution. They had absolutely no farming experience, yet their primary occupation was agriculture. JCA and Rothschild funded the Moshavim (agricultural settlements). Rothschild helped to financially establish several settlements. The first four that were founded in the early 1880’s: Rishon L'tzion, Zichron Yaakov, Rosh Pina, and Yesud Hamaala. The Old Yishuv includes Jews that had been living in Eretz Yisrael prior to the aliyot. They were divided into two independent communities – the Sephardim mainly constituting the population in the four Jewish holy cities - Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, and Tzfat and also some Ashkenazim. The Second Aliyah took place between 1904-1914. 40,000 halutzim (pioneers, young idealized people, ages 15-18) settled here. Their community was based on socialism and collective living for the greater good of society. These people created kibbutzim, infrastructure, and the self defense organization called the Hashomer. The eruption of anti semitism had a profound impact on the new wave of modern Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael and created the new Yishuv.
The Chalutzim were a valiant and courageous group of teenagers. It’s crazy how they were capable of all the things they established when they were all on their own. They faced complications like droughts, malaria, and going into debt to their benefactors (Rothschild).
They had no parents, or advice from any older/wiser people. They were so strong and independent and I respect that so much.
Later that day we went to the Kinneret cemetery. We first learned about the oldest grave at the cemetery: a small baby named Lotus who died at 6 months. During the 2nd aliyot teenagers were having babies at young ages. They had no experience with taking care of a small infant. Personally if I had a baby I would go straight to my mom for advice because I would be clueless on what to do to keep this thing alive. These teenagers did not have any parents with them nor any older experienced people to ask for help. Lotus was fed meat which made him sick and then he was overdosed on medication and died. Lotus’s parents managed to keep this baby alive for 6 months. Another inspiring story was a man who changed his name to modern Hebrew Natan Icar (Nathan the Farmer). This man made a sacrifice to come here and things got too rough for him to the point where he couldn’t deal with it anymore. He was “bit by the bug of despair”- he killed himself. This fit in with what we learned about the difference between hopes and reality in terms of the aliyot.
It was interesting to explore through the life back in the day of the 1st and 2nd Aliyot. At the Kinneret cemetery we learned about a few and people and their stories. Which story did yall find most interesting and why? Do you think you could’ve made aliyah at this time?
The story that touched me the most was the story behind the grave of the 6 month old baby Lotus. This was extremely sad to me as it was the oldest grave within the cemetery and it happened to be such a young child whose life was cut much too short. Stories of death of young children not only make me upset, but they also always make me think. It is hard to think about the possibilities of what these children could have accomplished or what path they could have chosen in life. I don’t know if I could have made aliyah at this time. It would have been extremely hard given the different dilemmas of the period, dealing with religion, politics, culture, etc. I think the idea is something I would be interested in, but actually putting this into action would take extreme strength and will power.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I found the story of the baby Lotus most interesting. During the second aliyah, teenagers were having babies at very young ages. When you have a young child, you are supposed to feed them soft, mashed up foods. However, the parents were inexperienced and they fed Lotus meat. This made the baby very sick and he later overdosed on medicine while being treated. I thought that this was an extremely sad story but a good reminder to not become a parent before you are ready. I don't think I could have made aliyah at this time because life just seems like it was way too difficult.
ReplyDeleteI was really affected by the story of Baby Lotus. It was the first time I really internalized the idea that the Chalutzim were so young: literally kids my age. I started thinking that if I had a child at my age, 17, I really would have no idea what to do, and I would be really lost without elders to turn to. I don't know if I would be able to make aliyah at this time. I'm a really independent person, but I've never been so passionate about an ideology like Zionism that I'd be willing to give up everything I'd ever known to move away and not be able to see my family.
ReplyDeletePersonally, the story that stuck me the most was the six month year old baby Lotus. During the periods of the second Aliyah, people who made Aliyah were called Halutzim and were from the ages of 15 to 18 years old. I can not make a personal connection of having a child at age 15, but I can connect of not having your parents advice and support. I can not imagine going through Aliyah with out my parents and after you settle down for a bit, you have a child that you have to take care of it on your own. The story with Lotus is tragic but makes sense as the parents baby fed it meat for his first meal. I'm sure it was an accident and that accident could have not happen if the parents had advice. Personally, I do not think that I could make Aliyah at the time because life seemed to complicated and difficult.
ReplyDeleteThe story that touched me the most was the one about the Baby, Lotus. I think it's crazy how kids our age had so much responsibility and had to figure out how to live by their own and raise their own family. I can't even imagine having a kid at this age. I don't know if I would have been able to make Aliyah at that time. As of right now in my life, I feel that I would be able to make Aliyah, but thats only because I have so much family and friends in Israel that I would be able to go to. If I didn't have family here, then I don't think I would be able to make Aliyah.
ReplyDeleteThe story that really stayed with me was also the one about the baby. I found it very heartbreaking that these people had no idea how to take care of a baby and they had no one to look to in necessary circumstances. These people had to figure life out completely by themselves with no guidance from anyone else. I cannot imagine being a parent without either the access to the internet or the help of my parents. This story truly represents the hardships that the people who made Aliyah had to go through. It is truly a remarkable story how these people managed to move from Russia to Israel and I will continue to reflect on what these people had to go through.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as we walked up to the grave of 6 month old Baby Lotus, I knew it was for a baby. Lotus was given this name symbolically for the flowers that grew here even though people wanted the name to be Adam. Due to an unfortunate overdose of medication after eating meat Baby Lotus was the first person buried in this cemetery. This story stuck with me because it really showed how innocent the people were that traveled here. The people that immigrated din't come with their parents, and because they didn't have elders living on the kibbutz with them they had no one to ask advice on bigger things like what to feed a baby for its first real meal. Because of this incident, they created a Beit Yeledin (House of Children full of people who could help). Noticing you have a problem and just accepting it is saddening, but these people went out of their way to make sure this wouldn't happen again and I think that is incredibly respectable.
ReplyDeleteThe story that resinated with me the most was the story of the 6 year old baby named Lotus. I can't imagine what it must have felt like to risk everything. To be filled with enthusiastic and hopeful adrenaline, and then lose something you hold so dear. The mix of trying to persevere despite this loss and continuously remain hopeful for the future, despite one's inexperience and challenges must have been a very difficult feat; and I honestly don't know what I would have done in one of Lotus's parent's place. I think I may have made aliyah at the time, as due to the many pogroms and treatment towards Jewish people likely would have sent me seeking for a stronger community and future. However, despite the sadness of some of the aliyah stories, the young who did choose to come to Israel at the time were also incredibly determined and strong to stay and never give up.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting story we learned about was the story of the baby who passed away. It was very upsetting to learn that the first baby born on the kibbutz next to the Kineret passed away so soon after birth. It was interesting to see how much the community struggled with children without older figures to help them. I also thought it was intriguing that the whole community wanted input on the name of the baby. I think I could have made aliyah, even with all the hardships and uncertainty these people faced. If I had felt such a strong connection with Israel I wouldn't have let anything stop me from making aliyah.
ReplyDeleteI think that the most interesting story we learned about was the story about Lotus, just like many other people in the class talked about. I think that this story really opened my eyes and made me realize how much we depend on our parents and families even after we have family of our own. Just like any traditions, stories, or even the Oral Torah, the way to take care of a child is something that is passed down from generation to generation through word of mouth. Not having people around who are experienced means that you yourself can miss out on a lot of important life lessons which can lead to fatal mistakes. I think that this trip in general but specifically this experience on the Tiyul made me realize how much I need my family in my life, and that when I have a family of my own, I want my parents and my sister to be around to help out and teach me what I need to know. I think that even though making Aliyah is extremely important for a lot of people, it takes a lot of sacrifice as seen through Lotus' story. Aliyah is starting to sound really interesting to me and is something I'm beginning to think a lot about for my life in the future. However, I'm not sure I would be able to make Aliyah with the chalutzim because of how difficult it was at the time and how many sacrifices had to be made.
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