A New Beginning
New life in Our Ancient Land New Life in Our Ancient Land
everything, sacrifice the present, in order to reach the future, to reach a point that seemed sacred to us. “There is no way to describe the instant when we boarded the train to go to Germany. We were beginning the journey to the Holy Land! We were so excited that we could hardly speak. But this moment was forgotten soon. More important moments on our way to our destination arrived. Such was the time when we boarded the ship, the ship that steamed bravely to the shore of our homeland. The days felt like years, especially the last day on board. We de- scended in Atlit, and the bus came to take us to our new, permanent home. In this home, people work their land, and with hard work they provide for themselves — these people standing near the gate and waiting with open arms for us to arrive. “On that day, we crossed through Haifa. We saw workers and youngsters demonstrate with red flags and, with these flags, express the freedom they achieved in their land. And here, we were accept- ed in Yagur. We felt the people wanted the best for us, with all their hearts. And now a year has passed. We are now an organized chevra (community). Now, we are not just people brought together around one table by conditions or a situation. Each member of the group knows that he is building a home for the future, that he is building a strong foundation for generations. We feel our own progress. We have achieved great things in our chevra. We have a common trea- sury, which is the base for collective and social life, and we strive with all our hearts for progress, and to fulfill our goals. “When I recall the first days of our arrival, I do not recognize myself. Getting used to normal life was difficult for us. For several years, we had gotten used to arriving in a place and waiting for the day we would leave it, and getting closer to our destination. And now we have arrived. Believing that we are actually supposed to stay here and build our lives was hard. In my vision, it was a holy thing. In reality, it is not perfect. When you return to a normal life, you start to notice details that you did not notice before. Everything that was wrong in exile, we hoped would change here in this coun- try. In the first days in Yagur, we noticed small details that went
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