KADDISHEL
A Life Reborn
against what we had hoped for in Israel. They were small things, but important, and it was puzzling. We hoped that social conditions would be better, and here and there we realize different things, such as that among the kibbutz children, one has a watch and the other does not, one has a bicycle and the other one does not. How it influ - ences them, I do not know, but it had a bad effect on us. Our ideals were hurt.... “Now we are working youth, youths of the Land of Israel. All of our energies are directed toward work and study, for the future, and for the concerns of the children — those who suffered with us and those who still suffer there now, far away from the homeland.” Getting caught up in the world of the kibbutz was easy. We did not think about the past. Life was totally different now. The place hummed with activities and training, and we were always busy. Work started at 6:00 am , and we had our main meal at about noon in the dining room, where we ate all of our meals. Mealtimes and seating were flexible. After lunch we showered and rested, and then we went to school from about two in the afternoon until five or six o’clock. Dinner was from about six to eight, and then we went to lectures, concerts, performances, movies, or discussions. We could visit the well-stocked library, or attend classes in such subjects as photography, dance, and music. I took a photography course. Many of the activities were conducted by intellectuals and artists who had come to the kibbutz from Germany in 1937 or 1938. One man in particular, Mr. Glass, was a skilled musician. In the evenings, we used to gather on the Mediterranean-style roof of the dining room — flat and quite large, almost the size of a football field — to listen to Mr. Glass play recordings of classical music and operas. He would play excerpts from an opera, such as Aida , and explain the music and the libretto as he went on, so that we could understand what the opera was all about. I had a good singing voice and joined the choir. Yagur was well known nationally, and even internationally, for its choir, which had made some popular recordings. (When I met my future wife in the
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