A New Beginning
New life in Our Ancient Land New Life in Our Ancient Land
developing the Uzi. I never knew about this project, but he was later jailed by the British on suspicion of making weapons. He was the son of Mr. Glass, the music lover from Germany. I had a good social life during those years. Sometimes when I went to Haifa for driving lessons, I would see a movie or do something with a friend. Occasionally one of the girls would come along. Our group was very close, like brothers and sisters; not a single marriage took place within the group. This is the usual pat- tern for children that grow up together on a kibbutz. That did not stop us from carrying out mischief and pranks, like drilling a peep- hole into the shower so that we could spy on the girls, or climbing a tree and looking in through a window. I suppose the girls played tricks on us, too. We used to go on hikes in the country, often to caves or moun- tains. Since I had difficulty walking, the kibbutz allowed me to buy a bicycle with money that my grandfather sent me from the United States. It helped immensely. While others were walking, I rode my bicycle. Even on rocky paths, I could go faster and served as a scout, and became somewhat of a celebrity. I was even more in demand because I gave rides to the girls. Life was good. The kibbutz was very liberal in general. Sex, for instance, was not a secret, and unmarried people occasionally lived together. Some couples separated or divorced. Nevertheless, the children felt secure. They lived separately from their parents and received wonderful care from women whose full-time job was to take care of them. The children used to bathe together, which helps explain why sex was not a big mystery to them. The body was accepted as natural and normal. For instance, seeing a woman nurse a baby was not a big deal. Yagur was completely secular, to the best of my knowledge, and there were no religious observances or services run by the kib- butz itself. Shabbat was a special day, but no kibbutz members went to shul, nor did we celebrate with ritual observance beyond a modest party, though some elderly parents of members had a small synagogue and observed the Sabbath. The Bible was studied as
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