The Beginnings of a Normal life Life
W ith the war over and my schooling completed, I had a debt to repay to the kibbutz. The kibbutz had supported me through my studies and now I owed it about six months of work. In early 1949, our group was ready to move to the Negev to found Kibbutz Mash’abei Sadeh. Two other groups joined the approximately 40 from Yagur, so there would be the 120 needed for a settlement. I intended to stay on at Yagur for only a short while, then join the group. But physical conditions were very difficult at the new kibbutz. People lived in wooden huts and had to walk through sand to get to the dining room, as sidewalks had not yet been built. Sanitation was poor, and the bathroom was a long way from the living quar- ters. There were no bathtubs, only showers. I could not stand on a cement floor without my special shoes, which made it impossible for me to shower at the new kibbutz. I concluded, for this and other reasons, that I could not join the rest of the group at that time, and I decided to remain in Yagur for the present. Ultimately, due to my physical problems, I never did join the group at Mash’abei Sadeh. If I had gone to the Negev with the group then, I would still be living there to- day. I am realizing for the first time why I made the decision to stay in Yagur. Until now, I have never shared these thoughts with anyone. I was able to assist my group, however, from Yagur. Surplus vehicles from the United States were made available to the kibbut- zim and other groups by the Israeli government. I helped procure one of the trucks for the group. When it arrived, the truck needed
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