receives any wages. They are given their board and room and clothing and a little extra money for expenses. Another type of colony in Israel is the Moshav shitufi. It is somewhat like the Kibbutz, only members receive money in payment for their work and they are permitted to spend their wages as they desire. Still another kind of settlement is the Moshav ovdim. Each family of the colony has a farm of equal size. These colonies have cooperative grocery stores, and they purchase agricul tural implements on a cooperative basis. Some of the largest and oldest colonies in Israel are like the towns in America and Europe. Among these are Petach- Tikva (gate of hope) that was founded in 1878, and Rishon- le-Zion that was founded in 1882. More than 25 centuries ago the Prophet Ezekiel, by divine inspiration foretold the transformation of the land that would take place in the latter days. And what' the prophet predicted so long ago is beginning to be fulfilled in Israel today. He said: “ The wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was deso late is become like the garden o f Eden” (Ezek. 36:33, 34, 35).
Kibbutz in the Emek Not far from Tel Aviv, there are a number of large and flourishing colonies. In fact Israel today is a land dotted with new and older settlements that are oases of beauty and fer tility in the land that lay waste and desolate for long centuries. Wherever we went in Israel we saw these flourishing col onies. Most of them are agricultural. The Jewish people, after long centuries of handling the yardstick, are once more guid ing the plough and planting vineyards, as they transform the long barren land. In Israel today there are several types of colonies. One of the best known is the Kibbutz or Communal colony. We were glad to visit a Kibbutz and to find out what it is and the plan on which these settlements are established. We learned that a “ communal” colony is not a “ communist” colony. It is composed of a group of Jewish people who band themselves together to labor for the good of the settlement rather than for personal gain. Each married couple in the colony has its own room, but they all eat in a common dining hall. The children are under the care of trained workers and live and work and play together. They visit their parents in the early evening and at other times between working hours. No member of a Kibbutz THE FIRST CHRISTMAS What did He see on that first Christmas Day, The little Lord Jesus who woke in the hay? Did He note how the moonlight crept through the door, And gilded the rafters and silvered the floor? Did He number the stars in the infinite sky, Stars that He passed when He came here to die? Did He watch through the doorway the fingers of dawn Painting the East when the darkness was gone? What did He think when His baby ears heard The soft morning call of a wakening bird? Dear little Babe who laid deity down, Leaving His glory, His throne and His crown. I, who am woman, rejoice that He lay In the arms of a mother that first Christmas Day.
Houses on the Shores of Jaffa
IF THERE HAD BEEN NO CHRISTMAS If there had been no Christmas morn, No Christ Child in a manger born, No shepherds watching in the night, No angel song, no star of light, Then there would be no hope today For this old world where sin holds sway, No peace for souls weighed down with sin. No deep abiding joy within, No burdens lifted by His grace, No strength to run life’s weary race, No sorrows eased, no tempests quelled, No fears dispersed, no doubts dispelled, No song of praise, no answered prayer, No loving Lord to guide and care; But friend, there was a Christmas morn When Christ, the Son of God, was born. Oh, hallelujah, praise His name, Hope lives today because He came! —Harriet Heine
—Martha Snell Nicholson
Page Eleven
D E C E M B E R , 1 9 5 1
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter