* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Ophir Basor, a farmer on Kibbutz Ein Harod, has begun to harvest his wheat. This year we learned about the value of agriculture in our land. Shavuot, the harvest festival, is almost here and the agricultural activity on this kibbutz pulsates with the same rhythm that held sway in biblical times. It is easy to imagine the ancestors of Ophir harvesting wheat in this same place, in the Jezreel Valley, just before Shavuot thousands of years ago.
Ein Harod is held to be a symbol of classic “secularism” as it was the center of the kibbutz movement which, at its inception, minimized the importance of religious practice. Yet today when Ophir began harvesting kibbutz wheat he declared: “For the sake of the mitzvah of matzah.” In other words, the farmer from the kibbutz is now designating his entire crop of wheat for matzah production.
And when will the matzahs made from this wheat be eaten? On the holiday of Pesach, nearly a year from now. Optimism and forward thinking characterize this harvest, a mindset common to the founders of Ein Harod who made the wilderness bloom. And just as the wheat grew here in ancient times, so does it grow here today, representing a continual rebirth of hope, in anticipation of the next Pesach. The wheat grows again and so does our hope.
Here are 7 seconds that warmed my heart. Thank you Ophir.
