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MIZRACHI IN ISRAEL’S NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Gael Grunewald

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“FOR MAN IS A TREE IN THE FIELD”

uch has been written about instant in the eternity of our people, women National Service alumni a
the metaphor of Man and and each moment carries its own framework in which they can engage
Mtree, but there is also a obligation.” in agricultural work in the Galilee.
less well-known comparison by the These young women assist farmers in
Maharal of Prague: “Just as a tree is In just those few words, Herzl laid different kinds of labor, from planting
rooted in the earth, Man has roots in the foundations that would link past through harvesting, in a format that
Heaven.” Thus, Man forms the con- and future, Heaven and Earth. He provides them with opportunities to
nection point between Earth and understood that the bond between the study and acquire significant skills
Heaven, the horizon at which Heaven people and its Land was intertwined and tools for the future.
meets the Land of Israel. with the connection between the
people and its spirit. It was this insight Another facet of this project
We are charged with a mission – to that led Herzl to found the Zionist is Adam VeAdama (Man and
be the link that connects Earth to Movement’s National Institutions. Earth), an amazing four-year high
Heaven. Throughout history, from time He appreciated that having one’s school program, which attracts
immemorial, there has always been head purely in heavenly matters was teenagers from across all sectors of
a symbiotic link between the Jewish insufficient, and how crucial it was to Israeli society. Here they have an
people and the soil of the Land of Israel. have one’s feet firmly on the ground. opportunity to complete a full honors
This connection originated 3,000 The WZO (World Zionist matriculation program, parallel to
years ago with the call to our Organization) Settlement Division’s assuming responsibility for personal
forefather, Avraham, to “Go up… to work is inspired by the same values: farming allotments where they clear
the Land that I will show you” – a to plant more roots and ever deeper – rocks, plant, irrigate, weed and tend
bond melded and shaped through both in Earth and in Heaven. crops right through to the point of
dispersions in the Diaspora; a bond harvesting them themselves. These
which has survived the pangs of One example of this connection are outstanding young adults, the
longing and lies deep within the heart is the Bein HaShitin project in the cream of our people – young adults
of every Jew, wherever they may be. Arava region, operating three pre- who understand that Zionism still
IDF preparatory academies that needs to be “hands-on,” even in 2020.
This unique bond is embedded in have nurtured hundreds of young
the connection between the Jewish men and women. All of them have The Settlement Division is engaged in
people and its past, its traditions, its been inspired to dedicate a gap year all these initiatives, and many others,
spirit and its Torah. Rabbi Moshe before their IDF service to a period and monitors them all year round.
Bochko explains that our forefather of in-depth values clarification, social Without the people leading them
Ya’akov’s dream is the first expression engagement, and exploring their out there in the field, with their feet
of the task placed upon the Jewish identity, in conjunction with hands-on planted on terra firma and their heads
people in this world: “A ladder… set agricultural labor that has been in the sky, these amazing projects
up on the Earth… and the top of it making the Arava region bloom. The would certainly never have existed,
reached to Heaven.” Man sets the program is attracting a wide range much less succeeded..
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ladder in place and thus links Earth of young people from all over Israel
and Heaven. Rabbi Bochko says that – from the moshavim and the cities,
this connection occurs only in Eretz native-born Israelis and olim, religious 1 Devarim 20:19.
Yisrael, the Land of Israel. and secular – standing together and 2 Bereishit 28:12.
connecting with the soil, the task and
As Binyamin Zeev (Theodor) Herzl the mission, transforming the region Gael Grunewald is Head of the Rural
once said: “We shall plant for our into a vibrant and vital location. Growth and Development Division
children in the same way as our of the WZO, former Director of World
forefathers preserved Jewish tradition In northern Israel, the Yogev Bnei Akiva and one of World Mizrachi’s
for our sakes. Our lives are but an farming organization offers young representatives in the National Institutions

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