Page 18 - HaMizrachi TuBiShvat 5784 North America

Doing our Part

Jennifer Niman

n Shabbat October 7 – Shemini On day 4, we pruned, picked and packed
Atzeret in chutz la’aretz – my hus- cherry tomatoes, which was fun and up
band came home from shul and my alley since we could sit down while
Osaid he heard a war broke out in working. This farm even had a bathroom!
Israel. My neighbor heard something about
Arab paragliders over the Gaza border. It On day 5, my friend Perla and I packaged
all sounded like crazy science fiction until passion fruits, called passiflora in Hebrew,
Sunday night, when yom tov ended and we which was a beautiful and fragrant activ-
saw the news. The real news. It was all ity. The guys went to pick pineapples – a
true, and worse than anything we could much harder task.
have imagined. Newscasters on CNN, Jennifer preparing sandwiches for soldiers. Every night at 6 PM we were served a
usually no friends of Israel, were openly Nothing fancy, but it was clean with delicious Israeli dinner – usually schnitzel
crying during the broadcast. Horrifying decent bathrooms and beds, and the price
images, stories of pogroms, hostages, rape, was right (free!). with all the Israeli salads and dips. Work-
murders, beheadings… And yes, paraglid- ing on a farm certainly builds an appetite!
ers infiltrating over the border. We arrived at the moshav on a Sunday After dinner, we’d walk around the moshav
morning. Our driver Daniel, a gentleman and watch the fireballs explode over Gaza,
For days, we in chutz la’aretz walked proudly knowing it’s “our boys” taking
around in a daze, trying to get accurate from South Carolina, generously rented a care of business and keeping us safe. We
news. Nothing was good. So many killed, large van to drive us all down from Jeru- heard no sirens and saw no missiles. We
so many kidnapped. And in the pit of our salem. We were a motley crew – a couple slept deeply each night, like true manual
stomachs, more than anything, we felt: of 60-something ladies from LA, two olim laborers.
what can I do to help? and two Jews from New York – all heading
south for an adventure and to work the Over the next two weeks, I volunteered in
Finally an email went out asking for vol- Land. other locations, making sandwiches for
unteers at Israeli farms. I filled out the soldiers at Aroma in Beit Shemesh, helping
form right away and quietly was thankful We spent five full days working. Upon at an old age home that lost its foreign
they didn’t ask for my age! I was told that I arrival, we went straight to a tomato
was accepted, to buy a ticket and let them greenhouse field, where we were told to workers, and tying tzitzit for soldiers.
know my arrival date. trim the leaves off the branches from the I encourage all of my peers who have not
knees down. We started by bending over made Aliyah yet to go volunteer. You will
It wasn’t very organized; I didn’t even but after 15 minutes – oy, our backs hurt.
know who I was corresponding with. Just We dropped to our knees. After 20 minutes get more out of it than you can imagine –
show up? Really? OK! and our people need us.
our knees hurt! So we dropped onto our
So I did. I bought a ticket to arrive in Israel tushes, and scooted from one plant to the Watch Mizrachi’s video featuring Jennifer and
on November 29. I ordered gardening next. We were trimming and laughing all the other volunteers at: youtu.be/h7wjl6l2CCk
gloves, packed my baseball hat collection, at once! We kept at it until sunset. After
a sweatshirt, two pairs of sneakers, and showering, we were hosted by a moshav
off I went. family for a delicious 3-course salmon
Thank G-d I joined some Facebook and dinner, including homemade ice cream.
WhatsApp groups targeted towards other It was so meaningful to meet this family
potential volunteers. This opened up so with nine children, whose husband and
many options. I joined a WhatsApp group father was fighting in Gaza – just a few
manned by a couple of tzaddikim in New kilometers away, but another world. Jennifer (Korobkin) Niman
Jersey and signed up to volunteer in Bnei Days 2 and 3 took us to the dragonfruit was raised and still lives in Los Angeles.
Jennifer travels to Israel as often as she can
Netzarim in the Gaza envelope to do what- fields, where we learned to tie the cac- to see her Yerushalmi kids and most recently
ever farm work they needed.
tus-like leaves in an upward position. It to volunteer in the October 7 war effort
The moshav has a midrasha whose dorms was prickly and difficult work! Our neigh- for a full month. Jennifer and her husband
were perfect for housing us volunteers. bors were the milk cows mooing all day. Tzvi aspire to make Aliyah in the future.

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