To further emphasize the reasons and importance of Aliya, teach a little about Bnei Akiva as a worldwide movement

KIBBUTZ GALUYOT

Written By: Aaron Greenberg, Leon Covitz, Nehama Weingarten, Eric Weisberg

Goals: To further emphasize the reasons and importance of Aliya, teach a little about Bnei Akiva as a worldwide movement

Age: Chevraya Aleph, Zach

Suitable for Shabbat

Story: Ami & Israela

            When Ami and Israela decided to get married in 1973, it was as if a brother was marrying a sister. Ami and Israela had known each other since they were born. Since Israela was only three days older then Ami, they grew up having birthday parties on the middle date, September 22th. (That was also the day they decided to get married!) The joke in their respective families was – well at least we do not have to get used to our new in-laws!

            Unfortunately, on September 2^nd, a war broke out and Ami was called to fight and defend his country and his people. Israela was sad, but she knew that as soon as he returned from the war, they would be wed. Her dreams were shattered on September 21^st. As Israela was admiring her engagement pictures, she heard a knock at the door. Placing the pictures back on the mantle, she walked over to the door.

            “Who’s there?” Israela inquired. But before the man could answer she noticed his attire –a green uniform – the uniform of the brigade of her fiancé. Before the officer could speak, she broke down in tears, wailing “My Ami, what news do you have of my Ami!?!” Full of understanding and sympathy, the officer notified her that Ami, while not dead for sure, had disappeared while on a secret mission.

            Her friends and family were unable to console her. Even after seven years had passed, she refused to even consider dating another man, after all, she thought Ami would return one day. Time and time again, her mother would sympathetically try to persuade Israela to get on with her life and continuously urge her to try and seek help, anything for her daughter to feel better. But Israela stubbornly refused.

            One clear day, when the birds were chirping a pleasant melody, Israela heard a knock at the door. She lethargically wandered over to the door and asked in a bleak voice, “Who’s there?” There was no response. She repeated her question once again, and again there was no response. As she glanced out the side window she saw a man in a uniform. He looked tired, worn out, and unshaven. But even with all of those changes, Israela was still able to recognize her husband-to-be. And so, after ten years of sorrow, pain and agony, Israela and Ami finally got married.

Discussion: What does the above story remind us of? After hundreds of years of exile, we, the Jewish people, returned to our land. And the land waited for us the entire time. Only once we resettled there did the Negev sprout greenery and the land begin to flourish.

Operation Cigar: Aliya from Cuba

One of the lesser known Aliyot, the one from Cuba, is currently going on.

Game 1: Sardines

            This game acts like reverse hide-and-go-seek. It may present a challenge to play in a small Beit Knesset, however. Instead of choosing one person to be IT, choose one person to hide. That person hides, while the rest of the chanichim count to a certain number (50, for example). Then everyone splits up and proceeds to look for the hidden person. If someone finds him, he has to join him in hiding. Eventually many people end up crammed together into one small hiding spot, and it becomes much easier to locate the hidden people. The last person to find him becomes the next person who is IT. Make sure to set definite boundaries (no going into any place with shiurim going on, no going into bathrooms)

Discussion: Many times Aliyot from countries that are not friendly to Israel can only happen if there is little P.R. If too many people find out about it, Arab countries begin to protest that the country in question is helping out Israel, that country becomes embarrassed that its people are fleeing to Israel, etc. and the entire operation is shut down. This occurred during the Ethiopian Aliya. Sudan suddenly refused to allow any planes to take off from its airports to Israel. Therefore, the operation was halted for years and restarted in 1990 as Operation Solomon. It is for this reason that Aliyot like the one from Cuba are kept low profile. 

Kibbutz Galuyot: The Concept

Game 2: Blob

Blob is a form of tag. One person starts off being IT. He chases everyone else. When he tags someone, he joins hands with them and continues to chase, until everyone has become part of the BLOB. 

Discussion: We believe that one of the major steps in the process of Geula, redemption, is the ingathering of exiles, Kibbutz Galuyot. We pray for this in Shmone Esrei: V’kabetz Nidcheinu MeArba Kanfot Ha’aretz – gather our scattered people from the four corners of the Earth. In our lifetimes, in the lifetimes of our parents and grandparents, this great ingathering has begun. Each of us can also participate in it. In our lifetime there will be a majority of Jews living in Israel. (The majority of Jewish children live there.) Kibbutz Galuyot is also what Hatikva is all about.

            We hope all the Jewish people will come together. Just as the blob is strongest when it’s largest, so to the Jewish people can only fulfill its mission in the world when united together in Israel.

Questions: Ask chanichim why people in all these countries would want to make Aliya. How many reasons can they think of? Economy, persecution, ideology… Do these reasons apply in America? Could they?

Bnei Akiva Around the World

            In almost all countries where there are Jews who can make Aliya, there is a branch of Bnei Akiva. We have Bnei Akiva in America, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, , Russia, France, Poland, England, Australia, The Czech Republic, South Africa and about twenty other countries. (Many have websites, if the kids are interested in finding out more.)  Israel has the largest Bnei Akiva. In Israel Bnei Akiva is involved in the school systems (all religious state schools in Israel are called Yeshivot Bnei Akiva). Although America has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, its Bnei Akiva is not the second largest. Why might this be?