"כי האדם הוא עץ השדה”
“Being Trees”
On the opening of our new Israel Corps-Project TEN center at Shaar LaAdam,
By Debbie Jacobson-Maisels, Center Director
“Do know that each and every shepherd has his own tune
Do know that each and every grass has its own song.
And from the song of the grasses a tune of a shepherd is made.
How beautiful, how beautiful and pleasant to hear their song….
And from the song of the grasses the heart is awake and quieted.”
(From ‘Song of the Grasses” Words and music by Naomi Shemer, inspired by Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav, translation hazon.org)
How do you learn to love nature? Pause, close your eyes, listen to the sounds of the trees rustling in the wind. As Rebbe Nachman of Breslev call us to do, listen to the unique melody of each blade of grass, each flower. At Sha’ar LaAdam (Gate for Humanity) - the site of Israel Corps Project TEN’s new center - we place a similar demand on humanity- to pause and listen to each person’s unique melody. Open your heart and listen to her story, see her humanity and together we will repair the world.
It is not a coincidence that the unique Arab-Jewish coexistence center in the Galilee is located in a stunning forest of pine trees between Kibbutz Harduf and the Arab village of Ka’abiye. The trees infuse the center with their generations' old wisdom gleaned directly from the earth. The trees form a protective circle of care, warmth and shade for the circles of Jewish and Arab children, teens and adults gathering together for listening circles, joint theater programs and song.
In addition to pine trees, Sha’ar LaAdam has planted olive trees in the forest as a symbol of peace. “It isn’t easy to cultivate olive trees and pine trees together - pine trees are dominating and olive trees require a lot of light. Growing them together takes a lot of hard work and care - just like the peace process,” says Faiz Swa’ed co-director and co-founder of the center. “But it is worth it because what emerges in the end is a blessing, a sort of middle path of heart between the qualities of consciousness and knowledge that the sharp pine needles represent and the path of strong will and steadfastness of the olive tree rooted firmly in the earth”.
In fact, some interpreters have said that the olive tree itself is the symbolic tree of the Arab people firmly attached to the earth, whereas the pine tree with their sharp needles is the tree of the Jewish people with their tradition of scholarship. Bringing the two species and similarly the two nations together is challenging, but ultimately is a source of strength. One of the founders of Kibbutz Harduf and a leading teacher of Waldorf education, co-director Ya’akov Arnan emphasizes, “our center is a place where all humans can come together, listen to each other and acknowledge and celebrate our common humanity.”
Because the center is located in the forest, it is in a sense in neutral territory between the villages - both technically but also spiritually. The land that Sha’ar LaAdam is built on belongs solely to God, to mother earth, to nature - to whatever you want to call the spirit surrounding us and within us. Coming back to nature in this way reminds us that this land that we are fighting over ultimately doesn’t belong to either of us. It isn’t important compared to the eternal, human connections uniting us all.
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| Sha’ar LaAdam volunteers enjoying ecological building in the forest.
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The Jewish Agency, Israel Pathways and Sha'ar La'Adam are launching a new transformative, eco-Judaism and social action center at Kibbutz Harduf, Israel. We are offering a semester Jewish social justice training program of volunteering and Arab-Jewish co-existence work with specializations in:
- INTERFAITH DIALOGUE and CREATIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION
- ECOLOGY, CONSERVATION and SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The program is sponsored by MASA and designed for participants over 21.
Upcoming program dates: March 10- July 10, 2014.
Summer Program June 15- August 15, 2014.
Fall Program: August 2014- January 2015.
