Havat Kineret

Venues and Values Changing Destiny 

Located near the south western shores of the Sea of Galilee there is a living replica of one of the first pioneering efforts in recreating Israel - Havat Kineret. This site served as the training ground for young pioneers (chalutzim) of the early twentieth century as they first arrived in the land. The farm became the focal point for many of these pioneers who were eager to work the land. Here they assembled, gaining inspiration from the land and drawing strength from each other and from their common ideas and hopes.  The simplicity of this site and its buildings, till this very day, in itself tells this unique story.  These young people were seeking to leave a lifestyle that they had known in Eastern Europe and were seeking the simplicity of life that was and is reflected here.

The old world they had grown up in; the old values they had known; the language they had spoken; the education they had received; the social and political notions they had been exposed to; the Judaism they had known – all these values needed to be reevaluated and readjusted.  This generation of young Jews wanted to build a better world, a better society, a better Jew and a better country. Here at Hatzer or Havat Kineret they began the process of "Re Jew vi Nation". 

Here we see how small numbers of young people with a strong will and unmatched commitment were able to change the destiny of the Jewish nation. With their own hands; with their own spirits; and with their own minds they created the infrastructure of all that is Israel today. 

Values reign supreme at this site. In its simplicity is a richness that is waiting to be discovered, captured and understood.  Some of these values are:

• Youth and idealism
• Nothing can stop a strong willed person אם תרצו אין זו אגדה
• A human can change his and his nation's destiny.
• Taking on responsibility for one's national future.
• Tikun Olam is possible.
• Jewish identity, beliefs and understanding can and do change.

Judaism is a “peoplehood”, a civilization with a language, literature, music, art form and religious and moral way that is unique and develops as the civilization evolves.

One important insight or question worth discussing at this site is the Cabbalists of Safed, who a few hundred years earlier, attempted to achieve the same goal of changing the destiny of the Jewish people in their time. They too left their Diaspora homes and environments behind.  They too attempted to build a new way for the Jewish people.  Why is it that the Chalutzim succeeded in ways that the Cabbalists did not?

And one more very important value question for our times:

How Goodly Are Your Tents O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel?

?מה טובו אוהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל 

Rothschild – Tent City:  A contemporary venue and reaffirming our values

Is this pioneering spirit alive today 62 years after the founding of Israel?  Is this the very same pioneering spirit that characterized the Chalutzim of Havat Kineret and the Cabbalists of Safed?

Hundreds of thousands of young Israelis have decided to change the destiny of Israel. All the efforts of the Cabbalists and the Chalutzim are alive throughout Israel today.

I join forces with 85% of Israel’s population who have returned to the values that created and characterized Israel from its very essence.

This is a value revolution no less significant than the revolution of the Cabbalists of Safed who sought to change Jewish destiny.

This is a value revolution no less significant than the revolutionary Chalutzim of late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.

This grassroots revolutionary protest reflects the very values upon which Israel was founded.

• A better society
• A value-based society
• A society that cares for all of its members and not just its wealthy
• A society based on the highest values of quality education
• A society based on social justice
• A society based upon passion and compassion
• A society which reflects the idea of Zion being a model society for all mankind

For Out of Zion Shall Go Forth the Values of Torah and the Word of God from Jerusalem. (כי מציון תצא תורה ודבר ה מירושלים)