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Renewing JudaismWe work towards creating a progressive expression of Jewish religion and culture in our rituals and our day-to-day life, through mitzvot in our relationships with one another and with God. Judaism on Lotan is an integral part of every aspect of our life. From the kosher dining hall to the celebration of all Jewish holidays as a community, we easily incorporate religion into all segments of kibbutz life. There are always questions about exactly how to express the wide range of observance which individual members prefer, but they are questions of how, not of whether or not. This page presents an overview of day to day Jewish life on Lotan, including some specific creative solutions we have found. We invite you to explore the following subjects:
Every weekday meals are prepared, catering not only to the demands of Jewish law, but also to the preferences of 1/3 or so of the residents for vegetarian food. There are a handful of vegans living on Lotan and an effort is always made to provide them with food which does not come from an animal source. We have no rabbinical supervision in our kitchen, however. A committee of five members oversees the kashrut. They study the relevant halachic materials, and make decisions according to what they learn. They may, and do, consult rabbis from time to time, but the committee has been given the authority by the community, not by the rabbis. Ma'amadThis creative service, which does not lend itself easily to translation, is one of the most vibrant parts of religious life on Lotan. A Ma’amad is a creative service which usually consists of songs, blessings, readings from various sources, and sometimes original prose or poetry. Its roots are in No'ar Telem, the Youth Movement of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. We use this form of creative worship to mark the beginning of many events, from the most intimate to the purely antic. There have been ma’amdim for the adoption of a child, for children's naming ceremonies, for entering first grade, for being drafted into the army, for getting married, and for observing the end of a mourning period for a parent. There are also ma’amadim for beginning an elected position on kibbutz, for being sent off the kibbutz for university (or other types of study), for a couple going to travel outside Israel, or for someone leaving the kibbutz. Some of the more unexpected types of events which may include a ma’amad include: completing a building intended for communal use (Children's House for example), planting of an organic garden, celebrating Tu B’Av, the renewed holiday of love ( which was observed in ancient times as a sort of one-day matchmaking spree, with the young people doing the choosing for a change), planting a new type of crop, the start of the date harvest, celebrating the first birthday after an individual's conversion to Judaism. The tremendous flexibility which the ma’amad provides means that members can think of a religious perspective which can enhance an otherwise work-a-day aspect of kibbutz. Something as simple as putting up a mezuzah upon moving into a new house can turn into a chance to reflect on the meaning of ‘home’, ‘spirituality’ and ‘friendship/community’ through the decision to create a ma’amad for the occasion. Children's birthday parties, if they are to be more than just the family and a friend or two, are more likely than not to start with a ma’amad. There is never pressure to create a ma’amad for an occasion, but the process tends to be self-perpetuating, that is, if you have created one, you are more likely to consider putting one together for another event. Life Cycle Events
Whether a girl is named on the eighth day, the 30th day or the 80th day, she is honored with a Zeved Bat (literally "gift of a daughter. This ritual marking the giving of a hebrew name to a girl has become the norm on Lotan. This custom, prevalent among Sephardic or Middle Eastern Jews, is unusual as it is rare to find an existing custom supportive of women in Jewish tradition. Members here enjoy being able to renew historically authentic rituals. Since every family has a different attitude about circumcision, some wanting it to be private, some public, some only do it for social reasons, others feel strongly connected to the tradition. In order for the child's introduction into the community to express our belief in equality, boys have their Brit at home, and the community celebration is in the same format as the zeved bat. The first Bat Mitzvah on Lotan was celebrated last Sukkot. The dining room, empty of tables (all in the Sukkah), was turned into an impromptu Beit Knesset, as our synagogue/meeting room is too small for the crowd who attended. The service was a combination of a Ma'amad and a traditional service. For one of the Aliyot, all of the children of the kibbutz were called up to join Tai, the Bat Mitzvah. Tai led part of the service, and gave a Devar Torah in which she challenged the whole community to consider how we might educate our next generation. The occasion gave us all a great deal of naches! Wedding customs are many and varied, not suprisingly, considering the heterogeneous nature of our community. Many women choose to immerse themselves in a mikvah before their wedding ceremony, and the Gulf of Eilat provides a very pleasant site for observing this custom, rather than submitting to the sometimes humiliating scrutiny of an Orthodox mikvah supervisor in the Eilat Municipal Mikvah. There are some real difficulties in getting married in Israel if one does not want an Orthodox Rabbi to perform the ceremony. Most weddings on Lotan are not in fact recognized by the Government of Israel because the couple does not choose to invite a “State Rabbi” to marry them. Almost all couples who get married this way however, then travel outside Israel and have a civil marriage which the state is then bound to recognize. Read how a Kibbutz member describes his wedding and the events surrounding the birth of his daughter. Shabbat
Mi Shebeirach for individuals who are ill or recovering from surgery is said in the evening service, since there are not usually morning services. We often remember our loved ones in need during our prayers, whether in the traditional form or in some creative way. After the service, the entire kibbutz joins in making Kiddush (blessings over wine) in the communal dining room, and we eat together. On Shabbat the main meal on Friday night is almost always meat-based, with a vegetarian option. There are tablecloths spread and before we “dig in” we join hands and sing “Shalom Aleichem” and make Kiddush over grape juice or wine. It is also a Lotan tradition to announce Smachot (happy occasions, e.g. weddings, births, anniversaries) in the dining hall immediately before dinner Friday night, which of course only adds to the joy of our Shabbat together. Challot are on all tables, and we also bake special giant challot for HaMotzi (blessing over bread), which are broken up and distributed to everyone. We strive to leave behind the work-a-day chat which fills the dining hall during the week, and instead to discuss topics of a more leisurely nature. After dinner there is sometimes organized Israeli dancing or a party of a less specifically Jewish bent, some members prefer simply to gather in someone's home to watch TV. While we don't allow smoking in the dining hall or other public buildings at all on Shabbat, individuals are free to do so elsewhere. Unlike many other kibbutzim, members do not use Shabbat to catch up on work, but our approach to Judaism is flexible enough to allow personal recreation to include gardening or interior decorating. The norm is that a person's freedom to do what s/he likes on Shabbat ends when it infringes on anyone else's freedom to rest. Therefore drilling holes for new shelves in your own house is not acceptable, simply because the noise can be heard in every corner of our small kibbutz! Our understanding of Judaism helps us shape a communal standard which all can tolerate, even though it does not conform to the Orthodox idea of what Shabbat must be. For one person gardening is a wonderful Shabbat activity, while for another, mending or sewing clothes gives a sense of relaxation and enjoyment. Some members do not travel on Shabbat, while others take advantage of the day off to make a trip to the mountains or the seashore. There is no organized travel on Shabbat. While Shabbat morning worship is only an occasional event (before weddings (aufruf), membership ceremonies or for festivals), there is always opportunity to study as individuals volunteer to lead Parashat HaShavu'a - a discussion of issues raised by the weekly Torah portion. The rest of the day is your own, the only meal served is brunch at 1:00 p.m. and dinner generally is after sundown. Of course, the cows are milked and the dining room is serviced, all by members on rotational duty. Festivals
 Children's Education
The goals of education on Lotan are to teach the children mutual respect and healthy communication skills as well as how to fully participate in a Jewish lifestyle. From the time they first begin with solid food, the daycare workers say a blessing with the kids before eating. Once they are old enough to share a meal sitting around a table they are taught to bless their food. Each morning the Childrens’ House begins its day with a short prayer, a few songs and a morning greeting (see Ma’amad). The children are actively involved in community events such as Shabbat, festivals, and even the welcoming ceremonies of new babies. We try to consciously help even our youngest children to understand when a significant event is coming. Every week the children have a taste of Shabbat, specially crafted for their level of understanding, with an emphasis on song and activity, rather than traditional prayer. We recently opened an after school activity group for school-aged children here on the kibbutz. Now that there are enough children in this age group we felt it important to connect them to daily life on Lotan as up until now they went to a neighboring kibbutz after school. There have been a lot of discussions in the education committee about what the content of daily Jewish rituals should be, and whether the children's participation is compulsory or not. Another connection that we make between kibbutz life and Judaism for our children has to do with the organic garden. Recently we set aside a section for the children to tend plants of their own and they came with their parents to sow seeds to supplement our winter vegetables. This event was marked with a ma’amad and gave all who participated a good feeling about joining together to help our children develop a respect and love for God's bounty in giving us living plants for food. Membership Ceremony
Community StudyIn our kibbutz we value Jewish learning, especially in interactive groups. In order to overcome our disadvantage of being geographically remote from the major cities with their vast resources we have instituted the ‘community study’ (chevra lomedet). On an irregular basis we invite rabbis and other teachers to the kibbutz to help us study specific topics. In the past we have had modules where a teacher comes once a week for five, six, or seven weeks and helps us explore Jewish texts on subjects such as gender equality in Judaism, or rabbinic views of rebuke and forgiveness. The pressures of being a hard-working kibbutz mean that we do not study as often or as long as we might like, but we are constantly aware of the maxim “Do not say ‘I will study when I have leisure time’, for you may never have leisure time.” Individuals take the initiative to arrange what form the community study will take at any point in time, so there is great flexibility in the range and type of meetings that occur. How do we put the theory into practice? For a more in-depth article read about Making lifestyle decisions as a Jewish Community Tzedaqah and Gmilut HassadimLotan has embarked on several projects which fall under the rubric of Tzedakah and Gemilut Hasadim. The fact that our kibbutz has an actual budget line allocated for contributions to Tzedakah even though we are not rich addresses the significance we place on this ancient Jewish practice. The rabbis tell us that even a person who lives from accepting tzedakah must also give tzedakah, as there is certainly someone else who has even less to live on and we are enriched in other ways by giving. Our contributions most recently have put an emphasis on doing practical projects and bringing people into our homes. (see Tikun Olam - Repairing the World). Other Projects/Future PlansA recent development on Lotan is a group of women who meet twice a month or so to discuss the connections which can be explored between women on Lotan and women in the Bible. There has also been a men’s group. Controversial subjects which have been explored in the committees of the kibbutz, as well as informally among members, with an eye to how they will affect longer-term plans include:
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©All Rights Reserved Kibbutz Lotan 2005 Kibbutz Lotan, D.N. Hevel Eilot 88855 Israel; Tel: +972 8 6356888; Fax +972 8 6356927 |
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We value the unity which we can all enjoy by
having a kosher dining hall. Members may choose not to observe kashrut in their homes. No cooking is done in the kibbutz kitchen on Shabbat, although again, members may do so in their own dwellings. Kashrut is an example of how Lotan straddles the worlds of tradition and modernity. Our kitchen has three sections - Meat, Dairy, and Parve (neutral, neither meat nor dairy).
Equality between the sexes means that both boys' and girls' naming ceremonies are usually elaborate and festive. 
A special feature of Lotan is our ceremony of induction into membership. This is always held on a Friday and Saturday and features a Shabbat morning service during the members-to-be are called up for an aliyah (to read from...) to the Torah. After Shabbat, these individuals formally sign a ketubah (marital contract) , “wedding” themselves to the Lotan family, followed of course, by much rejoicing, and naturally, also much food! We see the parallel between marriage and membership as a very strong link with Judaism.