In a Moshav neighboring Talmei Yosef called Dekel ("palm tree"), there is a brewery. On Wednesdays there are gatherings of volunteers, workers, and locals. There is beer and pizza.
The last few times I've gone I've run into other alumni from the Masa volunteers program, who are in the Otef working to rescue Israeli agriculture. They are there because of me. I was one of the first two Masa volunteers to start going to the Otef, and I publicized the contact details of people who were looking for employees or volunteers. There are also current groups of Masa volunteers who have heard about the day trips to the South through my messages, or from people who have heard from people who heard from me. And they are telling people on birthright, who are telling other people. Family and friends have begun reaching out to put me in touch with other people who want to volunteer.
It's not enough. But I'm proud of what I've done and will continue to do. I never dreamed of making an impact larger than what my own hands could do.
I'm also humbled by many of the people I meet doing this. From many backgrounds and stages of life, people come to give a day, a week, or months, maybe unpaid, because they want to support the farmers. Everyone is doing this while they are suffering in some way.
I started this because I was in too much pain not to do anything. I continued because I love the people I'm with and how it feels to do the work. And I'm even (slowly) recalling how to relax from time to time. (Thank Hashem it's Shabbat.)
I'm beginning to feel my time in Talmei Yosef is going to end soon. I've been talking to two Kibbutzim who are looking for help on their farms in the coming months, and I know how to get in touch with more. One of my requirements is a Hebrew tutor, I'd like to improve my literacy beyond a second grade level, and speak with more fluency (though that's happening without the tutor).
When the winter ends, and the rain falls less frequently and in smaller amounts, there will be another war, a bigger one. The farmers will still need help, especially in the North. So there's not much else I have considered for the next few months.
But my experiences have changed my dreams a little bit. When I got here I wanted to become a cyberwarrior or intelligence analyst, to answer the call to arms. I wanted to defend, maybe thinking out of fear. Now I want to build. When I see a cropduster fly over a field, I imagine replacing it with autonomous drones: safer, cheaper, more thorough, better for the environment (and also very cool). I see the ingenuity in the engineering of farm equipment and greenhouses and irrigation systems and want to understand it enough that I could improve it. I hear and see how difficult it is for Israeli farmers even without a war, and I want to help. To innovate.
I'm young and romantic, so maybe this is just a passing dream.
It's good to dream again.
אתה צעיר רומנתי חכם ומלאך , איך אף אחת עדיין לא חטפה אותך ??????