The first Shabbos at Adamah seems like it was so long ago. There
was a certain beauty of the Friday night singing and schmoozing (chatting) that made this
place feel like a community, despite how different we all are. It was a time
for connection, happiness, and relaxation as we recharged our batteries for the
following week.
Over the next few days, I learned how to use various hoes, a
weed wacker, working with the irrigation system, and additional tips on how to best eliminate weeds
from the garden that plants some of the food we eat at Adamah. It was a lot of
hard work in the hot sun, and sunburns and sore muscles are almost inevitable.
Our first house meeting featured an Adamah-nik leading the
discussion involved various topics including the level of Shabbat observance to
be agreed upon in the household (considering the various backgrounds and
religious observances of the participants) and night time noise. While different kinds of people with different needs presented a bit of a challenge, we agreed on some guidelines that would ensure we would come to conclusions that would positively benefit the household.
These last few days also involved some introspective
activities, encouraging the participants to open up- share some personal
stories and relay their hopes and expectations for this summer. I think everyone is here in search of
something they hope will enable them to live better productive lives, perhaps
soul-searching or looking for something that will give them purpose.
The entrance to Beebe Hill
As exhausting as our days are, I think the staff tries
everything they can to encourage participation in other activities that don’t
involve farm and house work- cheese making and salva making just to name a few
of the optional evening events.
Today I experienced a lot of emotions during different parts
of the day- passion, comfort, excitement, but also stress, frustration, and
confusion. I think that I’m a little overwhelmed by the sudden change in lifestyle-
just a week ago, I was living in Queens with a roommate working at my local
preschool. Now, I’m living in rural Connecticut, spending 100% of the time
living in a kibbutz (community)-like environment with 11 others, working on a farm in the
blistering heat while spending other hours of the day in group meditation,
building a community with those whom just five days ago were strangers. The change
in pace, as well as other personal matters that came up were perhaps the
trigger to- shall I say- needing some personal space.
While I think the
staff has done an excellent job to encourage reflection about the program while on
the program, at some point I will need to process my real life, back home. The
events that took place, where I was then, where I am now, where I will be in
the Fall. What led up to these events- what went right, what didn’t. How I can
make what didn’t go right, better. Without going into personal detail, I hope
that this summer I’ll be able to tackle the here/now, as well as the “back then”
and figure out what’s next.
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