Wrapping it up- Recognizing Adamah as Real Life

This is it. It will be our last Shabbos at Adamah as a cohort- next week we will be spending Shabbat as part of a retreat at the Isabella Freedman. The weekend will feature people who are participants and supporters of Hazon’s annual bike ride. (Hazon is the umbrella organization of Adamah).

So much happened this summer, and it seems so much was left out from this written record of my experience here at Adamah- the incredible day of Tisha B’Av (a commemorative Jewish fast day), that started with a mini-kumzitz (sing-along) by a group of guys, and ended with a communal Kohenet gathering, singing “Stone by Stone” as we placed rocks in the center of the circle; the random and spontaneous community bonfire hangouts after classes ended; even the arguments at fellowship meetings, that ultimately brought us closer as a community.

I had considered the Isabella Freedman a safe, comfortable space that allowed me to get away from city stresses in the past- but now, it’s truly home. It’s a place where I can go anywhere on campus when I’m feeling down, to pick me up. It’s a place where we can sit in a circle, retreaters and staff, playing instruments and singing songs that I remember from my childhood. It’s a place where I had a conversation that lasted two hours with a young woman whom I now consider to be my soul sister; it’s a place where I can visit the goats at any time because, as a member of Isabella Freedman staff, I have the privilege of releasing the barn gate and going out to their pasture just to say hello. Goat therapy, is what I like to call it.

As I prepare thank-you gifts and postcards to those who have generously donated to Hazon as part of my assigned fundraising efforts, I recall the couple of CSA market runs with apprentices out in West Hartford; our first Shabbat at Adamah, where 10-15 people joined in an inspirational singing gathering following dinner; attending a “Buy Local” market to sell our products;  those few mornings when I co-led children’s Avodat HaLev, as their parents attended programming at the Isabella Freedman, which sticks out in my mind as a highlight of this summer. I’m pretty sure I had more fun than the kids, chanting Modeh Ani as we marched in the gazebo, accompanied by musical instruments.

With an apprentice, organizing fruits and veggies for the
CSA market in West Hartford.

It’s a world so different than that which I’m used to, and somehow, I’m going to need to let it go- at least for the time being. I plan to return for the High Holidays, frequent Shabbatot, for perhaps the goat schechting (slaughtering) in the Fall- an experience that would probably be of the most difficult I would ever experience, but one that, to witness, would be a bracha (blessing)- and a real honor.

In the meantime, this summer was when I truly understood and resonated with the phrase, “You can sleep when you’re dead.” Before this summer, my required eight hours of sleep was essential to my health and well-being. But Adamah is life, and before returning back to what others refer to as the “real world,” I’ve been pulled to these late-hour non-required activities that enabled me to live it up while on this transformational experiential journey.

Thank you to Jackie Cohen, Allison Green, Anne Cohen, and David Frager for their recent donations to Hazon, and for helping me reach (and surpass!) my goal of $1000.00!