After a restful night at the Dan Panorama in Eilat some of our group elected to sleep in and recoup their energy for our visit to Petra tomorrow—Perhaps added time for shopping and sightseeing in Eilat was also a motivation. The majority of our group travelled 55KM back up the southern Aravah to Kibbutz Lotan for a very interesting and informative presentation and tour of their unique activities.
Our own Noam Hurvitz-Prinz (shown in his garden) recently completed a ten week ”Green Apprenticeship” program at Kibbutz Lotan.
As usual, our most knowledgeable tour guide Rabbi Walter Zanger, using his encyclopedic recall kept us well informed of the geology, industry, vegetation and history of the region as we traveled along.
When we reached Lotan, we were met by Mark Naveh, who described the background of Kibbutz Lotan and its programs—The Kibbutz was founded in 1983 by settlement groups of Israeli and North Americans, most of whom were graduates of the Reform Youth movements. At present it has 55 adult members and 60 children from 9 countries whose average age is 35. The kibbutz belongs to the Israeli movement for Progressive (Reform) Judaism and is a member of the Global Ecovillage Network. For more detailed information on the kibbutz you should visit their Website.
Of particular note is their strong commitment to democratic Jewish renewal. They respect all sources of Jewish tradition but do not accept Halachic-Rabbinic authority. They have a Kosher kitchen, do not work on Shabbat, celebrate the holidays, festivals and life cycle events and conduct religious services.
The principle focus of our tour was to hear about and see some of the creative ecological activities that are being implemented or developed on the kibbutz. the programs emphasize:
Our group was quite impressed with the scope and creativity of activities in these areas from buildings using tires, straw and mud to composting toilets.
We were given a demonstration of how mud bricks are prepared during which Rabbi Mark and Noam eagerly plunged their hands into the goopy stuff to assist in proper mixing. All were impressed.
After a drink of tea made with water heated in a solar oven, we said farewell to the kibbutz, better informed and impressed with the creativity and enthusiasm of the members of Kibbutz Lotan.
On the ride back to Eilat our group decided to join the others for an afternoon and evening of rest and relaxation—with a little shopping thrown in for good measure.
Respectfully submitted by Sid Bernsen
Sorry, no group photo today.