Olimot Corner is the column in the Iton about movement members who have recently made Aliyah. This month we hear from Noah Mirkin from Garin Tof Miriam in Hadera.
MAKING NEW MOVEMENT PARTNERS; A LOVE LETTER TO MY MA’AGAL
Dear Alumot,
I am writing you this to tell you how you have shaped my first two months as an Oleh Chadash. Two months ago, when I was still in New Zealand I had no idea of all the friends waiting for me here in Israel. I was excited about many things. I was excited to live and share my life with my amazing, supportive and creative kvutzah. I was excited to spend my days connecting to Israel and my Jewish history, and doing Messima that reflected these things; to put movement values centrally into my life. I looked forward to learning and being a part of the educational processes within Israel. In my imagination, these things were done alongside the only other movement partners I knew; Olim. However, for some reason, I never thought about the fact that I was joining an Israeli movement full of Israelis!
In the few peulot before making aliyah, we spoke briefly of our Ma’agal and what we could expect. In the Bogrim movement, the Ma’agal (circle) structure acts similarly to that of the Shichvah within Habonim Dror. It’s a space to build a collective culture, make joint decisions, and create a shared economy. My Ma’agal is called ‘Alumot’, which translates to “a bundle of wheat”. All I knew of Alumot was that translation and the fact that it was the only Ma’agal with its own symbol (see below). I didn’t yet understand just how important Alumot would be in my life here.
The first interaction I had with Alumot was at the Aliyah tekkes for my Garin, Tof Miriam. Forty people who had never met us turned up to celebrate our Aliyah, support us and introduce themselves as Alumot. It was a special moment and a great introduction to the Ma’agal.
I want to say thank you to Alumot for welcoming my Garin, Tof Miriam, the way you did. Thank you for creating a space where Olim can ask questions and get helpful answers. Thanks for feeling responsible for our Hebrew learning and running Ulpan workshops for us. Thank you for showing us your interests, and caring about ours. Thank you for everything. Alumot is truly an amazing Ma’agal and I count myself very lucky to be a part of it. I can’t believe that I didn’t even know about Alumot, and now it’s one of the most important parts of my life here. For all those reading who are still considering Aliyah, I hope that you are able to have an experience like mine with your own Ma’agal - it’s truly special!
!תודה רבה אלומות
Love,
Noah
