Page 24 - Issue 8

Perth – the other side of the other side of the world.
The plane lands.
I take two steps on the ground, and two chanichim from the most amazing group of people
there is in the land of the kangaroos put me in their car, bring me to the Jewish Day School,
put a kippah on my head, and send me to run a spontaneous peulah on the Israel Defense Forces.
“It should be fun, and also educational.”

Ofek and Ohad – Shnat 2006

The spirit of the youth movement and responsibility.
I believe that it was out of this environment that Tzivia wrote “this is the real secret of the
movement’s strength: the movement always knew how to demand everything from its members.”
The demand and the responsibility which occur during play and enjoyment.

I was filled with fatherly pride,
(while the mother within me felt that a bit more loving could make things perfect between
them.)

If I had a camera that could capture the complexity of feelings, I would have photographed the
slightly messy bogrim meeting room during the fun and meaningful Hanhallah meeting, and I
would have called it “Youth Movement.”

I left for Melbourne with a more clear mission. Here there are chanichim that are talking about
hagshama, who want more and want it together. They are looking to be part of a personal and
kvutsah process, to ask questions about humanity, the world, the Jewish people, and most of all
about themselves, with aliyah and hagshama as their path.
I want to enable this; after all, this is the goal of movement – to bring together man with
himself and with his partners.
I didn’t know what to expect from Melbourne.