These notes were written in 1925, as a result of my frequent visits to the “training collective” near Rakov. It complements the articles about the “HaHalutz” movement in Rakov, and sheds light on an area which left its mark on the town, in general, and on its youth, in particular, and was an important instrument in facilitating the 'ascent' to Eretz Israel.

I closed my books, put them in the case, and said to them: That's it! As of today, the ax and the pick will take your place. With my knapsack on my shoulders and my staff in my hand, I walked to the 'collective'.

The last rays of the setting sun accompanied me on my way; everything was placid with the calmness of dusk; the trees stoodquietly, dreamily, as if uttering a silent prayer. My feet were light, and my heart full of song -- finally I overcame, made my decision... I felt easier.

In the house of the 'collective' I found only the two “mamutchkes” -- as we used to call the two women, the mothers and sisters of the 'collective' -- being busy, the one with mending and the other by the stove. The men were just returning from their daily labor, and were entering the office to report. Moments later, and they and they entered with great noise and commotion. We were introduced, and I looked at their faces, covered with dust and soot, and their tarred hands. Yes, I said to myself, they did real work. And I? Will I adapt? Will I be able to take it?

Two weeks passed. I was struggling, we all were. We were still searching for the right road. The work, sawing wood, was hard. Our enthusiasm was not what it had been. Our bodies were demanding their rest, and when we returned from work we would fall on our beds and smoke a cigarette, which never left our mouth. Doubts began to creep into the hearts -- am I capable, and worthy, of being a halutz [pioneer]?

And the collective way-of-life was not smooth either. It was very hard to adjust to the sharing, to the group-living. Friction developed, caused by the different customs and mores of the environments in which we had lived. This was a sign that the road ahead of us was still very long. For example, a new comrade came from the town V., a bit of a 'greenhorn', and immediately he became the 'doormat' of those around him. For a time, he suffered his humiliations silently, on the inside; but then his patience snapped, and one day he grabbed a pale of water and emptied it on the heads of his two tormentors...

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Training Camp in Mikhalova next to Rakow

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And here is a story that reached us from the 'collective' in G. D., a, about one of their best members, a conscientious halutz [pioneer], fluent in Hebrew, constantly talking of high ideals and moral behavior, and so on and so forth. They appointed him the treasurer. And lo, he was caught with his hand in the till, embezzling. He was tried by the members, and was thrown out of the 'collective'.

And here is an amusing episode: A young man, almost just a boy, came from the town D. to join us. One day we returned from work, sat at the table to eat, and the lad could not be found. We called him, searched for him, until he was found standing behind the wall, eating a “strudel”. We burst out laughing. And he stared at us -- so what?... that is, what's the matter? The “strudel” was his, his private property, and he was not going to share it with anybody else...

But -- I said to myself -- do not despair! This was only natural, and the 'collective' had to serve as a crucible for its members, so that they would emerge doubly purified, ready for the great mission -- the birth of a the new Jew, the new Man. For this purpose we had to undergo a cultural change, that is, a change of heart and mind.

These changes occurred after we were joined by G. He was an ideal halutz, expansive in his relations with others, of plain manners, and always happy and gay. Intellectually, he was only so-so, but with his open heart, common sense, and eyes full of wisdom, he exerted great influence on us. In a short time he became the 'living spirit' of the 'collective'. Indeed, this is the kind of people we needed. We turned more forcefully to our 'ideological training'. In the evenings, we read the 'ideological' literature: “The Collective Settlement”, “The Life of Trumpeldor”, “The Writings of A. D. Gordon”, the “HaPo'el HaTsayir” [The Young Worker], and, at last, we started receiving the daily “Davar” [the newspaper of the Jewish Workers Party], which had just begun its publication [in Eretz Israel].

One Saturday we conducted a discussion on the meaning of our way. I started by saying: “The Halutz Movement is not based only on the national element, the liberation of the afflicted [Jewish] People, but also on ideals for humanity as a whole. The Halutz Movement, by realizing the collective way of life in Eretz Israel. Is leaving the paved road, which was traveled by previous generations, in search of other lanes and other ways of life. It loathes the life based on wars and competition, and strives for the way of life which enables equality between men. The halutz has to purify himself, to cleanse himself, to distance himself from all that is ugly around him. We have to uproot every semblance of egoism, we have to be reborn!”

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These words were heard, and absorbed, silently. But G. begged to differ, he stood up and said: “Comrade, you demand purification and reconditioning of the mind. Good! But I add to that, and demand, that the “Halutz” be, first of all, full of joy of life. We have to learn to sing with a Hasidic fervor, and that is what would lead us to the love of friends and comrades. We are Hasids! Modern Hasids!” He posed his demands, and he carried them out. He stood up and started singing, and others joined him, cleaved to him, and the circle of dancers moved as a single body, shouting: “El yivneh ha'galil” [God will rebuild the Galilee -- a Hebrew song, popular among the 'pioneers' of the time]... just like on a kibbutz in Eretz Israel.

The Gentile workers stood at the door and looked with amazement: “”What are they so happy about?” They could not understand how some Zhids [Jews], who were engaged in a hard and backbreaking work all day, were still so happy and gay. And they were not the only ones. The fathers could not understand why their sons left the shop, or the book, behind, and went to work for two gold coins a day. And the mothers were looking with amazement at their pampered sons, who got up one morning and went to work chopping wood, and then came back at noon with a shining face, as if they had won a victory over the whole world. And we? -- We were listening to the voice which came from the innermost parts of our souls: Be liberated! And it was our own strength that was liberating us.

The “Maccabi” in Rakow 1925

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The owner of the sawmill, Mr. M. R. was a 60 years old Jew. He, his wife, a son, and two daughters, lived in a large and spacious house, not far from the mill. His manners towards us were like those of a powerful lord. His family, too, kept their distance from us at first, and spoke to us in a patronizing voice. But things changed later. One day, the father and two daughters attended our meeting, which was devoted to the history of the “Aliyot” [waves of migration] to Eretz Israel. I, in my talk, mentioned the first migrants, and uttered the word “Bilu” [a pre-Herzl Zionist movement in Eastern Europe, which established the first agricultural settlements in Eretz Israel]. I saw that Mr. M. R. was suddenly shaking, and was paying more attention to our discussion; he was even listening attentively to my words. I understood this behavior later, when I learned that in his youth he was a member of the “Bilu” movement, intended to go to Eretz Israel but did not, married, started his successful business, and became very wealthy. His involvement in his business affairs made him forget Eretz Israel completely. Suddenly, after so many years, when he heard the word “Bilu”, a hidden string was pluck, and he heard the song of his youth coming out of the depth of his heart.

One day, later, we met and talked about our work; suddenly he asked: “Do you really and truly intend to emigrate to Eretz Israel?”

“Hashomer Hatzair” Management Team in Rakow, 1934

One day, on the train to Vilna, I bumped into Mrs. M., our employer's wife. As we had known each other, we started talking. The conversation turned to personal matters, and she told me of their life in Moscow before the [First World] War, of their wealth and high position in those days, and then she sang the praises of her son, who was studying at the university in Vilna. But, she continued, she had only one fear, that he would be swept away by the torrent which was flooding the Jewish youth, and would decide to emigrate to Eretz Israel. She expected me to comfort her, but my heart was full with the shouts of victory: Yes! He would be swept away! All of you, and your children, would be swept away by this torrent, the torrent of the blood of the awakening People of Israel!

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