Today I worked in the graveyard. I was unhappy, to say the least. I found out that I was going to be working there, and immediately my mind wandered to decomposition. Gross, I know, but what would you think of if you were to work among the graves? I don’t know why I started freaking out, but as I walked toward the graveyard, I started crying, which is quite unusual for me. Seriously, fah-reak-ing out.
I suppose the only cemetery I have ever visited was when my amazing friend Scott passed away when I was seventeen. Hence, the association is depressing. We walked to just outside of the gates of the Kibbutz into a graveyard which has been in place since the beginning of the Kibbutz.
I was responsible for weeding around the graves, as in right up around the big cement box sticking out of the ground. I am extremely uncomfortable with this, but decided to force myself, teary or not, to go out of my comfort zone and figure out why I was so uncomfortable. Cleaning a cemetery, or tending to the graves is supposed to be a mitzvah. My friends kept trying to qualm my nerves by claiming the goodness of my actions, but at that point I wasn’t caring as much about that as the dead bodies surrounding me. I ended up surviving the day by plugging in my ipod and completely zoning out. I finally calmed down about two hours into work and decided to keep my stress level down by jamming out. I jammed my way through two Glee CD’s and finally started to appreciate the mitzvah I was taking part in. It really is a beautiful thing to cherish and tidy graves. Respecting ones we love and holding up their memories is something beautiful.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the creation of Kibbutz Na’an. I am excited because our director told us about a variety of events that will be taking place this year because of the year long celebration. We get to have concerts, religious celebrations and our Kibbutz has the largest celebration of Passover in Israel.
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