Moshav Naama in the Jordan Valley (Photo: Fani Elimelech)
It seems that in recent years we are all running: running after a career, after marriage and family life, after quality of life and social life.
In the end, most of us arrive with our tongues sticking out and not enjoying the journey at all.
The corona virus certainly didn't contribute to this race, it even taught us that it is possible and desirable to slow down sometimes and yet, we can't escape the thought that maybe we really deserve the quality of life we dream of?
If you've always dreamed of getting up to the sound of the birds chirping, breathing clean air without dust or soot, raising your children without fear of them running into the road and leading a prosperous family and community life, maybe it's time for you to do something about it?
True, it may be scary, but that's what we're here for - to make you want to.
Meet the people who made the move and survived (happily) to tell:
Moshav Naama in the Jordan Valley (Photo: Fani Elimelech)
"When the dishwasher stopped working"
Einav (40) was born in Haifa and grew up in Tamar, her partner Asaf grew up in Nazareth Elite.
When they met and got married, they decided to build their own house - on rent, of course, in Moshav Tel Adshim.
"We were both very connected to the Jezreel Valley, we loved the Moshibi education and the way the children were educated there. Unfortunately, due to work matters, we had to leave Tel Adashim and moved to Hod Hasharon, after hearing amazing stories about it."
Well, separate stories and separate reality and Einav and Assaf found themselves living in a rented house, disappointed with the educational frameworks their children are in.
"We felt that there is a big gap between what is told, and what is actually received and seen."
Einav and Assaf always dreamed of having their own house but realized that it was not such an easy dream to fulfill, until the dishwasher broke down.
"When we saw that the dishwasher was shorting out because water was reaching the sockets behind it, we called the owner of the house who refused to send an electrician and gave us all kinds of different solutions. This was actually the straw that broke the camel's back. We were fed up. We decided to buy a house and live in it."
And so began a search that actually required the two to think outside the box, since they did not have the capital needed to buy a house in the center - like most of us.
"We are both civil servants, working in Jerusalem, that's why we tried to think about moshavim in the area. One day Assaf saw an ad on Facebook about Moshav Naama. At first I asked Assaf if he was crazy and what did we lose there? But we still decided to come and listen."
Moshav Naama in the Jordan Valley (Photo: Fani Elimelech)
Einav says that the welcome was great, that the conversation was very open and honest and that they, for their part, made sure to ask the most important questions such as do Amazon couriers get there?
"We finished the meeting and went outside. My oldest son was 6 years old at the time and when he saw the view and the spaces he just started going wild with joy and playing in the sand, we saw that this air was good for him."
Still, not everything is roses.
Such a move, certainly from a large and central city like Hod Hasharon, requires mental and emotional preparation.
"There are challenges. We both work in Jerusalem, so we both spend a lot of time on the road every day. We have to leave the house early and the trip can sometimes take an hour and a half if there are traffic jams. On the other hand, we are satisfied, it's exactly what we wanted, the reception went wonderfully and smoothly, and there We have a lot of silence here. My son calls it "Yom Kippur every day" and it's a silence that's hard to explain."
"Feels like we're in a relocation."
An Israeli family (Photo: Shani Alkoen)
"Always when we drove through the Jordan Valley we thought to ourselves who are these people who live here? How fun that we became these people"
Yuval and Zohar Israeli (32), parents of 3-year-old Sini and one-year-old Karmi, decided to move their place of residence and arrived at Moshav Naama in the Jordan Valley after two years of kibbutz life in the Gaza Strip.
"After two years in the kibbutz, we realized that this was not the place we wanted to live, and certainly not from a security point of view. We dreamed from the age of 18 of having an agricultural farm next to our own house. At first, we looked in the west of the country, and after we realized that we did not have the necessary capital, we began to look eastward. That's when we discovered the Jordan Valley, which A valley that for years when we would travel through it we would think to ourselves "Who are these people who live here?
How fun that we became these people."
"We feel that we are in relocation," an Israeli witness said.
"Even though we come from a kibbutz and not a big city, because the kibbutz interprets community in a different way than the moshav. Here there is an important value which is to respect the privacy of the people. Community life does not come at the expense of family privacy. This is expressed in the spaces, the size of the lots, the fact that everyone volunteers and gives how much that he wants to, not because he has to."
An Israeli also works in Jerusalem, and happily manages to maintain a separation between work life and home life: "It's hard to explain the magic that happens when you go down from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, the landscape changes and along with it the heart rate goes down and everything calms down."
Have you always dreamed of leaving work at the office and not bringing it home?
So that's it.
Of course, if you have the opportunity to work from home, you won't feel the difference at all, maybe you just won't stop admiring the breathtaking view from the window.
By the way, there are quite a few job opportunities in the Moshav and Bekaa area as well.
"In the end we are fulfilling the dream we didn't dare to dream all these years" said an Israeli.
"We live in the moshav, we raise goats and chickens, we focus on what is important which is the family, we are together at home, we work good and satisfying jobs, we enjoy community life. Every time I go to the reserve I meet with the friends from the center who work every day from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and I ask When do they meet the children? They answer me that once or twice a week. For me, taking my children every day from kindergarten is a dream come true and anyone who shares this dream, their place is definitely here."
The Ralbag family (photo: courtesy of the family)
Moshav Naama in the Jordan Valley (Photo: Fani Elimelech)
"I feel like I'm breathing air that no one has breathed before me"
Naama's vision is to be a home for people for whom the land is important, the salt of the earth, people who feel a real connection to their roots and who want to have a full family life together with an equally full community life.
The members of the moshav organize social events, formal and informal gatherings on their behalf.
This is about more than just neighbors, but friends, the ones with whom you can plan a spontaneous family weekend, the ones who will always pick up the package from the courier for you if you're not at home, the ones who care about community just as much as it does to you, at least according to Gil Rosenblum (38) , the resident of the moshav.
"Life in Moshav Naama is light years away from life in the center of the country. That is, far away only conceptually because geographically at least, 50 minutes and you are in Jerusalem, or an hour and a quarter and you are on Nemir Road in Tel Aviv."
So why far?
Well, Gil's wife Hadar describes it best when she says that she feels like she is breathing air that no one has breathed before her.
Can you imagine that feeling?
And that may be the secret of the place's charm: diversity.
Moshav has everything from everything.
People who have dreamed all their lives of a quiet and peaceful life and independent farming, families who lived in the city and decided to recalculate a route, they all reach a common goal and this is evident in the human mosaic that makes this place special.
"There are many people who are looking for a quiet place to rest their head after the work day and they are not that interested in what is happening outside," explains Rosenblum.
"But here there is a reciprocal relationship between the residents: we do want the togetherness, the added value, therefore, those who are considering changing their lifestyle and joining our community, should want to be part of it."
Rosenblum noticed and can also testify for himself that in the end, most people who come to live in Naama point to the children as the most significant reason for moving.
"It's something amazing, the possibility to raise children here, to create spaces and possibilities for them that they won't find in other places, it's something that has no price."
The Rosenblum family (Photo: Ayelet Ader)
"It's like a small French village, only without the snow"
Michal, Yuval (31) and their two children have been living in the settlement for 3 years.
Michal grew up in Jerusalem and grew up in the Jordan Valley.
After they got married and returned the question, they moved to Gush Etzion in a settlement with a mixed population, until they realized that they were after all looking for something more secular.
"We started looking, we were interested in all kinds of places. Yuval has never lived in the city, so this was not an option at all for him. And, since I lived in the city, I never got to know my neighbors from above. Not even for a cup of sugar once in a while. Then, one day When we drove to Yuval's mother's place in the Bekaa, we came across a sign on the road inviting us to come and live in Moshav Naama. Yuval was not enthusiastic about returning to the Bekaa so quickly, we didn't know there was a young population here, but we decided to search and check."
Michal says that they met an amazing community, which does not contradict the private family life they need so much, along with amazing views, space, quiet and a good education.
Yuval works in Modi'in and travels every day, and Michal is a nursing student who works at the council's medical center on weekends.
Although the car becomes a close friend, one cannot ignore the fact that the seat itself is charming and communal.
"We are really happy, there is a stunning cafe in the seat, it's like a small French village only without the snow, there is a masseuse, and a parent guide, in the seat next to it there is a naturopath and an acupuncturist and everything you need in the holistic rural field."
The clinic is regional, the regional school is also, well, in the region.
In Moshav we have a pool, a daycare center, a garden, a gym and a club.
"Not long ago, we went to my parents' place, and one of the upstairs neighbors apparently dragged some furniture and it made a noise. My son asked what it was, and when we explained to him that it was neighbors above him, he asked what exactly are upstairs neighbors? He didn't understand the concept of living above my parents and that Perhaps it explains everything, in everything related to the lifestyle we chose to live in and raise our children."
And even if the parents are within driving distance, Michal says that the members of the moshav completely become family and not in the clichéd sense: "Many people are afraid to move to a distant place, but here there is a new family. For example, every moshav member gives birth, the moshav members take turns and cook dinner for the family members For a month and a half. When I get up in the morning and I don't have milk or an egg, I go for a walk and my neighbors who own a farm will always make sure I'm organized. The rhythm of life here is different. The atmosphere is rural, life is chill. Everyone here has chosen to make a stop, to stop This relentless pursuit and to live again, and it's amazing."
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