All language subtitles for Kibbutz Tour with Rare Archaeological Finds.eng.eng

(Sergio) Today, we're given access
to a very rare and closed community,

the first ever established
religious kibbutz in Israel.

It was a very simple
childhood, there was no wealth.

we all wore the same
basic blue kind of clothes.

(Sergio) Our tour guide Danny Herman,
aka Danny "The Digger,"

a famous Israel's archaeologist
and a private tour guide

who calls this kibbutz his hometown.

I, as a child, Sergio,

I had to come here every morning
for morning prayer

before going to Shabbat.

(Sergio) Wow!

-(Danny) Then you stand here
in the front,

and you are leading the prayers.

(Sergio) Danny has taken us
around the kibbutz

to show us the peculiar
lifestyle as he grew up here.

We'll go into the communal lunchroom,

we'll take a sneak peek
at a fascinating synagogue,

and as a bonus,

we're going to see

some of the most fascinating
archeological discoveries in this area.

Discoveries so big

that some of them
were taken into the museum of Israel,

while others, the originals,

are still hanging on the walls right here,

for all to see.

(Danny) They had no idea that in 1956,
on a hill just facing the kibbutz,

they will find an ancient building
with a menorah in the mosaic floor.

(Sergio) Join us on this adventure

as we explore Israel's first
religious kibbutz, Tirat Zvi.

(GPS) In 400 meters, turn left.

♪ (music) ♪

(Sergio) Oh, there he is, I see him.

♪ (music) ♪

We're over here.

- (Danny) Sergio.
- (Sergio) Hey, Danny.

(Sergio) Good to see you.

- Hi, Rhoda. How are you?
- Good to see you.

This is really exciting, okay?

This is the kibbutz where I grew up.

- I've known these fields for years.
- That's awesome.

We're going to look at all of this now
from an archaeological perspective.

Let's do it!

(Sergio) So Danny invited us
to the kibbutz that he grew up in.

This is the kibbutz called Tirat Zvi.

and they're famous for making meat
and all kinds of products.

And he's taken us for a lunch
in the kibbutz.

I've never had lunch in a kibbutz before,
this is exciting!

♪ (music) ♪

All right, so how was it like
growing up in a kibbutz?

For me, it was a beautiful childhood.

Look at all the green grass and no cars.

I mean, there were barely
any cars in general,

but you didn't have any cars
driving inside the kibbutz,

so you could go wherever you want.

We used to play soccer a lot.

We had a swimming pool,

and there's no admission fee or anything.

You got to the pool
as much as you want.

I'm surprised
I don't have skin cancer,

but we used to spend so many hours
in the swimming pool.

(Sergio) So what is a kibbutz?

And how is it different
from regular village or town in Israel?

A kibbutz is a collective community.

It was started by the Jewish immigrants
in the early 20th century

who bought lands from the local dwellers
and founded the kibbutz scene.

Originally, the main concept
of the kibbutz life

was socialism, Zionism, and agriculture.

The founders believed that there should be
no employers nor employees at all.

And that there must
be a better way to live.

A way in which personal wealth
does not exist.

(Rhoda) Okay, I have
a question for you, Danny.

Let's say somebody wants to join a
kibbutz who has a possession, assets--

maybe his wife has like, a lot of
gold jewelry or I don't know what.

Do they have to give their assets
to the kibbutz or can they keep them?

In my time, you handed over
to the kibbutz.

Okay.

But people who went to the kibbutz
in the first place,

usually didn't have much to offer anyway.

- That's why they came to the kibbutz.
- All right, makes sense.

But in theory,

if you join the kibbutz,
first of all,

you don't automatically get accepted.

You go for a period of trial,

are you socially fit for us and so on.

And if you do,
then everything that you own

- is now kibbutz's property.
- Uh-uh.

(Sergio) In the early kibbutz scene,
life was communal and cooperative.

There was no personal wealth,
everything was shared,

and everything belonged to everyone.

So those who wanted
to become kibbutz members,

had to give up their
property and possessions.

♪ (music) ♪

But in reality, people,
especially Americans,

would come with their stereo,
they would keep it.

I don't know about jewelry,

but but I do remember
that some small possessions,

and Americans, especially,
that join the kibbutz,

that they could keep it,
but in their home.

You would not have a car,
you would not have a motorcycle.

Everything on the outside will be equal.

Okay.

(Sergio) The kibbutz life of today
is much different.

Over the time, the structure had changed,

allowing a much greater independence
for the members of the kibbutz

while keeping the cultural integrity
of the community.

Okay, one difference from my time,

now you need to pay for your lunch,
even as a kibbutz member.

But, on the other hand,

- anyone is invited to come for a meal.
- Oh, that's good.

(Sergio) Danny is inviting us for a lunch
at the communal dining room,

a place where food
once used to be free.

But after allowing the kibbutz members
accommodate personal wealth,

they started charging its members
the cost of food.

Still, a relatively low price to pay
for a delicious meal.

This is not a complete kibbutz
if you don't have a soda machine.

- You had a soda machine in the kibbutz?
- Yes.

Two benefits in the kibbutz.

I told you there wasn't much wealth,
but the two benefits:

the swimming pool,
go as much as you want,

and a soda machine.

(Sergio) The best part about this ordeal,
is that outsiders like us

are now allowed to dine here
and for a marginal price.

Chicken schnitzel or meat loaf,
things have changed a bit.

But is there a limit
how much I can drink?

- Nope, you can drink as much as you want.
- This is unbelievable.

- Here, I'm going to demonstrate.
- No...

We're going to fill the whole pitcher
and drink as much as we want.

- That is still here?
- Still here.

(Sergio) Wow.

(Rhoda) Awesome, it's very cheap.

(Danny) See, Rhoda,
the one thing missing is seasoning.

It's very, very plain.

♪ (music) ♪

(Sergio) Well, this is incredible.

This is like, 50 plus shekels,

and you can get refills,
as much as you want,

you got unlimited soda--

(Danny) I actually don't remember
the schnitzel to be so tasty.

It's a pretty good schnitzel,
it's incredible, right?

(Rhoda) Yeah.

(Sergio) That's why I like it.
I could eat this every day.

(Rhoda) I like it.

I love the salad, and the corn,
and the potatoes

(Sergio) I'll come here again.
(laughs)

I will, too.

Awesome!

♪ (comical music) ♪

(Sergio) This kibbutz,
Tirat Zvi, is very unique.

Founded in 1937, it is
the first religious kibbutz in Israel.

That's right.

Not only it's a communal social living,

it is also religious.

A quite rare combination.

Out of 250 some kibbutzim in Israel,

only 16 of them are religious,

with Tirat Zvi being the pioneer.

It was trying to be Zionists,

meaning claiming
it is our land by the Bible

but separating the Bible
from the religion,

trying to argue
it's only a historical document,

and we are the people of that document,

so we have the right to live here.

This kibbutz is one of a few,

just a bit more than ten kibbutzim

which were trying also
to maintain the religious lifestyle.

(Sergio) This is fascinating,

because next,
Dan is taking us to an institution

one can rarely find in a kibbutz.

A synagogue, or in Hebrew,
"bet ha-kneset,"

meaning "the House of Assembly."

I, as a child, Sergio,

I have to come here every morning
for morning prayer

and before going to Shabbath.

What happens if you don't come?

They don't like it.

The rumor spreads around,

your teacher comes to you,
your parents come to you,

and you better show up.

And now there's no one in,
so we're not disturbing anyone,

- We can have a little peek inside.
- Wow!

♪ (music) ♪

It has a preaching stand in the middle

and the orientation is towards Jerusalem.

And behind the parochet,
behind that curtain,

is where the Torah scrolls are kept.

(Sergio) Wow, so there are the scrolls
behind the veil.

The holiest item is a Torah scroll.

It's written in the same style
as it was 2,000 years ago,

that was proven with the discovery
of the Dead Sea scrolls.

And on Monday, Thursday, and Shabbath,

you take it out and you read
a portion there in the middle.

- Wow.
- That's the peak of the prayer.

So the preacher stands there,
and everybody sits around them or...?

Yes, I used to sit with my dad
right here for 12 years.

- (laughter)
- Wow!

And when it was Bar Mitzvah, Sergio,

I read-- I led the Friday
evening services standing here,

and the whole crowd
was following my leading,

the Friday evening prayers.

And the next morning, I read the Torah.

Well, that's interesting
you're not facing them, you're facing...

- Everybody facing...
- Everyone's facing Jerusalem.

Even if you are doing the...?

Yes, I'm reading
and the public is replying to my call.

(Sergio) Oh wow, okay.

(Danny) Now, in front of the entrance
to the synagogue,

there's a little archeological display

which I couldn't care less as a child,

but now as a grown-up,
as an archaeologist,

I always loved watching these items.

It includes even two milestones.

(Sergio) For us, one of the most
fascinating parts about the synagogue

is the incredible archaeological item

that is hanging on the outside wall.

(Sergio) Now, in 1937,

when the kibbutz is established,

they settled here because the land
was purchased by the Zionist Movement.

They had no idea that in 1956,

on a hill just facing the kibbutz,

they will find an ancient building,

with a menorah in the mosaic floor.

I think it's the actual one.

(Sergio speaking Hebrew)

I think it's the actual one,
it's the actual.

(Danny) And that means
that they didn't just settle in this land,

because it was purchased,

they settled in this land
because it was their ancestral land,

and what proves it better
than finding an ancient synagogue

in the fields of the kibbutz?

Okay? This is one of those moments

when you see why the Jews
have struggled to cultivate this land,

because it's really returning
to biblical and ancestral land.

Nothing gets better than this.

(Sergio) This is the most incredible
archaeological find we've seen lately,

but this isn't the only gem
in this kibbutz.

As Danny's taking us
just across the street

to show us more ancient
and monumental finds.

(Sergio) Wow!

(Danny) They would mark a distance
from place to place

by having a mark every mille passus,

- every 1,000 double steps.
- Yeah.

- It's called a milestone.
- This is the milestone?

Yes.

(Sergio) A milestone? Rhoda and I
heard about these for years,

but we've never seen one in real life.

I've never seen one.

It's so amazing, thinking like,
people did these and carved them

and worked on them in the ancient times.

(Sergio) Milestones
were originally stone pillars

made from granite marble
or whatever local stone was available.

They were widely used by the Romans
to mark distances between cities.

In the center of Rome,

they erected the golden milestone

that marked the center
of the Roman Empire.

And even though the golden
milestone has since been lost,

numerous other milestones
had been found throughout the empire,

including one that stood
right here in Tirat Zvi.

marking the six mile
from Beit Shean ,

a city that is also known
by the name of Scythopolis.

Here it says that you're
in the six mile from Scythopolis.

What is Scythopolis?

- Beit Shean.
- Beit Shean. Okay.

So this is still telling
you the information,

but most of it is imperial propaganda,

presenting... (reading in Latin)

All the descendants of Augustus
and all their victories.

They remind you who's the boss.

So wherever you are on the roads,
Marcus Aurelius is the boss.

I'm almost getting goosebumps.

I've never seen a milestone,
I was reading about them.

I know where they were supposed to be.
Is this the real one?

(Danny) It's the real one,
it's the actual one.

They went over the paint.

- But it's the actual one.
- Okay.

Okay, but forget that--

In Tel Shalem in 1976,

an American tourist,

who was the brother
of the nurse in my dad's clinic,

found a bust, half a body in bronze,
of the Emperor Hadrian.

Awww... (laughs)

This is an amazing, amazing discovery.

I remember as a child,

it was on display right here
and was moved to the Israel Museum,

and it's on prime display to this day
at the Israel Museum.

- (Sergio) The Hadrian sculpture.
- (Danny) The Hadrian bust.

- (Sergio) It was found here.
- (Danny) Yes.

Okay... who knows what else is hiding

in the vicinity of this kibbutz.

Somebody needs to excavate these,

someone needs to come here
and continue the work.

(Sergio) Today, we had a chance
to see fascinating archeology,

a synagogue,
and step into the kibbutz life.

A life which might not
be suitable for everyone,

as it takes away some
of your freedom and individuality,

but it was done for the sake
of the community.

Some might even argue that
this lifestyle and this very place

was essential for the establishment
of this country.

And despite the hardships
that the parents had to endure,

this place offered something utopian
for the children

that grew up here.

(Danny) Many times I've said
it was a very simple childhood.

There was no wealth,

we all wore the same
basic blue kind of clothes

but there was a lot of joy,

there was a lot of
good childhood memories.

(Sergio) Wow!

(Sergio) And while this episode
is coming to an end,

we are not done here.

Next time, Danny is taking us
behind the borders of the kibbutz

into the countryside,

in a search after a very unique place...

You can't even see the water.

(Sergio) This is the natural spring, then.

...a place so hidden that most people
don't know it even exists.