We stood quietly meditating in the gathering twilight of the field of Kinneret. That last night, we remembered Kinneret and what it mean to us. We bade farewell to Kvutzat Kinneret.
The haverim who had built Kinneret gathered on the last night of the last season. And the memories engulfed us.
The builders remember the watchtower-chopping the trees, knotting the ropes, constructing the frame, raising the watchtower that would guard Kinneret. We had slept under its benevolent shadow that summer of 1955.
As we watched the torches for the last time , baverim remembered the discussions we had had. We remembered sleeping through them. We remembered lively, thought-provoking periods. We remembered discussing leadership problems.
The scouts remembered how we had hiked through the swamps of Kinneret. We recalled nights of Hagana, tactics. Our feet remembered all-day hikes. The soles of our feet recollected our nature walks.
Then our hands remembered the semaphore code: K-i-n-n-e-r-e-t s-h-e-l-i.... Our eyes remembered watching for the answering flags flashing in the sun. The message was received 1 We had talked to each other from afar.
We remembered the arduous trek to the lake. Our toes could feel again the sand rippling as we walked through the Farband camp on the way to swim. The clammy feel of seaweed lingered in our minds. The raft seemed to beckon to us anew. We swam, we floated in a dream of memories.
We remembered the mosquitoes only too well. The cooling relief of the ointments soothed us. We swatted away at the infernal pests.
We remembered Shabbat as dusk fell the last time at Kvutzat Kinneret. We recalled how we had danced the hora hour upon hour. Once again we swayed and swerved to the sound of the shepherd's flute, to the rhythms of Eretz Yisrael. In our memories we sang. We danced again to the familiar tunes. The beauty of the Shabbat celebration haunted us. We relived the glorious, comfortable feeling of Shabbat.
This was our camp. We had built it-Kinneret.
We stood quietly in the gathering twilight. We remembered Kinneret and what it meant to us. We bade farewell to a friend, Kvutzat Kinneret.
Avrahain Bass, 1957