Religious Life

Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu leads a life of Torah and mitzvot, while dealing with the two challenges of the era - return to the land of Israel and modern life.Sde ELiyahu is a community in the "classic" meaning of the word, a Jewish society with all the religious facilities, synagogue, mikvah, and Chevra Kadisha.

Prayer services

The kibbutz has a synagogue in which all the the prayer services are held, daily in a number of different minyanim for every service. The paryers are acoording to the original Ashkenazi Nusach.(Radelheim Siddur) and updated according to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Torah

The community is a learning community. There are daily gemara and mishna shiurim in the synagogue as well as Torah shiurim given by the rabbi and kibbutz members in the Beth Midrash. In the different branches of work, weekly shiurim are held during work hours. On shabbath there are shiurim in tanach, talmud, and Jewish thought for different groups. The kibbutz has a rich Torah library based on the inheritance of the Rabbi B.S.Waserman who was the Av Beth Din of Breslev and Tel Aviv.

The Hevra Kaddisha of the Kibbutz is made up of members of the Kibbutz and take care of all the affairs related to the deceased from the time of passing away until the burial.

In addition, the Kibbutz members are also involved with settlements in the area by organizing Jewish events, preparation for Barmitzvah etc.

Agriculture according to Torah

This is one of the things that makes kibbutz hadati unique. Orla (fruit from the first three years which is prohibited by Jewish law) and Kilayim (the mixing of various specied - both animal and vegetable, which also are prohibited by Jewish law) are carefully kept with the guidance of the Rabbi. Trumot and Maasrot (Donations from agricultural produce that formally were donated to the Priests and Levites, but today due to factors relating to the fact that we do not have a Temple, they must be seperated, but not used in any way), are set aside in the various packing houses. 

The mitzvah of shmitah (the Biblical injunction to leave the land fallow every seventh year) is kept by three methods:

1. "hovarat shtachim" (leaving the land uncultivated). Close to about 30% of our fields are left uncultivated. 
2.  most of the orchards being "Otzar Beth Din" (land under control of religious courts - where specific agricultural tasks are undertaken my the kibbutz as "agents" of the religious court rather than being our own agents) 
3. "heter mechira" (land sold to Nonjews - permitting memebers to do certain tasks as the land does not belong to Jews) granted by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is applied specifically for each field. The rest of our fields rely on this method.

The Dairy - The cows are milked on Shabbat by a machine that was developed by Rabbi Shlomo Rosenfeld, the first Rabbi of the Kibbutz. This machine is approved by the Chief Rabbinic Authorities with the addition of the principle of the first milk "lost".

The Kibbutz Rabbi

The kibbutz Rabbi, Rabbi Achia Shlomo Amitai, may be contacted by email: harav@seliyahu.org.il or by writing to him care of the kibbutz.

Copyright Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu 2002

Web Master: webman@seliyahu.org.il