Living on the Edge:
An Experiment in Judaism and Permaculture
TALYA OBERFIELD
SHMA.COM
We are an unlikely group to have come together to study permaculture at the Hava v’Adam ecological farm and education center near Modi’in in Israel. Ten participants, mostly Americans, ranging in age from 20
to 31, cover quite a lot of ground within the spectrum of what it can mean to be Jewish: We are
unaffiliated, religious and in-between; we are Modern Orthodox, Conservative, and nondenominational; Sephardic and Ashkenazic. Two arrived
planning to make aliyah, while for others, this five-month Eco-Israel apprenticeship program is their
first experience in this country. Two have one Jewish parent and were raised Catholic. My dome-mate — we live in geo-domes on the farm made
of wood and canvas — was born to a Moroccan
Muslim father and a Jewish mother who converted to Catholicism. She is exploring her Jewish roots through this experience. From the start,
our common interest in the environment and sustainability was more apparent than a sense of
shared Jewishness.
Originally derived from “permanent (
agri)cul-ture,” permaculture is a design system and philosophy modeled after nature’s systems, applied
not just to physical landscapes but to social
structures and community life as well. An integral concept in permaculture design is the “edge
effect” — the interaction at the borders between
separate niches. The edges are where things happen. Transition zones in nature, where edges
meet, are the most active, productive, and stable due to their biodiversity. For instance, plants
that grow at the edges of a pond attract fish to
feed and breed there, so designing a wavy shape
to the pond rather than a circular one maximizes
the edge, leading to a more active habitat. Strong
ecosystems result when the borders that make
up an edge are distinct yet permeable.
The “edge effect” has parallel results when
applied to the design of the Eco-Israel commu-
nity. Our interdependence as a functioning com-
munity on the farm requires that our “edges”
are constantly in contact. Continuous interac-
tion among the structures we’ve incorporated to
support this exchange have strengthened our
productivity on farm projects as well as our per-
sonal and spiritual growth. Weekly “talking cir-
cles” focus on honest and constructive
communication. A rotation of communal chores
holds the group accountable to maintain the
needs of both farm and community. During
“skill-shares,” individuals teach yoga, text
study, or fermentation. Each of us is developing
our own niche as part of this small ecosystem
through the process of defining and negotiating
our constantly fluctuating borders.
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Talya Oberfield joined
Eco-Israel after earning a
Master of Education in
Curriculum and Instruction
from Lesley University in
Cambridge, Mass. She now
serves as manager of
programs at Building Impact,
a community-building
organization in Boston.
