Tamara Sessler - February 4, 2008
Making Aliyah
No. Tell me a little bit more about the decision to, to make aliyah. Was there a final...
Once I went--once I, I got permission from my mother to go in hachshara--this is with a group called Bachad. Do you know what it means? Brit Chalutzim Dati-im. English Religious Pioneers--Brit Chalutzim Dati-im. But it was clear that I would come on aliyah. This was the purpose of being on hachshara.
So tell me how that unfolded.
Coming on aliyah or before?
Well, leading up to it and aliyah.
Leading up to it I was in hachshara working hard. When I was there on holiday I worked so hard that when it came to pay my bill for being there the woman in charge said, "I think we ought to pay you if you work so hard." But I enjoyed it. I liked working outside. And um, I was very impressed with the dedication of the people who were there, very impressed. And there now in kibbutz Lavi--you've heard of the kibbutz? It's in the Galilee. It's very beautiful place by now or a very beautiful hotel and, um...
What year was this?
We came over in '49.
So, after the war.
After the war and we got married in '47 after my husband was let off from the British Army and we decided in England we would give the kibbutz a years try. If we wanted to make it our life as, as a kibbutznik then we would stay on and if not we would leave after a year. And after a year my husband was in charge of the work done and I was for a short time in charge of the women and nobody expected us to even though ??? the kibbutz but we decided after a year that this was not the life for us for good so they were all astonished because we're not grumbling types, you know, we never talked about going out or that we were miserable--I wasn't, I was very happy but it wasn't going to be the life which I dreamt of for good. So, in '50 we decided, enough.
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