Page 2 - C.A.L.L. #38 - Summer 2014

Dear Readers,
CONTENTS
I’m currently reading “Where Community
Happens” by Henry Near, and I came 3
across this wonderful quote which
describes the collective experience of a The Farm, USA
young kibbutz in the 1920’s:
5
“There was a sort of mutual yearning, a Intentional
desire to sit together far into the night, Communities &
and thereby penetrate the very depth of Solidarity Economics
the vision of communal life. Soul touched
soul. We longed to become a sort of river of souls, whose tributaries 6
would merge, and together create a fresh and mighty current of The Israeli Council
friendship and fraternity”.
of Communities for
Whilst I recognize that communal experiments past and present are Social Action
extremely varied, specifically in terms of the varying levels of co-
operation between their members, all communities, by their very 9
nature, are an expression of people’s search for some form of person-to- Federation of
person connectedness. Intentional
Communities Health
In addition, the shared knowledge and experiences between Fund
communities, of which the ICD is a vehicle, is a further expression of
wo/man’s desire for partnership. In the current issue of C.A.L.L. we
have a fine example of this; we reprint letters we have received from 10
Austria and Australia, of community members reaching out across the International
world. Communes Desk
Study Group
We also have a couple of articles profiling intentional communities in
China, reflecting a communal renaissance of sorts, in stark contrast to 12
the increasing adoption of capitalism there. Closer to home, we have an Camphill
article on the Israeli Council of Communities for Social Action, an
exciting network of which my community is a part. Communities

This year, the ICD hosted a symposium of sorts, on the topic of Tikkun 15
Olam (don’t worry if this term doesn’t mean anything to you yet, it will Solar Power in
when you read our Study Group materials starting on page 10). Our Religious
very own Michael Livni opened the session with a presentation defining Communities
the concept, followed by Richard and Susan interpreting the term from
the Ganas perspective (the name of their community in New York). 18
Finally, Jan Bang described the presence of Tikkun Olam in the
philosophy and practice of Camphill Communities (his presentation can Danthonia Bruderhof,
be found on page 12). The discussions were fruitful, and my feelings Australia
from the meeting can be summed up by the following passage, also
from Henry’s book: 19
Sharing Benches:
“..the collective experience often rises spontaneously when men and Acts of
women of good will live, work and think together. In this sense, it is Communalism
universal – or, perhaps more accurately, eternal, as fire is eternal: not
that it never dies, but that it will always break out afresh, in places ever 21
new and often unexpected”.
Living Communally in
You can send us your suggestions, corrections, contributions and London in the 1990’s
retributions regarding C.A.L.L., to the usual email address,
23
Anton New Oasis for Life
anton@communa.org.il and Righteous Path
www.communa.org.il Farm, China

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