Page 229 - big friday
P. 229
It was the afternoon of 5th Iyar, 5708. That same day, the establishment of the State
of Israel was declared. "Now we have a state! My nation has arisen (ami kam)!" said his
mother, and they called the child Amikam.
As a young child, Amikam decided to follow in the footsteps of his revered brother. But
instead of fighting, he decided to develop his country peacefully. He started building. First
he built imaginary palaces out of paper and matchboxes. Then he put up more substantial
buildings, made of cardboard and wood offcuts. This year, he built his first major project.
With the help of his neighborhood friends, Amikam gathered boards, bricks, wood,
planks and tin, and laid the foundations for a club in his yard. Each day the boys gathered
construction materials; they banged their hammers and sawed and matched one piece to
another. Slowly but surely, the building progressed. The roof, made of bits of board, tin,
and more, was put up six times; eventually, they reinforced it with bricks and heavy pieces
of junk. They found some green paint, and painted part of the walls – as far as the paint
would stretch; they kept aside the boards that were (more or less) intact, and used them to
make benches and a table. The entire club measured no more than 2 square meters, but it
could hold eighteen children.
The entire project was built by Amikam and his friends, with their own hands. The
whole neighborhood is talking about the club, but Amikam is not finished yet: he is
touching up over here, banging a nail over there, and giving the place a more attractive
appearance overall. He has decorated the club with pictures and flowers, and has placed
candlesticks by the wall, where they light candles in the evening, and a horseshoe for good
luck. Amikam's club has become the favorite hangout of the children of Katznelson Street
in Givatayim. They hold ceremonies welcoming the Sabbath there, as well as other social
activities.
To upgrade the place further, Amikam and his friends decided to collect a weekly
membership fee of 50 peruta. They used the initial income to buy a lock. The next
expenditure will be a national flag, and a special logo for celebrating their tenth birthday.
A mikam's greatest hope as he turns ten is that his uncle, aunt and cousin will be able
to immigrate from Poland. "The first thing I'll give my cousin," he says, "is my bed. The
second thing will be to introduce him into our club as an honorary member."
C hildhood years in the thunder of bombs
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" As the first bombardment of Tel Aviv began, Atiya Deutch was
born at the Assuta hospital, just a kilometer away from where the bomb had fallen. She
spent the first few days of her life together with her mother in a bomb shelter, and the
thunder of cannons and shelling was the lullaby with which she fell asleep at night. Her
father wasn't home when his eldest daughter returned from the hospital with her mother.
He had been called to the front. By the time he arrived on his first furlough, Atiya was a
happy six-month old infant.
It may be due to the unmusical din that accompanied Atiya during her first days of life
Other Perspectives 227
of Israel was declared. "Now we have a state! My nation has arisen (ami kam)!" said his
mother, and they called the child Amikam.
As a young child, Amikam decided to follow in the footsteps of his revered brother. But
instead of fighting, he decided to develop his country peacefully. He started building. First
he built imaginary palaces out of paper and matchboxes. Then he put up more substantial
buildings, made of cardboard and wood offcuts. This year, he built his first major project.
With the help of his neighborhood friends, Amikam gathered boards, bricks, wood,
planks and tin, and laid the foundations for a club in his yard. Each day the boys gathered
construction materials; they banged their hammers and sawed and matched one piece to
another. Slowly but surely, the building progressed. The roof, made of bits of board, tin,
and more, was put up six times; eventually, they reinforced it with bricks and heavy pieces
of junk. They found some green paint, and painted part of the walls – as far as the paint
would stretch; they kept aside the boards that were (more or less) intact, and used them to
make benches and a table. The entire club measured no more than 2 square meters, but it
could hold eighteen children.
The entire project was built by Amikam and his friends, with their own hands. The
whole neighborhood is talking about the club, but Amikam is not finished yet: he is
touching up over here, banging a nail over there, and giving the place a more attractive
appearance overall. He has decorated the club with pictures and flowers, and has placed
candlesticks by the wall, where they light candles in the evening, and a horseshoe for good
luck. Amikam's club has become the favorite hangout of the children of Katznelson Street
in Givatayim. They hold ceremonies welcoming the Sabbath there, as well as other social
activities.
To upgrade the place further, Amikam and his friends decided to collect a weekly
membership fee of 50 peruta. They used the initial income to buy a lock. The next
expenditure will be a national flag, and a special logo for celebrating their tenth birthday.
A mikam's greatest hope as he turns ten is that his uncle, aunt and cousin will be able
to immigrate from Poland. "The first thing I'll give my cousin," he says, "is my bed. The
second thing will be to introduce him into our club as an honorary member."
C hildhood years in the thunder of bombs
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" As the first bombardment of Tel Aviv began, Atiya Deutch was
born at the Assuta hospital, just a kilometer away from where the bomb had fallen. She
spent the first few days of her life together with her mother in a bomb shelter, and the
thunder of cannons and shelling was the lullaby with which she fell asleep at night. Her
father wasn't home when his eldest daughter returned from the hospital with her mother.
He had been called to the front. By the time he arrived on his first furlough, Atiya was a
happy six-month old infant.
It may be due to the unmusical din that accompanied Atiya during her first days of life
Other Perspectives 227
