Skip to Main Content
PLANT TREES IN ISRAEL
Jewish National Fund logo
  • Plant Trees
  • JNF In Your Area
  • Visit Israel
  • Shop
  • DONATE
X
Jewish National Fund logo
  • Our Vision
  • Our Work
  • Ways To Help
    • Ways To Give

      • Plant a Tree
      • Directed Giving
      • Planned Giving
      • Be Inscribed
      • Plant Your Way to Israel
      • EZ Tree®
      • JNF Store
      • Create or Find a Tribute
      • Create or Find a Memorial
      • Personal Fundraising
      • Open a Donor Advised Fund
      • Donate Cryptocurrency

      Get Involved

      • JNFuture
      • Women For Israel
      • Finance for Israel
      • Healthcare For Israel
      • Lawyers for Israel
      • Real Estate Division
      • Rabbis for Israel
      • Donor Societies
      • Join a Task Force

      Resources

      • JNF Boruchin Center
      • Shiva Resources
      • ZTV Zionism Studios
      • Speakers Bureau
      • Jewish Future Promise
  • News & Media
 

Stay on top of the latest Jewish National Fund news

New code

By providing a telephone number and submitting this form, you are consenting to be contacted by SMS/MMS text message (our message frequency may vary). Message & data rates may apply. Reply Stop2End. See our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Impact Blog

Harvesting Olives With Purpose

| David Pollack
Harvesting Olives With Purpose

Today I traveled to the ancient Jewish city of Ein Karem, which dates back to the time of the Second Temple. We were part of a group of volunteers who came to help Noam, the farmer/caretaker of an olive grove which is located off a very dusty unpaved dirt road that seemingly leads nowhere. After hiking for four or five minutes, we came upon a beautiful grove of several dozen olive trees situated in a lovely valley.

Noam gave us a quick (very quick) tutorial on how to harvest the olives or as he put it “milk the trees." He gave us our “equipment" which consisted of a large plastic tarp and several broom handles and advised us that after picking the low hanging fruit from the ground, the most effective way to milk the tree is to thrash the branches with the broomsticks which causes the olives to fall and collect on the tarp. After enough olives are collected on one side of the tree, they are gathered from the tarp and placed in a sack. The tarp is then moved to the other side of the tree and the process begins anew. 

After that process was completed, we were told to climb the tree (no easy feat) and thrash the upper branches from our elevated perch. It was hot and dusty, and we quickly became very thirsty and tired. But, of course, these small discomforts seemed even more inconsequential given the real sacrifices being made daily by hundreds of thousands of soldiers and millions of civilians around the country to protect their homeland. After a few hours thrashing, picking and separating the twigs and leaves from the olives, we had collected nearly 10 kilos -- over 20 pounds of olives -- which will be pressed into oil.

We heard the other day when we visited an army base, that the IDF is purchasing thousands of menorahs which the soldiers believed meant that the war is likely to continue into December during the Chanukah holiday. As sad as this information is, we were heartened by the thought that perhaps some of the oil from the olives we harvested today may serve to light the menorahs of some of the brave soldiers battling for the safety and security of our beloved homeland. It is the least we can do.  

***

Learn more and donate to our Israel Resilience Campaign

Thank you to David Pollack, a civilian volunteer from New York, for sharing his experiences in Israel this past week. 

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF B’YACHAD ONLINE EXACTLY AS IT APPEARS IN PRINT

Experience B’Yachad cover to cover with every beautiful photo and original piece of art, from the convenience of your computer screen. READ NOW >

READ NOW magazine image
< Return to blog home
Phone:800.JNF.0099
Email:[email protected]

About JNF

Planned Giving

JNF Boruchin Center

Impact Blog

IsraelCast – JNF Podcast

JNF Videos

Leadership

News & Media

Employment Opportunities

Accessibility

Privacy Policy

Contact Us

FAQs

Terms & Conditions

National Office
42 East 69th Street
New York, NY 10021 USA
(212)879-9300

Israel Office
Jewish National Fund-USA
C/O WeWork
King George 20
Jerusalem, Israel
972-2-563-5638

Find Local Office
Jewish National Fund is listed by the IRS as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit with a Federal Tax ID of 13-1659627. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Copyright © 2021 by Jewish National Fund
Logo white image
AMHSI Logo image
Charity navigator logo image
BBB logo image