Safta Sarah.

By Tessa Moran

We’ve decided to add one more character to our film — Safta, Ben’s grandmother. She can offer an excellent perspective on the kibbutz because she has lived here for over 70 years. She has tremendous dedication to the kibbutz, and defends it at all costs. She is a true patriot to the movement, and to the country.

Sarah Keller (Safta) arrived when she was sixteen from Latvia to live with her sister who had already immigrated to Kibbutz Kfar Giladi. Sadly, nearly two months after Sarah arrived, her sister died from Meningitis. Sarah’s mother died soon after. Sarah remained in the kibbutz and married Menachem, a third generation Israeli (or citizen of the land before it was Israel). Following their wedding, the couple was given a tent to live in because there weren’t enough houses for all the kibbutzniks. She and Menachem had a traditional wedding at the request of Menachem’s mother who was concerned that her son would get married in a group as was commonly done in the kibbutz at the time. They raised three daughters and a son.

Their son Yosi, a Cobra helicopter pilot, was shot down during the First Lebanon War in 1982 and died on impact. He left two young sons and wife behind. Safta talks of her son fondly, and comes to tears at the mention of his name. Yosi’s death was a shock for both his immediate family, and his greater family — the kibbutz. Kibbutzniks yearly attend a memorial for his death, and his name is mentioned often with tones of respect and sorrow.

Despite the pain she experienced throughout her life in the kibbutz, Safta exhibits great pride in her home and in her country. She often questions us about life “on the outside.” She wonders if we work hard — we say we do. She asks us if it is expensive to live — we say it is. She asks us if there are poor people in America — indeed there are many, we respond. She purses her lips and continues to rock in her chair, seemingly satisfied that our responses meet her expectations. She is proud that life in the kibbutz is easier, fairer.

Following Yosi’s death, Sarah and Menachem agreed that they would continue to live their lives as actively as they had for the sake of their children and grandchildren. Sarah lived that way even after Menachem’s death six years ago. Though her life follows a routine, she lives it quite happily, and we’ve endeavored to film her spirit.

Every morning Safta wakes up around 6:30 am, then prepares to take her walk at 7am. She walks up and down the flattest portion of the street in front of her apartment. Few cars drive within the kibbutz, so the road has little traffic. At one end of the street she stops to check her pulse. At the other, she rests on a rock and breathes deeply. We set up a tripod at a wide angle, and filmed her as she walked back and forth. We think we might be able to speed up the footage, and make a humorous montage of her routine exercise. Following her morning exercises, Safta eats cottage cheese, salad and toast — every morning the same.

Painting, reading and completing crossword puzzles consume the majority of her morning. At noon, she takes her kalnoeet and drives to the dining room, where she eats boiled vegetables and chicken, and chats with two of her elderly friends. The women also meet every couple of weeks for coffee and cake. Safta only allows herself sweets once a week. We’ve accompanied Safta to these activities in order to illustrate the type of stress-free, independent, healthy life afforded to the elderly in this community.

One of our most treasured scenes is at the beauty salon, where Safta has her hair curled every other week. At the salon, Safta and her hairdresser began talking about Svia’s hoarding habits. Safta complained about the pile outside of her home, and the hairdresser talked about the pile nearby her salon. As in most salons around the world, gossip is an inevitable part of the experience.

As Safta departed the salon, I set the camera at a wide angle on the tripod in the corner of the raised patio outside of the salon. Safta had parked her kalnoeet there, and was struggling to back out of the small space. She drove back and forth, in forward and reverse, becoming more frustrated all the while. Ben and I were behind the camera trying to subdue our uncontrollable laughter. The scene, captured all within one static frame, will certainly add some humor to our already comical film.

We intend to continue to film Safta, not only for her comical moments, but also for her unwavering dedication to the kibbutz — so characteristic of many of the elderly in this community.