Another need of the Survivors for meaningful life and for belonging was re- flected in the faith that they remembered from home. For some it was the Jewish faith, the Jewish religious laws and traditions, and for others it was the Zionist ideology and the longing to immigrate to the Land of Israel.
In this category, the Survivors indicated the need to continue the family tradi- tions that they remembered from home. They said that after the war they longed to return to their "father's home", to remember their home. The past creates a link to an important future for them, to celebrate the Jewish holidays, which they were denied during the war. It was important for them to continue studying together, as they did in their homes of origin. The belief that they belonged to a people and a nation, helped them to rise from the past hell and continue living. This belief enables them, after their liberation, to celebrate the Jewish holidays and to be part of a people that others wished to extermi- nate.
Azriel says: "We celebrated Passover because they remembered the dates.
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Aviho: "I stayed a believer after the Holocaust as in the bible it says: ‘There will be a
hiding of God’…I am not a ‘Hasidic’, I am a 'Kabbalist'.
I learn Kabbalah each night until this day. This is the tradition, to learn and not to be narrow minded. My father was not religious, but I remember that on Saturdays he sat and studied bible with a cigarette in his mouth …"
Aviho; "… The tradition to learn and not to be narrow minded. ... when I was young I
was in a Yeshiva and my whole life I remember that on Saturdays he (my father) would sit and study bible with a cigarette in his mouth…. “
Others described the socialist ideology as part of the meaning of their life:
"Ideologically, Zionistic and socialistic brought me to Israel…"
"We were motivated by the Zionistic ideology. This was the essence of life and the way to
reject the pain and create success.”
“From my studies and research, I learned and felt that the world treated the Jews differ- ently, so I had a special motivation and the power to look into it. While I was studying, my wife was the financial supporter of the family. … All this was the result of me working with high motivation, because my source was the belief in Zionism.”
For Eva the source for a meaningful and successful life was following the role models of her parents: “I was raised by an enormously tough family who passed their styles and
attitudes onto me. This served me well when I came to Israel as a widow and decided to live in the same way. I was not a fearful person. I knew how to maintain self-discipline to reach my goals.
My target was to advance by being a good Zionist and proving to myself that I can play my part in building the state of Israel…Life here was very hard, but I was determined to help build the country and create a successful life according to my parents’ ideals. I was instilled with a love for Israel, not to live in the Diaspora (outside of Israel)…. Working , obligations to family and taking care of them in order to have roots here…I had met an orphan kid in the street and later I adopted him when I got married: he became our son.”
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Another way for a meaningful life was to help others, to take care of others and try to make arrangements for a new life. Azriel: “After four months I arrived in Israel. I en-
couraged a group of youngsters to come with me and I became their tutor. This time I started to feel that the meaning of my life was through Zionism…. I felt that this is my goal and it has been the source of motivation that led my life. I was interested in the Zi- onist movement my entire life …. I believed that by being here I could build a successful life for myself and that my dream and my parents’ dreams would come true. …"
Similarly to the keeping with the tradition that caused the Survivors to feel that they be- long, the Zionist ideology that they absorbed in their homes of origin gave meaning to their lives after the Holocaust and motivated them to continue living:
Azriel; “I feel meaning in my Zionistic actions and this makes me feel that I belong to this
country...”
Shy: “I was searching for a friend from my Zionistic youth group with whom to come to
Israel, make a life, and feel that this is ours and that we belong here….”
Aviho: "I found my own meaning in life by following Zionism and building Israel: My
belief and my program for life is to live for Israel; this is what…"
Yoram: “My family and I came to Israel because this was the only meaningful aim in our lives after the Holocaust. I was determined to come to Israel. I was sure that this is the only solution …"
Others were not satisfied with only immigrating to Israel, but considered their fulfillment in joining a kibbutz and becoming farmers. This is the Zionist ideology they were born into. Yoram said that the source of his motivation for success was his belief in Zionism, The source of Folie`s will to live a meaningful and successful life was his search toward his own fulfillment. He was a great Zionist according his personal history: “I wanted to
live in a Kibbutz, the best place to start building the state. When I arrived in Israel, my desire was to contribute to the building of this country, to build up a new state. I was ed- ucated on Zionist’s ideological faith. This was the source that helped me overcome the hard life at the beginning. My intention was to live an ordinary life here in Israel, in a socialist framework, in a Kibbutz. I still live there. I was devoted to the idea of socialism in a new country. I trusted myself to cope with every issue in life….”
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The inspiration behind Roza and Miriam in living a fulfilled and successful life was their strength in overcoming the difficulties that faces them without asking questions. Their view of life was simple and practical: “We believed that despite going through the Holo-
caust, with so much suffering, it was possible to gain a normal life again. We felt a de- termination to achieve what we needed for a normal life. Our meaning of life itself is to live it…We also believed that the Zionist concept was our only hope for a better future. We started to slowly organize our everyday needs. We felt that nothing could stop us from believing in life and in success because we are here in our country and we have been saved. We also have a secret motto that we want to reveal to them and to those who wanted to destroy us completely.” ‘Desire to achieve and never give up’. We have con- stantly tried new challenges, like working in agriculture (for Roza) and starting secretar- ial work with a new language (Miriam)” .
The faith in Judaism was always present, without words, and was expressed differently
by every Jewish person, ranging from the religious community to the agnostics. Together with living in Israel, it was the central factor connecting these people in many ways. Zi- onism instead of pure Judaism became the faith and provided the meaning of life, where the goal shared by all was to build the state of Israel.
Aviho was an excellent example of this: “I had an inner desire to study the bible. I fol-
lowed my father and after the war, here in Israel, I felt that I must go in that direction too, because it seemed to me that this might be the reason for my surviving after all. Eve- ry night I studied and was devoted to religion. I was learning about Judaism nonstop. My belief in God gave me the real reason for doing things. This was my route and the Holocaust did not succeed in destroying my beliefs. I’m religious but not a fanatic.”
According to Aviho's priorities, working and learning the Talmud were the source of his drive. Being involved with everything, staying busy, was also his rejection of, and his solution for the constant psychological pain he felt. “I worked without stopping. I decid-
ed to devote my life to Zionism, to build the country. I was left all alone, since my entire family was exterminated. The source of my motivation to live a meaningful and success- ful life was my belief in God and in the philosophy of Judaism. This belief system worked for me. I knew that I had to continue doing everything, I could to progress my career. I
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felt the ambition to achieve something. This powered my life and my sense of having so- cial security. I planted roots and I succeeded, with an immense will to live because of my faith in God. “
Yonit offered an original reason for feeling that life had meaning. “When I could use my
humor, my head and my hands, I felt that I lived a meaningful life and this was my way to feel that I belonged...”