The Origins of Kibbutz Be’eri

In Parshat Nitzavim, we find the warnings of what will happen to the Jewish people when they are disloyal to God as well as the eventual benevolence that God will shower upon them when they repent.

As part of the warnings, we read in Dvarim 29:22 that the land will be hit hard:

Sulfur and salt, all its land, will be burnt, it will not be seeded, and it will not sprout, and no grass will grow there; like the overturning of Sdom and Amora, Adma and Tzvoyim which God turned in His anger and in His wrath.

When you drive down to the Dead Sea today, you can still smell the sulfur from the days when Sdom and Amora were destroyed in the days of Avraham.

There was another place in Israel which contained sulfur which was discovered before the State of Israel was even established.

In 1929, during the days of the British mandate, Leonard Williams, an officer and geologist found a large amount of mineral sulfur on the soil of the Be’eri reserve near Wadi Nahabir, just south of Be’erot Yitzchak.

In 1930, geologists opened a quarry and raised a facility to isolate clean sulfur which was useful for making gunpowder. Sulfur was also used for making rubber, medicine. They brought over machinery from England and used local workers to remove 880 tons of sulfur.

The sulfur quarry was then converted over for agricultural use.

In 1946, Kibbutz Be’eri (named after Berl Katznelson) was established in the area. In 1948, the kibbutz moved three kilometers southeast and went on to become one of the wealthiest kibbutzim in Israel.

On October 7, 2023, Kibbutz Be’eri was attacked by Hamas militants from Gaza who infiltrated the kibbutz, took hostages and killed over 100 people. More than 130 houses and public buildings were destroyed. Initially, the members of the kibbutz were evacuated to the Dead Sea. Now, most of the community is temporarily living in Kibbutz Hatzerim.

Some residents of Kibbutz Be’eri have already returned home. The entire membership is hoping that the kibbutz will be fully rebuilt by 2026.

Just as the sulfur which was part of Israel’s destruction found a purpose, so too will the communities on the border of Gaza that were attacked on October 7 hope to fully rebuild and become stronger than ever.

May everyone who was evacuated throughout this war have the opportunity to rebuild their communities and may the remainder of the hostages come home.