Interview conducted by Sharona Eshet-Kohen
Tuvia Victor founded and manages Bet El's Pinat Chai [children's petting zoo]. In this interview he discusses his time learning at the Bet El Yeshiva, the importance of contributing to Am Yisrael [the Jewish People], and the terrorist attack that led to the creation of the Pinat Chai.
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| Tuvia feeding the Coati Munti at the Pinat Chai |
Sharona Eshet-Kohen: Tell me about your childhood.
Tuvia Victor: I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa in a traditional home. We kept kosher, I went to Jewish day school, we lit candles on Friday night, but we were not shomer Shabbat [observant of the Sabbath]. I went to synagogue on Shabbat mornings, and there the rabbi would tell stories and I got interested in Judaism. Eventually, through Bnei Akiva, I became more religious at a young age - before I was 10.
From there becoming more religious and more Zionist was a natural progression, and I also influenced the rest of my family. I had a very comfortable life in Johannesburg. At that time life was very good there, especially for people who weren't black, and we didn’t really understand what was going on in the country (the way we realize now what happened in the past).
From there becoming more religious and more Zionist was a natural progression, and I also influenced the rest of my family. I had a very comfortable life in Johannesburg. At that time life was very good there, especially for people who weren't black, and we didn’t really understand what was going on in the country (the way we realize now what happened in the past).
SEK: How did you come to learn at the Bet El Yeshiva? What was your experience while you were there?
TV: My connection to Bet El started when I wanted to come Israel after high school. My mother said I must first get a university degree, so I came to Israel every summer break for three month periods. On the first trip I went to a kibbutz, and when I came back and said I wanted to go back the following year, my father said if I want to go to Israel and I want to be religious, I must study Torah there. So I looked for a yeshiva to learn at and the only one I found was Ohr Sameach. The following year I studied at Ohr Sameah during the three month summer break.
While I was there I met a distant relative who lived in Bet El and I came here for a Shabbat. That shabbat was very interesting. Summer break in South Africa meant it was a winter in Israel - cold and rainy. My relative told me to get off at the last stop on the bus. I went into a yishuv, and after a few stops I asked if it was the last stop and the driver said it was, so I got off, and it turned out I was in Ofra [a yishuv close to Bet El] - the last stop in Ofra - but not the last stop of the bus. And that had been the last bus before Shabbat. So there I was, cold and wet and stuck in Ofra on a Friday afternoon. And remember, this was in 1978 when it was really undeveloped here.
Eventually I managed to get a ride to Bet El. I stayed with a lovely family in Bet El Aleph who I’m still in contact with today. When I arrived here I saw there was a flag flying, holding with all its might onto the flagpole, and it left an impression on me that Shabbat. And when I came back to Israel the following two summers, I came to the Yeshiva in Bet El.
At the Yeshiva we learned in Hebrew, of which I had a basic understanding from Jewish day school. But I didn't mind working hard - I wanted to be part of Israeli culture.
While I was there I met a distant relative who lived in Bet El and I came here for a Shabbat. That shabbat was very interesting. Summer break in South Africa meant it was a winter in Israel - cold and rainy. My relative told me to get off at the last stop on the bus. I went into a yishuv, and after a few stops I asked if it was the last stop and the driver said it was, so I got off, and it turned out I was in Ofra [a yishuv close to Bet El] - the last stop in Ofra - but not the last stop of the bus. And that had been the last bus before Shabbat. So there I was, cold and wet and stuck in Ofra on a Friday afternoon. And remember, this was in 1978 when it was really undeveloped here.
Eventually I managed to get a ride to Bet El. I stayed with a lovely family in Bet El Aleph who I’m still in contact with today. When I arrived here I saw there was a flag flying, holding with all its might onto the flagpole, and it left an impression on me that Shabbat. And when I came back to Israel the following two summers, I came to the Yeshiva in Bet El.
At the Yeshiva we learned in Hebrew, of which I had a basic understanding from Jewish day school. But I didn't mind working hard - I wanted to be part of Israeli culture.
TV: As I said, I was in yeshiva for two stints of about three months each, after which I finished my university degree in South Africa. When I made Aliyah I moved to Jerusalem. I was working as an accountant there until I got married and we came to Bet El. Shortly after we wed I was called up for Shlav Bet [shortened army service for older people]. Due to my age (I was 27 at the time) I was drafted for four months and miluim [reserves]. We started our in Bet El by renting a caravan [trailer] from the Yeshiva for the first year or so, and then we lived in various apartments.
I feel that I grew with Bet El. I got involved with the Mo'atza [local town council] and helped turn the place from a small village to town. Hopefully I did my share in building the yishuv. It was my way of doing something for the country.
SEK: Tell me about the pinat chai [petting zoo] you founded and manage until today.
The sad thing for me is that I immediately recognized them as my neighbors living three houses away from me. 12 year old Efraim was wounded so badly there was nothing I could do. A few minutes later a doctor arrived and he also said there was nothing to do. I stayed with Efraim until he took his last breath. It was tragic and devastating.
The following Shabbat I walked down to the valley where Efraim and his friends had been keeping some animals. I imagine their mothers would not allow them to keep them near their homes. I saw his friends had painted a sign that read “Havat Efraim - in memory of our friend” [Efraim's Farm]. Then and there I decided I would try to help his friends fix up the cages a little bit. Little did I know that 24 years or so later I would still be involved, while the rest of his friends are grown up and now take their own kids to the same spot. Today, that spot is a children’s petting zoo, which I built together with others in memory of Efraim, and which serves as a special island of tranquility in Bet El.
The pinat chai has grown into a 12 dunam area where we have about 150 animals. There are farm animals like sheep, and goats, and donkeys. There are deer and all kinds of ducks, geese, and fowl. We have some unique animals like a coati munti (a small South American carnivore), a white peacock, and mandarin ducks. The greatest aspect of the pinat chai is that the children of Bet El and the surrounding yishuvim come here to tend to the animals and spend some time with nature - G-d’s creation - which they experience with all their senses. It's an incredible experience to watch them outdoors rather than sitting at home watching a screen.
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| Coati Munti at the Pinat Chai |
We have a group of volunteers - children who come in the summer twice a week and in the winter once a week, together with a madricha [counselor]. They feed, they learn, they clean, they get their hands dirty with nature. The benefits they receive are amazing: their self-confidence grows. I have heard from teachers that after they volunteer they raise their hands in class and answer questions when before they didn’t. It seems to be an amazing kind of therapy for the children even though there’s no professional help at the moment. But the work and time they spend with the animals and nature clearly has a great effect on them.
Another project we have at the pinat chai is employing the unemployed or underemployed. Over the years we have had many people who were between jobs, and at the pinat chai we can always find something for them to do, whether it's feeding or cleaning or painting or building. And we try to raise as much money as we can in order to employ anybody and everybody who needs a job.
We’re always short of money to run the petting zoo, so we try as best we can to raise funds, and we ask people who visit to donate. We mix our fundraising together with looking after the environment. We collect used bottles and cans and cash them in for deposit. We’re raising money for upkeep of the pinat chai and in addition we're helping save the planet.
SEK: Tell me about your day job as an accountant in Bet El.
TV: I think the simplest and easiest place to work is at home. I started inside my living room, then rented a little spot. Slowly the office grew, and today we run an office where we try to give complete financial help, from accounting to pensions, insurance, savings, etc. Clients come from Bet El and neighboring yishuvim, as well as Jerusalem and other places in Israel, all from word of mouth.
SEK: Tell me about your family.
TV: I met my wife in Jerusalem. She made aliyah from Chicago. We both came for ideological reasons and by ourselves. We met among the English speakers in Jerusalem at a seudah shlishit [third meal on the Sabbath]. Both her and I are still the only ones of our immediate family in Israel. The rest of her family is in Chicago and the rest of mine is in South Africa. We have five children and five grandchildren (so far!). Of my children, three are married and the other two hopefully will be soon as well. Some of them studied in the Ulpana [Jeanie Gluck High School Academy for Girls].
They’ve all gone their own ways. None except for my youngest, who is still at home and studying in Ariel, are still living in Bet El. The others have all moved out to Jerusalem, Modi'in and Tel Aviv. But they come often to visit to see us and to see the pinat chai.
They’ve all gone their own ways. None except for my youngest, who is still at home and studying in Ariel, are still living in Bet El. The others have all moved out to Jerusalem, Modi'in and Tel Aviv. But they come often to visit to see us and to see the pinat chai.
SEK: If you could deliver any message to our readers abroad, what would you tell them?
TV: If I look back on the almost 40 years since I made Aliyah, I think my greatest achievement is that I’ve done something not only for myself but for Am Yisrael [the Jewish People]. It may not be something as great as what others have done. But for me, I have the sense of feeling that by coming to Israel I did something. By coming to Bet El - at a time without all the modern convenience and amenities that are available to today - in order to secure this area for Am Yisrael I did something. By building the pinat chai on a voluntary basis - taking an unused area and developing it into something that thousands of children can benefit from every year - I did something.
My message for everybody is don’t just think of yourself. Do something that’s good for Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, Torat Yisrael. Do something you can look back on and say "I did my part." It may be a small step when you look at the whole of the nation, but for me as an individual, I feel I did a lot. It's the satisfaction you get and the feeling knowing you’ve done what you could have done in order to help build the country and the nation.
