Adam V'Adama: Combining Agricultural Work With Matriculation Studies and Values

At the schools in the Adam v'Adama network, which is part of the HaShomer HaChadash organization, the school day begins at 6:00 AM. After waking up on their own and preparing breakfast, the students head out for their agricultural tasks. "Everyone knows the work schedule in advance," says Yehuda Granot, 23, a graduate of the Adam v'Adama network. "We prepare food for ourselves, get on the bus, and go out to help the farmers until 11:30 AM. After a lunch break, we return to school and begin the second phase of the day, which includes studying math, English, history, Bible, and agriculture – all mandatory subjects for the matriculation certificate that everyone is familiar with."
The network of schools was established in cooperation with and under the supervision of the Rural Education Administration and Division A of Secondary Education in the Ministry of Education, with the goal of combining practical agricultural experience with studies toward a full matriculation certificate. Granot, who currently serves as an officer in the Armored Corps, recalls with a smile the formative years he spent at the Adam v'Adama school. "The studies themselves end in the afternoon, and then we participate in lessons, lectures, other enrichment activities, and classes that include combat fitness and preparation for meaningful service, alongside activities in other fields such as pottery, carpentry, and art. There is no doubt that this special routine creates a connection to the land. You feel connected on a deeper, more rooted level to the place where you live."
"Looking back, I think the studies helped me develop a strong work ethic and self-discipline," he explains. "Waking up every morning on your own, making breakfast, making your bed, and going to work – that's really not something that comes naturally in our generation. You know that the agricultural field depends on you – and that the responsibility to do a good job rests solely with you. I think it was one of the best times of my life. I gained not only a connection to the land and a work ethic, but also many friends for life."

"Raising the Next Generation of Leaders"

While the daily routine at the Adam v'Adama network may not resemble the typical routine in the education system that we all know, it is based on a proud agricultural-educational tradition that developed here in Israel, even before the establishment of the state. "Our goal is to combine farming, matriculation studies, and values-based content – to reconnect youth to the land and to cultivate young leadership," explains Amit Meir, from Moshav Hatzeva, who founded the network with his friend from military service, Yossi Montag. "As we were developing the first school, we learned a lot about the history of agricultural schools in Israel, like those in Kaduri, Kfar Silver, Ein Kerem, and Mikve Israel – places that produced leaders such as Yigal Allon, Yitzhak Rabin, Rachel Yanait, and others who came from agricultural education and a connection to the land."
The network currently has six boarding school programs, from the Golan Heights to the Gaza Perimeter, in moshavim, kibbutzim, and agricultural youth villages – Kaduri, Kfar Silver, and the Nitzana Educational Community. The educational boarding schools are part of the Boarding Schools Division of the Rural Education Administration, which guides, supports, and assists the schools, along with providing financial assistance for families and youth in need, to ensure that the cost of the program will not be a barrier for any boy or girl who is suitable for the school. This assistance also helps make the program more diverse socio-economically.
"There are about four hundred high school-aged teens in our schools. Our goal is to restore local production, improve food independence, strengthen the borders in the periphery – and also to raise the next generation of farmers in Israel. Apart from combining agricultural work with matriculation studies, the curriculum also includes extracurricular classes, combat fitness, identity studies, and many lectures and value-based activities. As part of the academic framework, the teens study in the agriculture track with 5 study units – including technological content on agrotech and the future of agriculture in collaboration with companies like Netafim, Hishtil, the ICA in Israel Foundation, and other partners from the world of agriculture and education."
As mentioned, the Adam v'Adama network is not trying to reinvent the wheel – but rather to return to the original tradition of the Hebrew education system in the Land of Israel. "We want to bring people back to simplicity," he emphasizes. "Along with excellence in the field of agrotech, these trainees learn how to serve as apprentices to farmers and how to work with their hands. Instead of sitting for 8–9 hours every day in an air-conditioned classroom, they go out into nature. I think that a boy or girl who wakes up every day at 5 in the morning and works in agriculture gains patience, mental resilience, and perseverance. These abilities will help them in the future, even if they become doctors, lawyers, or engineers. We are building quality people here for life."
According to Amit Meir, agricultural work serves the goals of the educational process. "In my opinion, education through agriculture is just amazing. We are talking here about learning through nature – where the agricultural field is the classroom. The teachers go out with the trainees into the field, work together with them, and have personal conversations with them. We really create a partnership between the trainees and the staff. And in this regard, it is important for us to use the term 'trainees' and not 'students' – the emphasis here is on the educational process they go through with us."
"One of the significant components of the educational model of Adam v'Adama is the focus on studies in a boarding school format. It is important to understand that boarding schools are a unique framework that can be suitable for any youth. Each trainee is given significant areas of responsibility. They lead the program on their own, are in contact with farmers in the area, and manage the logistics. We see these youth grow from that acceptance of responsibility. The emphasis here is on leadership, responsibility, and taking initiative. All trainees from Grades 9 to 12 are educated together in a multi-age process. When everyone lives together in a boarding school and goes out into the fields together, it is sometimes hard to tell who is in Grade 9 and who is in Grade 12. There is no 'distance' between these kids."
The Adam v'Adama schools from HaShomer HaChadash attract teens from all over the country. "We have kids who come to us with a lot of motivation," he explains. "They are mostly secular – but we also have trainees from religious homes. Our mission is to find teens who come with high motivation, a search for meaning, a commitment to action, and a connection to agriculture."

"Thirsty for Meaningful Experiences"

As mentioned, the Adam v'Adama network was founded by Amit Meir and Yossi Montag. "I was born into a farming family in a moshav," relates Meir. "After military service in Unit 669, I started working with youth in the Israeli Masa program, and in 2011 I joined the HaShomer HaChadash organization, where I guided in a leadership program as part of a pre-military service year. A few years later, I returned to the family farm and planted date palms there. It was then that the decision to do something that would combine education and agriculture began to take shape."
The initiative to establish an educational-agricultural framework quickly found fertile ground. "Over the years, I've met many people in their service year or in preparatory programs, and many of them talked about the feeling that regular high school didn't provide them with a meaningful enough experience. There was a clear need here among youth who really wanted to do something different. On a personal level, I felt how young people in Israel are distancing themselves from agriculture. It is vital to understand that the average age of farmers in Israel is 65 and over. The number of farmers is decreasing – with most agricultural produce being imported from countries like Turkey and Egypt. I myself returned to the family farm in Moshav Hatzeva with the understanding that if my generation does not return to the fields – it is not certain that there will be continuity for the farm in the future.
That is how the first Adam v'Adama school was established in the Arava region. "We had a lot of backing and support from the Ministry of Education and partners and supporters in Israel and around the world, and learning and inspiration from the Regavim Program that was established in the Beit Shean Valley. At first, it wasn't easy," says Meir. "On the bureaucratic and practical level, we learned what it means to establish a new school. Yossi and I recruited the first cohort of students just through word of mouth."
The success of the first school led to the establishment of three additional schools across the country, and two new programs in Eshkol and Nitzana that initially are operating in partnership with existing schools until they grow and develop. "From the beginning, we had a vision to establish a broad network of schools. Together with HaShomer HaChadash, we have added more schools that are based on the same initial model: daily work, connection to the land, and a combination of education and agricultural experience. We embarked on this journey together with many partners – including a board of directors that oversees the ongoing activities. I think the network's success story would not have been possible without the strong connection of youth to agriculture. I personally have taught trainees for five years while also being involved in management, and I saw for myself how eager these kids are for a meaningful experience. You can see in the field how the trainees connect to agricultural work, and to any national mission. For example, in recent months our trainees have been an integral part of rebuilding the city of Kiryat Shemona. This may not be an agricultural task, but it is an extremely important national mission."

Support for Farmers Affected by the Recent War

The network's years of activity have been marked by global and national crises. "During the COVID-19 period, we were the only school that continued to operate without interruption – thanks to the connection to the essential agricultural farms," says Amit Meir. "This is also true of the period of the war. On October 7th, I enlisted for almost 300 days of reserve service in Gaza and southern Lebanon, rescuing and evacuating the wounded. Many people from Adam v'Adama and HaShomer HaChadash also enlisted. During my reserve service, I met quite a few people from communities in the Gaza Perimeter and also from the north that were affected. From a desire to help the communities in the Gaza Perimeter, we decided to establish the program in the Eshkol Regional Council."
With the support of Bank Hapoalim and JNF-USA, the Adam v'Adama network set up a branch in Moshav Sde Nitzan. "The school is run by Ofek Salomon, who was previously a youth guide at our school in Hatzeva – and he himself is a graduate of HaShomer HaChadash along with Asher Wolf, who serves with Amit in the same team in the reserves and decided to make a transition from the business world to education. We are leading this journey together with Bank Hapoalim's 'Poalim Letkuma', who decided to adopt the school for a period of three years – with support that is not only financial. With their help, and the support of the Rural Education Administration and the Secondary Education Division of the Ministry of Education, we were able to establish a new school within three months – on a truly unheard of schedule. Today we are recruiting teens for the coming school year and continuing to build our campus in Sde Nitzan."
During the war, the network decided to establish another Adam v'Adama program in Nitzana, in the Ramat Negev Regional Council near the Egyptian border, in collaboration with the Mandel Foundation and with the support of the Atid Education Network. "We are working according to a strategy to strengthen the borders and the periphery," he explains. "We understand that every new school attracts educators, teachers, and the families of the trainees – which contributes to employment and the community in the area. The impact of establishing a school is enormous. Of course, there is also direct help for agriculture here. Nationally, our schools assist more than four hundred farmers. It could be a farmer who needs help with planting peppers for two or three days – or it could be a farm that needs us regularly for an entire season."
The Adam v'Adama network has a strong desire to expand and assist additional farmers throughout the country, and is aiming to establish another program in the Upper Galilee already next year.

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