Ma'ina Hershkovitz

A living and soulful source of art from childhood. Her mother was a painter and art teacher, and her father was a sculptor. Over the years, her life has always touched creation, and in recent years she has also been involved in painting, drawing and ceramics. But her main hobby over the years was photography. She used to photograph landscapes, people, and especially still life. In her youth, Maaina dreamed of studying photography. But as was customary during this period, she adapted herself to the needs of the kibbutz and went to study physical education, a field in which she was engaged until the birth of her eldest daughter, Ella.

When the second daughter, Amit, was born, the small family decided to start a new life in Kibbutz Bari, where Maiyna's father also lived - Eli. Upon moving to Bari, she joined the early childhood team and began to engage in management positions: responsible for early childhood, responsible for informal education, and more. At the age of forty, she left Eyna to study for a bachelor's and master's degree in business administration and worked in the council in a variety of organizational positions, mainly in the field of education.

Ma'ina was energetic and always aspired to learn and create. She loved documentary cinema, and in recent years she has been engaged in creative writing and plans to continue studying production and directing. Her travels following art ranged from the gallery to the art in the kibbutz and spread over many museums around the world. She liked to return again and again to the same places because she thought that "a good painting should be looked at more than once. 

Noach and Ma'ina met in 1975 at Kibbutz Kelli. Noah arrived with his nucleus, and met Ma'ina who had joined a year of service. Both were young, beautiful, chatty and full of life, and the fire of love ignited between them already at their first meeting - a night swim on a beach locked in the Dead Sea.

A few months later, Ma'ina was recruited into the liaison corps and stationed in Jerusalem. Despite the distance, they continued to cultivate the relationship that was officially established at Kibbutz Ein HaSholosh in August 1978, thanks to the nightly phone call in which Aayina informed Noah that she had completed her military service and that they were getting married. 

Noah and Ma'ina loved the kibbutz idea, and when they moved to Kibbutz Bari in 1986, they felt they had found their home, and called it: "a special piece of paradise".

The fulcrum of their relationship was their great love that helped them overcome ups and downs over the years. And in addition they shared common values and interests: their love of sports - thanks to which they swam and rode together, their love of art and culture, the world of classical music and the songs of the Land of Israel, and the world of crafts where they used to combine their talents in the field of carpentry And the painting, and almost always for someone else - the children, the grandchildren, the kindergartens and the school in the kibbutz. 

In their warm house in Bari, in the "Border Guard" neighborhood. where Tamir, the third son, was born, a tribe of friends of their age grew up. In the common grass in the heart of the neighborhood ran free and barefoot children who felt at home in each of the houses in the neighborhood. Noah and Ma'ina divided the housework between them, and the friends who entered were treated to Noah's favorite orange cake, or Ma'ina's wonderful cheesecake.

But most of all, Noah and Mayina's lives were dedicated to their children - Ella, Amit and Tamir, and their seven beloved grandchildren: Amir, Daniel, Oz, Lavia, Mayan, Raz and Naomi. Grandfather Noah was active, played, involved, and grandmother Ma'ina devoted hours to creating, telling stories and swimming in the kibbutz pool.

Noah always emphasized to the children the value of the close-knit family, and Maaina who was a strong woman who lived life to the fullest, gave them inspiration to grow and grow.

Noah and Ma'ina were secular people who lived a life full of faith.

Their faith was expressed in the respect they had for humans, and in their ability to respect and see the divine spark in each person. May they rest in peace."