Shana Tova from Bitmuna

From the beginning of the 1930s, pioneers incorporated sheepherding elements and political and ideological messages into their New Year cards. Here's a look at these cards

Nadav Man
Published: 09.12.07, 15:51 / Israel Travel

Sending out cards for the New Year is a relatively new custom. It only began at the end of the 19th century, and picked up towards the beginning of the 20th century when the custom took root and became a tradition throughout Eastern Europe and the US. From the 1930s

and onwards, pioneering Zionists in the Land of Israel began incorporating ideological messages and cultural elements into their New Year Cards.

We've chosen to focus on New Year cards incorporating "sheepherding" elements. The pioneers who came to settle the country viewed sheep as a connecting thread running between the past which was based on biblical stories, through to the Arab settlers and the pioneering spirit which began taking shape in the Land of Israel.

The cards from the Hashomer Ha'tzair collection at Givat Haviva, reflect the loss of youth, the belief in the purity of pioneers' vocation and the return to nature and open fields, notes Yuval Daniel, in the archives of Hashomer Ha'tzair.