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The principle of mutual responsibility is fundamental to the idea of the kibbutz, whose members share a sense of common destiny. The Israeli kibbutz contains all the elements of Jewish communal life, but without the religious rites.
In place of established rituals, new Jewish content has been created in kibbutzim and adapted to their secular-communal way of life. The role traditionally played by rabbis was assumed by movement ideologues who formulated the credo underlying kibbutz life. Kibbutz members consider themselves an avant-garde society and as having a Jewish and universal mission to fulfill, which is meant to influence life outside the kibbutz as well.
