Some questions answered, and thoughts worth sharing

People ask me frequently: "Why are you doing this?" "This" Going to Israel, joining the צבא(IDF). Do you feel you have something to prove? Is it about the money? Are you afraid? What will you do after?

It is difficult for me to explain each emotion I have, or even the thoughts that cross my mind when these different questions are asked, however I hope that here I can begin to give everyone a little insight to who I am and why it is that I am choosing to move to Israel, and join the Israel Defense Forces.

I was nine years old when I moved to Israel with my parents in 1999 . Starting the 3rd grade I believe. Honestly, when I look back I admire my parents for the choice they made to make Aliyah. To leave the US, everyone and everything you have ever known, and for what? an idea, a dream? a different life. In my mind this is called courage, bravery even. If you know me chances are you have realized two things, first that I am an idealist. I believe in optimism and action, and above all respect. Israeli society cherishes many different things, of the most important in my mind are children, family and respect. In Israel every 18 year old male or female joins the army. Fore me this creates a sort of "level playing field." Each and every person does something different in the army but it is all under one roof. Now, I will be the first to tell you that there are expectations surrounding many aspects of the army, for example combat or non-combat positions. For the most part most able-bodied males in Israel must serve in a combat or (קרבי) units. However, I am an only child to my mother which means that unless she signs off on it, I cannot join a combat unit. Some may think this is a blessing, and some might say its a curse, for me it is a mixture of the two. BUt rest assured it occupies my mind constantly. My point here is not my personal situation but an essence of national service that is created and a love and respect of all soldiers.

My choice to join the army did not come from a desire to be in a Elite unit, or even combat for that matter. As you might have guessed my decision was almost entirely based on ideology. I had a choice when I finished high school to go to the army or to go to college. Even though most of my friends in Israel were preparing for the army and a part of me thought that I should be too, I was just not ready. For what particular reason I do not know, but in retrospect this last year I spent at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor could not have been more invaluable.

Tamid (תמיד) in Hebrew this word means always, or forever. For me this word epitomizes why I am motivated to serve in the IDF and live in Israel. First and foremost I value the lifestyle and culture in Israel, there is so much love and warmth in her people. Despite conflict and hardship the hospitality and kindness there is unimaginable. I adore the way that children are treated. Living in Israel was a young kid you are exposed to everything, because in Israel children are everyone's joy and responsibility. I cannot be quite sure, but my guess is that this springs from the Kibbutznik roots that Israel is founded on. *On older Kibbutzim all children were put together in one residence and did not live with their parents, that is to say that they were more children of the kibbutz than children of their parents. This same notion is true today I think, I was free to roam the streets of Israel with my nine and ten year old friends, learning independence, responsibility and other valuable lessons. It may come as a surprise to a lot of you, but Israel; despite what you might think; or have heard, has one of the lowest rates of all violent crime. For some reason the sense of community that you feel in Israel, especially when you are Jewish really makes your life different. Visiting neighbors spur of the moment, always welcome in anyone's home. There is an innate desire to help your fellow citizen in Israel, a sort of unspoken understanding that your country is my country and we have both fought and sacrificed to protect it, now we will work together to preserve it. This sort of communal and mutual understanding really helps to bring people together, to create moral values that are sound and important. These are the values I want to help preserve. I want people to know what a wonderful place Israel is, and to be able to visit with happiness and excitement not to merely shy away with apprehension. Israel has much much more to offer than what I have alluded to here, but my point is to share with you a little about my motivation to do this not to sell you on a tour to Israel ( Although if your interested flights are cheaper in the winter!).

On a recent trip to Israel, I was walking with a group of friends by the Baha'i Gardens in Haifa, shockingly the stunning landscape was not what most attracted my attention. A group of about ten four-year-old children walking by from a local day care, caught my eye, and kept it. They looked so happy, so free-- and yes their cute Hebrew accents didn't hurt them either. I just had a moment that day. I said to myself I want their to be more kids like these, free and happy kids. Thats the way it should be. SO now that I have rambled on quite enough I will move on to my plans for the next bit of my life, and attempt to give you a little insight of what's to come for me.

Today is July 15. I have 16 days before my flight to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, where after an overnight flight from Sacramento I will wait with my fellow soon to be Israeli's to catch our flight to Tel Aviv. If you have talked to me recently you know that I am a part of the Garin Tzabar Program. Basically this means that I have been meeting with twenty of the world's coolest and most down to earth people for the last five months, once a month, to get to know them. We will all be living together in Kibbutz Beit Ha'Emek in the Galilee. As a family we will move through this journey together, the program helping with anything from army enlistment to getting a drivers license. Once we all enter the army, it will be as if we were coming from an Israeli high school, so we will only get to see each other back at the Kibbutz, much like you would a family. Now obviously this is not the entire story but for the sake of brevity I'll keep the details to myself, but if for any reason you want to email me, about this or anything else here you go(aessol@umich.edu).

On August 5th at Tel Aviv University in Israel, the program will officially start with a ceremony, chalk full of dignitaries and the like. Immediately after, all our luggage and belongings in hand we will bus up to Beit Ha'Emek and the journey will begin.

Until then, ill be home. Pondering, waiting. Staying excited for my trip, trying to not let me anxiety get the better of me.

One last thought. I will be thinking of all of you when I go to Israel, everyone who is reading this is special, even the people who I do not know as well. You are taking your ever valuable time to read this, and in that way you are supporting me, and for that I thank you and pray for you.

All the love in the world, more than you can possibly imagine.

אנדרו (Andrew)