Some Forward Progress

Its march third today, this means two things to me. First and for most this is the month of my birthday (22nd) and much to my disbelief I will be turning twenty-one years old. Secondly, and also to my disbelief I have been in the Israeli army three months now, and finished basic training. This past week I have been on a week-long break from the army, which has been incredible. I have had time to reflect on the last few months and come to a few conclusions on how I want to continue. Although before I get to that I will share a little of what I have been up to on my time off. I surfed in the rain with my buddy Daniel at Hasharon Beach in Herzaliyya, had a trip with all the guys from my unit in the Golan—filled with a river walk, hummus, BBQ and beer drinking; it was a great time. I also had some great nights in Tel Aviv with some friends and a couple days at the kibbutz just having some personal time and really relaxing. Now to the “blog worthy” stuff.

The past three months have been by far the toughest of my life, not so much physically (also) but mentally. It’s a different world being in basic training, someone controlling every aspect of your life. Asking permission to use the bathroom, being told when to sleep, eat and every other action in your life. It is not really something that you get used to, but you make your peace with it after a while. Now that I have finished basic I feel that I have turned a corner, however small as it may be, I feel I have accomplished something. I now call my commanders by their first names and don’t have to salute them every time I see them. Nonetheless at the end of the day they are still my commanders and they still order me around and what not, but there is something really good about being treated as somewhat of an equal. Being able to call them by their first name puts you on a similar level with them, maybe not an equal one but at least it’s a big step up.

I start Sunday at combat medic’s course. It is a two and a half to three month course that teaches you to basically to be a doctor in the field. It will be refreshing to finally learn something that is specific to my unit and more than that do something that is without a doubt progress in the right direction.

Its funny when I started this post I thought I would have gobs to say and write about but funnily enough I think I have covered most of it. To conclude ill say this, the weather here is starting to warm up, and everything is green throughout the entire country which makes it breathtaking. I hope that everyone back home is surviving the real winter, especially those that find themselves in Michigan and Nevada.

Much love to everyone and be in touch,

אנדרו

One a Half Months in the Army

Firstly, I apologize to all the readers for the lack of posts, I vastly overestimated how much free time I would have to write a blog during my army service. But I guess that’s not the only thing I underestimated.

During this first month and a half in basic training I have experienced the shock of being in the army, but also started to understand what it is to be a soldier in this country. It has been a hard month and half, but also a rewarding one. I have crawled though the thorns and rocks in the middle of the night with a full pack on, learned what happens if I don’t shave well enough in the morning, but best of all I have learned the feeling of finishing a full week in the army and having the incredible satisfaction of getting on the bus home on Friday morning SO ready for a restful Shabbat.

I have learned a lot of life lessons and things about myself, just in these first six weeks. I think one of the most important things I have learned has been that the army has a lot of ups and downs. When you are sprinting and crawling and being woken up four times a night from sleeping in your hole with no sleeping bag or anything to keep you warm, you feel like you have hit rock bottom. But when you finish that week and wake up Friday morning and put on your dress uniform on to go home, there is no better feeling in the world.

I don’t have a whole lot of time to really go into detail about how these few weeks have been and like I think I have posted before, I cant talk in any detail about anything that is going on so I will just give a bit of an insight of how it is going for me personally.

It has been hard both mentally and physically, but when each day is over you have some sort of satisfaction. One of the hardest things is never knowing what is to come. When you are in college or really most other places in everyday life there is some sort of schedule; classes that you know you have to go to, meetings that you have to keep. For us it pretty much up in the air, you wake up every morning having no idea what to expect. Apart from that there are amazing things as well. When you pray for the first time in the field, still in your sweaty smelly uniform, gun hanging down next to your hip, it is an amazing feeling. You really feel like you are where you dreamt you would be, doing what you dreamt was right for you.

In a week and half I have my Tekes Hashbaah, (swearing in ceremony) in which we take our guns home for the first time and are presented with a copy of the Tanakh along with our unit tags. Is is a big ceremony at the Kotel in Jerusalem and should prove to be quite a scene. It is looked upon here as one of the milestones in the army so I cannot honestly believe I have already made it to this point. I can still clearly remember the say I started the army and how nervous/excited I was getting on the first bus to the base.

One thing I realized this week, which has helped me dramatically is that I have so much support in this journey. Not just my friends, family and my garin, but all the people that you meet and learn of your story and your life. This last Thursday I was on a “Yom Kef” (fun day) for Lone Soldiers, (this was instead of parent day for the rest of the soldiers) and at the end of the tour the tour guide, who we had spent probably one and half hours with, invited every single soldier on the bus to Shabbat at her home in Jerusalem and read out her mobile phone to everyone and said if they ever needed anything not to hesitate to call. That was my lesson for the week, when it is hard for me and when I want to quit or not be there, remember all the amazing people that are behind me, who care, support and are so proud of me. That thought, and those people will be what I use to get through my future challenges—now to all of you reading this post: you are a part of that strength and support so for that I want to say thank and remind you that you are doing a Mitzvah helping me though this time of learning and hardship.

I pray that everyone has a restful, safe and relaxing Shabbat.

Shabbat shalom and much love, strength and prayers from Israel.

אנדרו

The Army this Week

On Thursday of this week i will officially begin my service in the Israel Defense Forces. Despite the fact that I am long way from being an active soldier, meaning finished with training, it is a huge step forward in this long journey that I have undertaken.

For me there are two waves of feeling. One of immesurable excitement, and other of fear. Not fear of what is to come, but fear in the fact that we have no idea what is in store for us.

One thing I am truly excited for is getting my uniform. I have been waiting a long time to put this uniform on, and now that it is so close I can't hardly wait. To the best of my knowledge we will get beige airforce uniforms as our dress set or as it is here (Madeh Aleph) and the regular green for our day-to-day (Madeh Bet) set. Because the unit is a part of the Airforce I would also assume that we will get black boots, not the red ones that accompany the Tzanchanim and Nachal Brigades.

For the next couple of days I will be focusing on getting all the gear I need, trying to mentally prepare, and above all else relax, becuase once I start idle time will be a luxury . Tomorrow I am going to the draft of a very close friend, so hopefully that will give me a little bit of a first look at how its going to be. Other than that im passing the time by reading, writing and catching up with friends from back home.

I realize this is a turning point in my life but well have to see which way im turing and where it takes me before I can make any opinion or comments.

Regards from Israel,

אנדרו

PS i'll be sure to post some pictures of me in uniform in the coming weeks.

Determination + Tuna + Sand = Israeli Air Force

Day 1-5 Lunch: Tuna and Sand. Evening consisted of Running, Crawling, well a bit more running. Carrying sand bags, and yes, you guessed it more running. In short Gibush Matkal was perhaps the hardest week of my life, both physically and mentally but i can definitely feel that i got stronger both physically and mentally from it.

Day 6: Home. Dinner: Coconut Curry Soup, lentils and chicken, Israeli Salad, Ice Cream, Coffee and Rest.


Today is Sunday, last Thursday afternoon I finished Gibush Matkal in an army base on the sea not to far from the southern city of Ashdod. The day started later than usual, at about 6 am. After having 2 minutes to get up, go to the bathroom and eat our moring "meal" (two pieces of bread with a dab of jelly in the middle) we started a day chock full of many meaningless tasks, and of course as is present in all army activities-- waiting around. In the end we cleaned and packed up the entire base, and for the four and a half hours remaing hours just sat around and waited for the caravan of commanders to come and deliver the results of who was accepted into these top three army units.

4:00 pm the commanders from Sayeret Matkal, Shaldag and 669 showed up. Results in hand. In the most Israeli of fashion, all of the 160 or so men who finished the Gibush (it started with 400) sat in the dirt in the middle of a shooting range and looked longingly up at the Major from "the unit"(Matkal) to deliver the results. It was announced in order from Matkal, to Shaldag and then 669. My name was interestly called for Shaldag, and pending a psychological interview I was in. Honestly i was shocked. Even in my interview with the commanders I had said I wanted 669, not Matkal or Shaldag so the fact that my name was called for Shaldag was very suprising. I only found out later the I was also accepted in 669 and pending my performance at a "pool day" for 669 there was a possibility I could be accepted to both units and have to make a decision of which to go to.

This moring I had my interview for Shaldag and ill know by the end of the week how it went. Tomorrow is my "pool day" for 669: a one day Gibush to test how you handle yourself in the water. \

If I neglected to mention it before, the feeling of being accepted after such an inimaginable week was suffering was like some gift from god. I feel so blessed that I was able to perform at such a high level and perservere adversity to arrive at my goal.

Our garin hosted a huge part on Friday night, in which we organized a bus to pick up people from a few other Kibbutzim in the area and bus them to our party. It was a fantastic party and we were up until 6 am celebarting everyones succeses. (A bunch of the other guys in the Garin went to Gibush Tzanchanim on Monday and the ones that were able to participate, finished the Gibush in good position.)

At this point im praying that my Yom Brecha (Pool Day) tomorrow goes really well, and I will be accepted into the unit with that final stamp of approval. If i am so fortunate I will start my army service on December 2nd of this month with basic training in either the Nachal or Givati Brigade. Although, I will be with my team of guys that will move forward with me for training in 669/Shaldag.

The majority of this week will be taken up by a Garin trip to Eilat, so next week nstead of reading about sand and tuna in my mouth you will read about it squeezed between my toes while I sip on some beers.

I know this is a short post but I very much wanted to give everyone a wuick update on where im at, so they can know and not worry.

שבוע טוב לכולם

אנדרו

Blessing.

Firstly, I apologize that I have been lacking in writing these last two weeks. It has been very hectic and I have not found the time to write. Now though, I have a little time and I want to give everyone a little update.

If you have been following the blog or been talking to me you know that my goal in the army is 669 (an elite rescue and evacuation unit). One of the first steps is getting to this unit is going to a day called Yom Sayerot. It is a 24 hour try-out for all of the IDF’s elite units. So getting to Yom Sayerot usually comes with an invitation from the army, but in my case because I had decided so late to do combat, getting this invitation was proving extremely difficult.


Thursday afternoon, the week before Yom Sayerot, playing on the rocks at the beach I got my foot caught in a rock hole and twisted my knee. Friday morning woke up and I could barely walk. Sat, Sun, Mon, Tue, spent nursing my hurt knee. Complete rest. Tuesday night I was sitting with all my boys around the table talking about my other options because even if I would have the chance to go to Yom Sayerot on Thursday there was no way that I was going to sprinting up and down sand dunes 30 times and carrying a stretcher full of 80kg of weight, or for that matter trotting up and down the dunes with a 30kg sand bag on my back. At this point I was looking at plan B. Depressed was not even the word to describe my feelings. I was heartbroken. It was like my dream had been snatched from my utter grasp. Now another thing to add is that at this point I still had no idea whether I would even get the opportunity to go because the army still had not decided whether or not I was going to get an invitation. My rakaz (director) was working tirelessly with the army, on the phone literally the entire day with them trying to set things straight. For his immense effort I will be forever thankful.

I went to bed that night thinking I would just go to Gibush Tzanchanim like a lot of the other guys in our group and try to make it to Sayeret Duvdevan or Maglan (One is a counter terror unit that operates in the territories while the other is a deep reconnaissance and ambush unit that operates deep in enemy territory).

Wednesday Morning (the morning before Yom Sayerot is planned to start). The entire Garin except for me heads to the Golan Heights for a trip including: a wine tasting and pick nick, meeting with a famous war hero who with his division of 40 tanks overcame a Lebanese division of 500 or so tanks in a the valley of tears עמק הבכא, and following that a live tank demonstration with two Israeli Tank divisions. They also had the opportunity to go an army job fair where people from all different units in the army had set up booths to hand out information and talk to people about their units. All this time I was home, going to a doctor's appointment to get an idea at what I was looking at with my knee.

8:30 am my phone has been ringing off the hook for about an hour, but not having heard it, Avner (my rakaz) has to send in additional support. Elaine came to the door, yelling my name, suddenly waking me up and telling me that I need to answer the last three calls I got and that Avner, Ziv, and the army was trying to call me. Five minutes later after returning all my other calls I get a call from someone in the army. She says, Do you have asthma? No. Do you have glasses? No. "Weird" she says, we were sure you told us that. "Nope", I said 'I’m healthy as a horse", "Okay" she said now I need to check your Hebrew level, we need to make sure you will understand if we offer you an invitation. Two minutes later she said to me, "Congratulations, you will have Yom Sayerot TOMORROW."

I went into my doctor’s appointment thinking two things: one, he was going to tell me I needed another week or two rest, and second, holy sh&% I can't believe what just happened. I got into the doctor’s office, 45 minutes late of course, because even in Israel doctors are not on time. I sat down across from this doctor who could not have been over 35, but who had come very highly recommended. He told me to lie down on the bed, I did. After two or three minutes of twisting my knee around and pushing it in and out and asking questions about pain and tenderness in certain places he sat me down again. (I was there with our Garin mother, Elaine, thank god. So I was not devoid of moral support) He said to me: “look, there is no serious injury in your knee.” “You did some sort of strain, and it has not healed completely yet.” I said to him, “Okay, well this is my dilemma-- I got an invitation this morning to Yom Sayerot tomorrow and it’s my dream to be in 669 which I can only reach from there. Will I be looking at permanent damage if I go, and how do you think with will hold up.” He answered: “In an ideal situation I would tell you to wait until it is completely healed, but since this is your only opportunity and it’s your dream I am going to clear you because there is no serious injury or tear.” “You will know very quickly if your knee is going to hold up, but you need to have the maturity to stop if it does not feel good.” I came out of the doctor’s office, armed with Ibuprofen and a knee brace, charging with excitement and happiness. As soon as I said a deep thank you to Elaine and was making my way back home, I let out the loudest scream of joy anyone has ever heard.

The next day I travelled with one of my boys Yarden to do the Yom Sayerot. It started at 3 pm in the afternoon with a 2k run. I finished 16th of 90. The next morning after sleeping next to nothing, alongside some of the loudest Israeli's I have ever met, the real work started. We were split into groups 15 and for the next few hours did some of the most intense exercise I have ever done. The first thing they do is sprints. It is all on the beach, on very steep sand dunes. They line you up, show you the top of the dune and then you sprint, over and over and over and over. The first sprint I was very worried how my leg was going to hold up so I took it a little easy. I came in fifth. This did not make me happy at all, so after that I just went for it. After about 20 sprints and up and down the dunes we started with the sand bags. 30 laps later it was time to dig. We dug with the tiniest shovel on earth but the holes were meant to be about a meter in depth and width and as long as you could make it. The last thing we did was more sprints, although this time instead of getting down and waiting the 3 seconds before they sent us off again we would race down and the first four would have to carry the stretcher on another lap before starting the process again. It is very demeaning exercise, over and over and over again. No idea of when it’s going to end. They also play with your head a lot, asking if your going to be okay, ask you if you want to quit. They sometimes even ask you strange Israeli trivia or whatever else they can to get you doubting yourself, they want you to struggle and see how you react to different situations. That is the point of the entire exercise, to see your level of mental strength. In the end I was fortunate enough to get the stretcher all but two times and also performed very well on the other activities. At the end of the 3-4 hour activity, after cleaning up the camp of course, everyone sits in one bug group (about 250-300) people and they read the 35-40 numbers (we were all assigned one) that were accepted into the Sayeret Matkal, Shaldag and 669 Group.

I sat there very depressed as all the names of all the groups were read and I did not here my number once. Thinking, well at least I gave it my best and preparing to go home. A female soldier came over to the group and asked, "Is 175 here?" I said, "Ken Ken!!" She said, “hurry over to the Matkal group, you were supposed to be there 3 minutes ago!” With the biggest smile of my life I went to join Yarden in the Matkal group. I gave him the loudest and best high five ever when I got there, even causing the senior officer already giving the presentation to crack a smile. I sat there dumbfounded, I could not believe it. Here I was in the group accepted to do Gibush Matkal, when a week ago I could not even walk. How was I so blessed? The first part of my dream was complete. I was on my way to the weeklong try out for Sayeret Matkal, which is also for Shaldag and 669. I have included a link to a blog post about what I will be facing there, it is fascinating and I would highly recommend you to read it. (http://sonicinbeijing.blogspot.com/2009/11/gibush-matkal-sweat-sand-tears.html)

On November the 7th my Gibush starts. Until then I am training hard, physically and mentally. Working out at least twice a day and mentally preparing myself for perhaps one of the most difficult challenges of my life.

On another note, we had another Garin trip to the Golan Heights; we went to Tel Chai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Hai ) and also went rafting on the Jordan River, followed by pizza and ice cream to celebrate our first Garin member joining the army. Mazal Tov Ilana!!! (She will be doing International Relations in the Territories).

I hope this update was interesting and put some of your minds at rest. I wish everyone a peaceful and reviving Shabbat.

Much love,

אנדרו

PS pray for me November 7-13 I’m going to need all the strength I can get.

Why we Fight

For those of you who know me well, you know that I always say that you should fight for what you believe in. This was among the many reasons that I decided to come to Israel in the first place, to see if I had the courage to truly fight for what I believe in. In amongst this decision I had another choice to make, which in the end ended up being the harder one to make by far. I had to choose whether or not, I wanted to be in a Kravi (Combat) unit in the army.

This past Shabbat the garin went together to a Holocaust museum in the Golan called lochme Ha’ghetteot (The Ghetto Fighters). Unlike Yad V’Shem and other holocaust museums Lochme ha’ghetteot has a very special story. Founded by survives of Poland Ghettos, these heroes took it upon themselves to tell their story, and the stories of others like them, so as to not only preserve the memory of the ones they had lost, but to tell the stories of those who had been saved. Most of you I’m sure, have seen the movie Defiance, but as an aside I will explain a bit about it. It is the story of The Bielski Brothers who, after their family is killed start a camp/resistance in the forests of Belarus. They create a camp, fight the Nazis, rescue more people from the Ghetto and in the end save over 1800 people from the death camps. These brothers made a choice in this movie, a choice to fight against the forces trying to exterminate their people, to keep the people that were still with them alive. They decided it was better to fight for what they thought was right, rather than give up as say that all had already been lost.

I have been thinking about this decision of mine ever since I decided to come to Israel, it has easily dominated my sub-conscious and conscious mind for the past five months. However in the end my decision came down to a few simple ideas. Firstly, the reasons that I came here in the first place: I want to serve this country to the best of my ability, both for the betterment of the country and of myself. I want to be challenged and fight for what I believe in the best way possible. Lastly, I wanted to have a meaningful service with a team of guys that I would emerge with from my service as family. Each day I went back and forth between combat and non-combat, always doing my best to keep an open mind and have the most information possible to make an educated decision. I talked with EVERYONE about this decision. Israeli’s, non-Israeli’s, old people, young people, friends, strangers—each person offering a different perspective or opinion. In the end with some help from both my Israeli mothers Rain Wieselman and Iris Bar I came to understand that after all is done, this will be 2-4 years of my life, in which it is up to me to accomplish the tasks asked of me and to live the life I want to live. To progress towards the person I want to be with the character I want to emulate. In the end I had to look past everything else, much like when driving in the rain—looking past the rain droplets on the windshield to see the road ahead, in the end it was my road and it would be my decisions that determined what lay ahead.

I am an adventurous soul, constantly wanting to be on the move, so that I may experience the world, and share whatever I can with it. A part of this is taking every opportunity given to me, I can’t say no to anything new, it just is not a part of me. I also feed off challenges. When I am faced with something that is outside my comfort zone, I want to experience it. This is not to say that I blindly do anything that is presented to me, I obviously think about my actions and each decision before I make it, but when it comes down to it, if I am not doing something because of fear I take that leap of faith. I prefer to bear the consequences of a conscious decision, rather than bear the ones of indecision. At least in this case I know that I was present in my own life, still making my own decisions.

That is what it came down to in this decision, a conscious decision, for myself, that demonstrated the reasons and ideals that I came for. It is with this prologue that I have the great honor of telling you that I have chosen to serve in a combat (kravi) unit in the Israel Defense Forces. I know this is probably not the decision that most of you would have made for me, but that is because you worry and fear for my safety and as much as I understand that this was one time in my life where I had to do what was best for me.

I am excited, frightened and apprehensive about my decision, but I am happy with it. I am proud to fight for what I believe in, to move one step closer in becoming the person I want to be, and to do my personal best in the service of this country. I realize that this might cause some hardship for you( my friends and family) but in my mind that is the price you pay for being in my family. This country is my life and by being a part of my life, you are sacrificing too, so from the bottom of my heart let me say thank you, both from myself and from this Eretz Yisrael.
As you have probably realized by now, I am not a particularly gung hoe or violent person but I finally come to understand that there are times when after all other options have been exhausted, there are times when weapons are necessary to defend ourselves and the people of this country. Although keepin the fact that I am not so “gung hoe” in mind I have my sights set on the elite unit 669. It is an Airborne Rescue and Evacuation unit that is part of the Israeli Air Force. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_669) I have attached the link to let those of you who are interested read more about it but it is an amazing unit. In war time its missions include rescuing pilots and other soldiers who have fallen behind enemy lines, and in non-war time its missions include a lot of civilian related work, people that get lost in the desert or fall into the ocean or any other such emergency. As it is such an interesting unit, it is also EXTRODANARILY difficult one to be accepted into. I have to pass multiple physical testing days, about four levels of them actually. The first round of these tests is Yom Sayerot a try-out day for all the elite units, which B’ezrat Ha’shem I will have in the second week in October. If I succeed there I will have to be offered Gibush Matkal (basically the try out WEEK for the most elite commando unit in the army) *Sayeret Matkal is the most elite unit in the Israeli military focusing on deep enemy territory reconnaissance and counter terrorism. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayeret_Matkal) IF, and it’s an enormous IF I pass that six day mental and physical battle of a lifetime I will have to be asked to try out for 669. At that point I will have to pass a one day “pool day” which I am sure would be one of the hardest things imaginable, and only then would I qualify to be INTERVIEWED for the unit. As you might have guessed these units require a full background check so even if I make it all the way there I could be turned away because of a security problem. Regardless, I will do all I can to make it as far as I possibly can.

On a bit of another note this week we had our Garin “coming-out ceremony.” It is a profile of sorts of our garin, in which we created the entire evening from programming to food, and presented it to our friends, family and the kibbutz. It was enormous success and I have the honor of telling you all that we named our garin, Maayan, after Elaine and Mark Rothenberg’s son. (for those who are starting to read just now I wrote about him in an earlier post, but here is the link to his website) (http://maayanrothenberg.com/). Maayan as you might know means spring or fountain, it is a word that conjures an image in your mind, an image of growth and progress, both things that were important to everyone in the group. I want to take this time to thank Iris, and Gal Bar for trekking up from Tel Aviv for the Tekes and of course Daniel Belik for making the journey was well.

After an incredible night of celebration Daniel and I made our way down south to a kibbutz near Eilat called Ktorah. The six hour journey was more than worth it. After travelling the entire distance of Israel, we were greeted by friendly faces, food, and a day at the pool. What a way to end such a dreadful trip. It was a wonderful Chag in the desert and as always Daniel, Ariel and I had the time of our lives, trekking, eating and dancing all day long.

For Shabbat I am back in Tel Aviv with the Bars, looking forward to some training and relaxation before Sunday, which is the day I officially becoming a soldier of the Israeli Defense Forces. (Although I become a soldier on that day I don’t actually start my service for a few more weeks).

I want to wish everyone Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom. May this writing find you with happiness and health in your life.
Unimaginable love from the holy land,
אנדרו

Yom Kippur in Jerusalem

4:34 pm Thursday, the day before Yom Kippur. I get a call from Ariel (Ratner) that he is on the train back from Jerusalem, do I want to join him for the trip to Ra’anana?

4:45 pm I give Iris (Bar), my Israeli mother, kisses and run out the door towards the central train station in Tel Aviv.

5:01 pm Ariel and I are on the train together to Herzaliya.

6:00 pm Ariel and I arrive back in Ra’anana arriving just in time for Pizza with his family.

6:45 pm Daniel (Belik) comes over and after about an hour of conversion we decide what we want to make this Yom Kippur different: were going to Jerusalem.

Next morning at 11 am Daniel and I set out for Jerusalem. (Ariel had already committed to be at home with his family) After some VERY quick planning, Daniel, with some help from friends had arranged for us: 1. A place to stay, 2. A place to have the pre-fast meal. Apart from that, we were running free. We were told to try and arrive by 1 pm, we arrived at 1:55 pm. Just outside the Jaffa Gate in Old City Jerusalem we met Ari, a recent Ole Chadash (person who has just made Aliyah) from Australia. After a quick walk, he shows us where we will be spending our Erev Yom Kippur, the Heritage House, 2 Ohr Hachaim Street, the Old City, Jerusalem.

After an incredible pre-fast meal complete with delicious chicken soup and apple pie for desert, we bade ado to our hosts and walked into Jerusalem’s cool and calming evening. The weather was crisp, like fall, and the sky crimson as the sun set: starting the Yom Kippur fast. We made our way out of the old city and up to the Prime Minister’s residence, which sits on a hill looking over the Old City of Jerusalem. There, for the last three months, the family of Gilad Shallit has been camped out, outraged at the government at their inability to negotiate the release of their son after FOUR YEARS of captivity and isolation in Gaza.

Outside the white canvas tent that had been set up there, in front of the hundreds of flags, posters and prayers that had been left for Gilad and his family, there was a Tefillah (Prayer session?). Contrary to popular belief, the majority of Israelis are very secular and do not attend synagogue regularly, as such during this Tefillah there were only a few people singing/praying but that was not the aspect worthy of note. You could see in the eyes of all the people there that they wanted to pour their hearts out for this family. Their tear soaked eyes and sorrowed gazes revealing what they were truly feeling: but all they could do was stand, unsure of what to do. After the 30-40 minute service the praying had come to an end, so a few of us just started singing, wanting to leave the family with something with more energy than half sung prayers and long faces. Immediately, 100 people were singing at the top of their lungs in the middle of an abandoned street on Yom Kippur: The Shallit family in the background; standing outside the Prime Minister’s office. After the singing, Daniel and I made our way into the tent hoping to wish them Shana Tova. It was such an empty moment. Not from our side of course, but you could just see in those trauma ridden eyes that they suffer every second of their lives with the fact that their son is not safe.

The next morning we were awakened by the director of the Heritage House with promises of amazing Tefillah if we could just get ourselves out of bed. 6:55 am we arrived at synagogue to start our full day of praying. 9:30 am after two and half hours of morning prayer, the first lesson of the day started, its topic: “ A Moral Approach for the Existence of God.”

3:30 pm after three more hours of prayer and one more lesson we found ourselves at the first and only one and half hour break in our day. (*this time was spent at the Aish Hatorah Yeshiva next to the Kotel in Jerusalem.) After a little walk and a little sun bathing on the roof tops of the Old City we made our way to a different Minyan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minyan) which was much smaller and much more musically inclined than the last, but still quite traditional in its prayer. There have been few other times in my life when I have felt so much energy in one room, people singing at the tops of their lungs, feeling so happy and blessed to be where they are, doing what they love most.

6:18 pm. After 25 hours the fast had finally come to an end. The entire men’s congregation danced around the cozy synagogue celebrating our success and wishing each other a sweet new year. The proletarian that I am, I was celebrating that we were done and about to leave when the rabbi announced that we still needed to daven (pray) Ma’ariv (This is the evening service done by religious Jews). So it was closer to seven when we finished that, and finally did Havdallah (The ceremony that signals the ending of Shabbat) and Sof Sof (Finally!!!) ate and drank for the first time in a day.

Ari, the mensch that had arranged everything for us to make this incredible trip possible, also found us a place to break the fast. It was at the beautiful home of Aba and Pamela Clieman. They treated us with unimaginable kindness and hospitality. When Aba was 48 years old he made Aliyah from Los Angeles, CA wherein after moving to Jerusalem he decided he wanted to be a religious Jew. Now, Aba and Pamela Cleiman are in charge of some of the most wonderful programs to help soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces, the most recent of which is called Momentum a program to help soon-to-be-released soldiers acclimate more easyily into the civilian world.

The 10:15 bus from Jerusalem’s central bus station marked the end of my time in the Old City, but most certainly did not end my weekend’s experience. On the bus I met a wonderful religious young woman from Ra’anana and had my first “first encounter” all in Hebrew. We spoke about everything from how I got to Israel, to Israel’s problem with public image. All in all my Yom Kippur was absolutely incredible and exactly the break from normalcy that I was hoping for.

I hope that all of your Yom Kippur’s were the same, and for those who do not observe this holiday I wish that that love, health and happiness are finding you constantly.

Unimaginable love in this New Year,

אנדרו