We bumped into an old friend of my husband's the other night. A former resident of New York, he had recently made aliyah and joined the Israeli army. Awestruck, I asked if he had been in Gaza, to which he replied in the affirmative.
This brought back memories of my seminary days, when my friends and I had always been overly impressed with the soldiers... especially if they were cute and our age. But, older and slightly wiser as I am now, I was impressed for a completely different reason. The young man told us that he had originally enlisted for six months but had just signed up for another two years. "Why?" I asked.
"Because they need me."
I was astonished by the sheer simplicity of his words. His country needs him and so he'll serve. No questions asked. No complaining that he'd rather get on with the rest of his life. This young man was going to dedicate two years of his prime, two years when most guys his age are finishing up college and starting new jobs, to protect his country. That, I thought, is the epitome of selflessness.
Monday, January 26, 2009
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7 comments:
wow. and yes.
and i can't relate at all! as much as i daven and try to feel together with the people in Israel who are getting bombed on a daily basis, truth is I am pretty safe in America bH!
Mini (one-handed) non-rant, but idea that could be a rant if I had more time:
Why is it that it's easier for people to say these things about army boys (not to knock them, I agree completely), but when it comes to Kollel guys everyone puts them down? They're also giving up their prime college/business years to serve their nation.
That's a good point. I guess the obvious answer is that kollel guys aren't risking their lives to serve their nation. But I hear what you're saying. We should really think of it as the two departments of defense.
also, probably because of the elitist attitude some (definitely not all) have. Some kollel boys feel that they deserve things, working people and army boys are inferior, etc etc. and sometimes, the workers/army boys (rachelli, i love that term :-)) would LOVE to be learning too but choose supporting their family or serving their country. (I'm not going into the benefits/reasons for choosing learning/working...which is better...etc)
I'm just saying that its obvious that army boys are risking their lives but some see kollel boys as taking the easy way out (some, again DEF not all)...
(shoots. they're called soldiers, aren't they? *horribly embarassed*)
Yeah, Rachelli, that was terribly unPC of you. That's like saying garbage men instead of sanitation workers. Or stewardess instead of flight attendant. Honestly.
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