יום הגיוס

Tomorrow, I make the plunge. A forfeiture of innocence, an unveiling of reality. Throughout history and evolution, brave women and men have raised arms in preservation of their ideals, today I join in their ranks. It has been an upward battle to get to this point, and I don’t expect to see the peak just yet. But already the view from where I stand is impeccable, better than I could have hoped. It is my privilege to be able to serve in the Israeli Defense Force and it is a privilege for me to protect the peoples of Israel and the values it represents. It is my privilege to live in the land of Israel and it my privilege to be born to a Jewish family. It is my privilege to be born into the world of today and not that of the past. These are my privileges. I seek to serve for them as to understand deeply that existence is not an entitlement and is in fact the most unique event to ever occur. I am willing to risk it all, in preservation of my country, its people’s, its ideals as well as for a narrative switch. To be humbled, to be pushed, to put my needs at the bottom of the list and contribute to a collective greater good. This is my privilege.

I seek no one’s approval. Only the approval of myself and how I understand the greater forces of the universe to be (God). If I sought others approval, I would find myself now in a different place in life. But I find myself rather in the moments before conscription. At other points in my life, I acted to gain the approval of friends and family alike. This only gets you so far. An undertaking like the one I have embarked on can only be fueled from within, for external validation is not there to warm you on the cold nights or to hug you in the lonely moments. This is my journey, and while friends and family have walked many miles of it with me. I started it alone and trek most of its spiraling paths solo. I welcome naysayers and cynics, their critiques fuel my fire. Their comments test my will and determination.

What is crazy at this point is the idea of going home: on free weekends in the army, on holidays in the army and when I finish my service. For I already am home. While Massachusetts and America will always have a place in my heart and I will always yearn to be close to my family, I have succeeded in making this place my home (not an easy task).

As where I stand today, there is no place I would rather be than home in the Jewish state in arms with my brothers and sisters. I commend those who have walked many miles with me, I commend those who have condescended my ideals and beliefs and ultimately, I commend myself for embarking on a journey to test my own will and to not take my own existence for granted.

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם, שהחינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה

Thanks for reading

David