Mivtzayit and Purim

After nearly a year in the paratroopers, I have moved to a new company: Mivtzayit.  After finishing maslul, my company broke up, with different platoons being assigned to new companies.  First, allow me to explain a little more about the make-up of the IDF.

In Tzanchanim, there are four companies (plugot) on active duty: maslul, mivtzayit, palchod, and misayat.  These, respectively, mean or refer to: training; operational; the point; and cover or support.  The first year of a soldier's service is in maslul.  He's with the same guys he's trained with from the first seven months on the training base and the next few months in operational status on kav (as I was in Shchem) or for continued training (as I was just now in winter training).  After these first eleven or twelve months, the company, made up of three platoons, is split up and various platoons are sent to one of three new companies.

Shmaya, Shmuel and Gidon trying to pay attention
during a lesson about chemical weapons

In each company, there are still three to four machlekahs, or platoons.  However, each machlekah has a certain special weapons or training assignment, such as urban warfare, explosives, anti-missile weapons, etc.  My machlekah, as it turns out, is מחלקת רובאית, Riflemen.  Nothing.  We don't learn any new skill or weapon.  We are, to be blunt, nothing special.  Which is kind of funny because my machlekah takes up half of the platoon.  As it turns out, the two machlekahs that came to mivtzayit from maslul have combined into one machlekah and boasts about forty guys.  In mivtzayit, there are about seventy fighters total.

Anyway, this will be my new home for the remainder of my service and the Israelis' new home for the next two years.  And the first thing I did with my new plugah after returning from regilah was learn how to fight in trenches.

We returned to base from our week off on a Monday and Tuesday got ready for a day in the shetach.  We took a bus high up into the mountains (although we were already pretty high to begin with) to a fort that overlooks Mt. Hermon and the Syrian border.  There was snow everywhere.  I wasn't too fascinated, but the Israelis went ape-shit over the stuff.  We started having snowball fights; they couldn't get enough of it.  Basically, the day was spent learning how to clear out trenches in bunkers.  It was interesting stuff, even if we had to clear trenches that were filled to my chest with snow.  At the end of the day, we were dropped off again at a location a number of kilometers from base as we had to complete our masa aliyah, a hike to go up to the new company.

Adam begging for some food
(don't worry Steph, he's on the phone
with you)

Wherever we are in the army, it always feels like we are tzairim, young.  Although we are in the new plugah, we are not officially accepted until we complete this masa.  It was actually it quite difficult, despite being only eight or nine kilometers.  It was on a road that went steeply uphill and then downhill.  Then the second half was carrying stretchers, and most of these Israelis don't want to help because the stretchers are heavy and they are lazy.  So me, Adam, and Jesse all spent most of the time carrying these damn things.  But finally, at the end, the rest of the plugah came out to greet us outside the gates of the base and "welcomed" us as brothers.  We received the company gun strap and dog tag cover, officially now recognized as members of Plugat Mivtzayit.

The next day was a fast before Purim.  The story, in a very small nutshell, is that years ago in the land of Persia, a man named Haman, who had the ear of King Ahashverus, decided to plot to kill all the Jews.  The  king's wife was a woman named Esther, who was Jewish.  Her cousin, Mordechai, found out about the plan and told Esther to convince the king to stop the planned massacre.  Unless specifically summoned, someone who went before the king could be executed, even his wife, so Esther told Mordechai to have all the Jews fast and pray for three days before she went before Ahashverus.  They did, then she did, and then Ahashverus stopped Haman and the Jews were, literally, saved from annihilation.

So Wednesday was a fast day, which was awesome because they can't make you do anything; it's a free day to chill in the middle of the week.  That evening, there was a reading of the Megillah, the Book of Esther, in the dining room of base.  Afterwards, we broke the fast.

On Thursday, we had a bochan plugah, a company test.  We do these things every now and then.  It was relatively simple, but not very easy.  We were in full combat gear, had to run two kilometers, then one more with stretchers.  Then we had a shooting test where we had to run four hundred meters and shoot six bullets within a certain time limit.  Our company didn't do so hot.

That evening there was a Purim celebration in the lunch room.

And on Friday we were let out.  Now, Jerusalem is different than everywhere else in the world: it celebrates Purim a day later.  I'm not exactly sure why, but for me it meant that when I returned to my apartment on Friday, Purim celebrations were in full swing throughout the city!  Shmuel, Jesse and I didn't get back to Jerusalem until around noon.  As Shabbat was coming in a few hours, we didn't have time to go to my apartment, change and then make it back into town before the festivities starting winding down.  So, that meant we were staying in uniform to enjoy the celebrations.

Jesse and I during the reading of Megillat Esther 

Purim in Israel is like Halloween back home.  It's a holiday for costumes.  It's a holiday of rejoicing that we were saved from certain destruction.  It's a holiday for drinking.  It wasn't fun to carry around bags and a gun when all I wanted to do was be in civilian clothes and drink.  Jesse and I bought a few bottles of wine, intending to open them for Shabbat meals that evening, but couldn't exactly help ourselves.  It's illegal to drink in public while in uniform, but it was Purim...so....don't tell anyone!

Shimson helping himself
to some snacks during
the Purim party

I made it back to my apartment not exactly sober later in the afternoon, had an hour to chill, then went out again for Shabbat.  Shmaya was staying in Jerusalem and he met up with me, Shmuel and Effy as we went to a few different places to enjoy the last couple hours of Purim, davened (Yiddish for prayed) evening services, then had a great meal with a lot of young adults.  Talked to guys about joining the army, met some girls, it was a fun time.

Shmuel and Shmaya: lookin' good guys!

Learn Hebrew!

I just put up a new page for those interested in learning Hebrew.  It's a program with the Jerusalem Post (the same newspaper that I also write a blog for) where you are paired up with a teacher/instructor and have lessons over the phone or Skype.  It's good if you've never spoken the language before or even if you have years of experience.  It also hits all the bases: reading, speaking, listening, comprehension.

Anyway, what's below is their description of the program.  I urge anyone with any interest in learning the language of Israel and Judaism to contact Leon and take it from there.  Enjoy!

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Why do we need an instructor to improve our Hebrew skills?

Well, can you imagine flying a plane without first taking flying lessons?  I know this is an extreme example…but still, you would never attempt flying a plane without getting the proper instruction first. This is because it would be very important for you to do it right: naturally, you would want to stay alive  

The question is really this: what sort of a connection to Judaism, the Jewish people, and Israel do you want to have?  From this question, you can ask: how important is it to learn Hebrew? How important is it for you to feel connected to your Jewish roots, to Israel and to the Jewish world in general? How close is this goal to your heart?

If you feel the desire to become more connected, then the Hebrew language is something you do want to learn and improve.  Here are a few steps you should follow in order to achieve maximum results:

1. You must begin with knowing your Hebrew level: note what mistakes you make and what processes (systems, exercises) will suit your competency best. This is important in order to understand what is required to reach your desired proficiency level.

2. You need someone who will work with you; someone who will know your weak and strong points and who will focus on what you need to do to improve and how to do so. 

3. This "someone" must be a professional who has years of experience in teaching Hebrew as a foreign language and who is able to demonstrate good results with past pupils. 

4. You need to be committed and to closely follow the instructions given to you by this person.

5. You need also to constantly repeat the new ideas and concepts you learn from your teacher. If you take a lesson or two once every couple months you will not see results and the process may prove frustrating. But if you commit to a lesson a week and during that week work on assigned exercises, that would be very productive!

The Jerusalem Post is a company established 80 years ago and has recently created a revolutionary program called IVRIT-TALK which is composed of all the above steps and more. 

This program consists of online private Hebrew lessons with professional teachers. Initiated in February 2011, the program has already more than 900 happy subscribers.

What could be better than having a professional teacher calling you on pre-arranged times that you have scheduled in advance, at your convenience? What could be more instructive than a one-on-one session where the teacher concentrates solely on you? 

The teachers taking part in the program not only speak fluent English and Hebrew but they are also calling you from Israel (by telephone or Skype).  It does not matter where you live; irrespective of location, our teachers will contact you at your convenience, mainly through an internet connection, such as Skype.

Having someone to speak with in Hebrew (irrespective of his or her proficiency level) is necessary when wanting to learn and mantain a foreign language.

If you are able to dedicate at least 1-2 hours a week, please send an email to Naomi@jpost.com, Subject: Attention Leon, with your details (first and last name and a contact number) and I will contact you as soon as possible and we'll find out together if this program is something that can really help you.

Recent testimonials from happy subscribers:

"I have just finished my tenth IvritTalk session, and I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy and value IvritTalk. These 20-minute sessions are a very worthwhile use of my time and investment of my money. You have trained the IvritTalk staff extremely well! They really know how to pack a lot of learning into a 20-minute session, and they are incredibly friendly and warm at the same time. Truly, kol hakavod to you for such a great program!"

Steve,
Massachusetts, USA

"I am enrolled in the Ivrit program, and although I have only had one lesson, my interest in your beautiful language has been renewed. I worked with Tali on Monday and she was very helpful and very encouraging. I am working again on the Alefbet and also on the vowel points. Just for your info, this study helps me in my Sunday school classes every week. My class this week includes psalm (Mizmor) 133 and I have been looking at it in Ivrit and that pushes me even more to get the message of unity out to those in my class."

Jerry
Mississippi, USA

Regilah: Round Two

A view of Mt. Hermon on the way to base.

After the hardest week of my life, we had a few busy and turbulent days on base, then were freed for a week!  As I mentioned in my previous post, and will elaborate on in my next one, my plugah (company) split up and different platoons moved to new companies.  We had to pack up all our personal belongings, equipment, weapons, everything and literally move to a new part of the base that houses our new plugot.  On Sunday, we woke up in our new rooms, had a eight kilometer run with the entire brigade, cleaned ourselves up, and left base...only to go to a celebratory meal for the older guys at a place near Haifa.  The meal took a few hours and then Shmuel and I headed to Jerusalem, getting to our apartment late in the evening.  We stopped to pick up a few beers (or maybe more than just a few).  Once in the apartment, I threw off my uniform, cracked open a cold one, and talked to my parents on iChat.

Combat soldiers are supposed to have three week-long breaks (regilah) every year.  As a lone soldier, I was fortunate to be able to go home for a month over New Years.  However, the Israelis in my unit have waited since July for their next vacation.  And it could not have come at a better time for them.  After experiencing the most difficult trial of our lives, we had a week of rest and recuperation.

I spent half my time in Jerusalem and the other half in Tel Aviv.  I spent hours just sitting on my ass, watching movies and tv shows, not changing out of my pjs, relishing in the freedom.  On Monday I went into town in Jerusalem and bounced around at different coffee shops, enjoying the sunshine, the people-watching, taking care of things on my computer.  On Tuesday, Shmaya, Shmuel and I decided to head to Mike's Place, an American bar, around two in the afternoon and enjoy some drinks at that hour (but hey, it's five o'clock somewhere, right?).  On Wednesday I headed to Tel Aviv and after bouncing around with Shmaya, Shmuel and Gidon, had a nice dinner with David, Amy and their nephew who was in on spring break.  Thursday evening there was a party for lone soldiers at a pub by the beach.  It was an absolute blast!  It seemed that everyone knew everyone there; we were all connected by virtue of being or knowing a lone soldier.  Friday was a calm day.  Saturday evening I went out with a girl to some bars and a club.  It was a really fun night.  Then Sunday I returned to my apartment in Jerusalem and prepared to go back to base the next day.  

And I just realized that I don't think I took any photos of the past week.  Oh well.  I'm sure you can imagine the kind of fun a young twenty-something-on-break-from-the-army had...