My Baby is joining the Israeli Army (IDF)

By Elisa Leopold
Special to ASSIST News Service
ISRAEL (ANS) -- From the moment a child is born we look forward with anticipation to those very special milestones that will hopefully mark their passage through childhood, to adulthood and so on. Tomorrow (Tuesday, September 13, 2011) I will experience one of those milestones - one that is reserved only for Jewish Israeli parents in Israel - the day their child enlists in the Israel Defense Forces.

My Baby!

When I first began parenting in Boca Raton Florida, prior to making Aliyah [the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel] six years ago, I never would have imagined that I'd be sending my children off to the army. Like myself, many Americans do not consider the army as even an option since it is not an obligatory part of the American system. Therefore, the concept of the army never occurred to me - it was always someone else's child (mostly people I never met) did. But my move to Israel changed all this - the army is very much a part of our lives, every single day.When we first broke the news that we were moving people would ask me "Lisa, as I am known as by many of my friends, if you're going to move to Israel, your kids will have to go into the army. You want to do that? Aren't you scared?:"
I honestly didn't think about it. Call it denial - it was too far away, not on my radar. I wasn't going to worry about it.
For the last few years I've watched as my new friends here in Israel have sent off their children to the army, and have generally marked the event by a family get together or a kiddush, or as in our case - a celebratory Oneg Shabbat with friends. One by one these kids have left, and as they periodically return home they seem more mature, more confident and more independent.

Elisa and her daughter Tali at the Women's Triathalon in Herzliya in 2009

Now it's my turn. Tomorrow morning at 7:30 am we will drop off our eldest daughter, Tali, at an army base in Tel Aviv, where she will spend some portion of the day getting outfitted, and who knows what else before beginning her first few weeks of basic training.Tomorrow morning my little girl will join the ranks of the tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers. She'll get her dog tag, her locker, maybe even a gun, and she'll travel to her base and start her new life.
This week's Parsha Ki Tetzei [Torah portion] speaks about many of the mitzvoth and the laws that we are commanded to live by. It speaks of morality and fairness, right and wrong and not taking things for granted. It seems just so appropriate that our daughter, who is recognized for her sense of fairness, morality and kindness - is entering the army during the same week that this Parsha is read. It is also the same week that we all remember 9/11. And I remember it clearly - it was the same morning that our 9 year old Tali was honored with "Student of the Month".
And now 10 years later - she's off to the army. Living here in Israel, you just don't take anything for granted.
How coincidental that she embarks on this new path during the month of Elul - the period where Jews worldwide hear the cry of the shofar each morning. The shofar is sounded daily in order to awaken us from our complacency and compel us to seek repentance.
We are so very proud of you Tali.! May you always stand up for what you believe in and be successful in everything you do. And stay safe.
Each Friday night my husband and I recite these words to our children and it seems appropriate to say them again tomorrow morning: "May the Lord bless you and keep you, may his face shine upon you be gracious unto you, and may he lift up his countenance unto you and grant you peace. Amen". Numbers: 6 - 20.

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Elisa Leopold blogs for www.Travelujah.com and lives in Ra'ananna Israel with her husband and four children.