Catch-up, move-on.

February 2010.
I was placed in a Job in the Home Front Command (HFC) in the unconventional chemical warfare division. Sounds cool right? It pretty much is! I'm actively using my degree in chemistry and I come home everyday, so besides the peanuts they pay me every month, it's pretty close to a normal life. Besides the fact that there is the occasional guard and kitchen duty, and the fact that everyone's in uniform, its pretty much a regular job.

June 2010.
My family came for a visit and I got two much needed weeks off from the army. We traveled all over Israel, went on hikes, and even went SCUBA diving in Eilat!

July 30 2010.
That is pretty much the gist of everything that has happened up to now, there are a lot of details and stories that have been left out, but at this point I think its best to just push on forward!

As you guys might remember I was a counselor with young judea last summer. They asked me to meet up with their group (different kids) this year and talk to them about Aliyah and being a Lone Soldier. I met them yesterday at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Mt. Herzl is a Military cemetery and also is where the great leaders of Israel are buried, eg. Herzl. As a soldier, in order to be buried at Mt. Herzl you have to have been a hero that fell in war or any type of operation. It is a very solemn and quiet place filled with greenery. There is a lot of dichotomy in Israel and it is shown very strongly in this cemetery. There are buck privates buried next to cheif of staff's, there are Russians next to Americans next to Israelis next to Ethiopians, it is truly a testament to Jews coming from the four corners of this earth, with all their hopes and dreams, and giving their lives for the Jewish people.

I remember, exactly a year ago, standing at Michael Levin's grave, telling his story: how he made Aliyah from Philly, lived on a kibbtz,was totally driven to go into the army, and how he fell in Lebanon. I now live on Micheal's same kibbutz, and I remember last year falling apart after we left the cemetery. I saw so much of myself in his story, and all the stresses of live in Israel that had built up over the first few months were finally too much. Yesterday, before this whole experience, I found myself as worn, tired, drained of idealism and forgetting a lot of the reasons of why I'm here. Honestly, this has been my general feelings over the last few months. Life here can be difficult, and the army is a very draining experience in many ways. It can be really hard to hold on to the initial, yet intensely strong, feelings and reasons that you had and have for being here and giving up so much. All this can be so easily lost in the daily grind, and sometimes we lose sight of how much our daily lives are so chocked full of purpose. Yesterday put a lot of things in perspective. I found myself stumbling a lot when I was trying to tell my story to these kids, I haven't really taken the time lately to think about this whole process and how much I've changed and who I've become. There is so much to say, so much I wanted to get across, so much I wanted them to take home to the states, and in the end I feel like I failed in pinpointing the nuggets that affect you the most. I find myself now sitting an trying to put the last two years in order in my mind, to rediscover myself, and my reasons for being here. This is definitely a healthy thing, it came at a good time.

I will do my best to update at more regular intervals, I think it will be good for you and for me!

יחיאל