Garin Tzabar: Phone Interview

I had my very first language shock today in my phone interview with Garin Tzabar. As I mentioned in my previous post, Garin Tzabar is the program which we hope will facilitate our move to Israel and our service in the IDF. We had been waiting for months (years, even) to apply and were relieved when we finally received notice that we would have our phone interviews, the first follow-up to the application. What's unique about Garin Tzabar is that it has its potential participants attend four seminars in a “feeling-out” period. So while we could participate in the program, at least in terms of its seminars, there is no guarantee until after the last one that we have a spot in our “Garin,” or group. Nothing like a bit of suspense!

It's definitely an interesting situation when the most nerve-wrecking thing in your final exam week is a phone interview. I usually excel in conversational settings and have never had a problem expressing myself in that type of situation. With that said, I expected the phone call to be smooth and successful. I was excited to begin my ongoing relationship with the program. Well, it all went out the window when I answered the phone and heard, “Mah nishma?,” Hebrew for “how are you?” And so it began... I dealt with that relatively simple question with some hesitancy and felt myself becoming nervous out of nowhere. The realization hit me in the face that I had just begun an interview I had waited such a long time to do. And that it would be one of many. And that this would not be even close to the last time I would be spoken to in Hebrew only to freeze in thought and response. Only the very next thing he said, I had to ask to be translated. It was a rough start! I was struggling, but settled my nerves, persevered, and managed my way to the more comfortable part of the conversation, in English.

The interview was pleasant besides the hiccup in the the beginning. I was given another overview of the program and asked various things about myself and my interest in Israel, the IDF, immigration, becoming a lone soldier, and all. The questions asked were more-or-less what you would expect and it turned out to be much more conversational in nature than I thought it would be. We talked about the usual things like my motivation for wanting to serve in the IDF, and talked about the obviously far more important things, like Manchester United (of course it crept its way in there). I feel as though I gave a good account of myself and was relieved that the interview had turned around that way. By the end, when I had the chance to ask questions for the interviewer, I was far more relaxed.

We will begin our seminars in February and are still waiting to see if we will be part of a small “Garin” from Florida, which currently does not seem to have enough interest, or if we will be part of one of the New York “Garinim.” Whatever the case may be, I am looking forward to the journey ahead.

 - Darren 

Before the Beginning of the Road

On a journey like ours, it would be tough to place a date and time on the "beginning." It would be nearly impossible to say just when it became "real" or which stage of the process was truly the start. The truth is that in some ways we are well on our way while in others we are not even close.  Four months since my last entry, though, there is some news (even if it is only minor), as we have both completed our preliminary applications to participate in the program which we hope will facilitate our move. After many months of waiting, we have finally made the first tangible movement toward realizing our ambitions of serving in the Israeli Defense Forces.

It seems appropriate to discuss what this program is now and what we hope it will do for us. Tzofim Garin Tzabar is a program that pulls together diaspora Jews (both Israeli-born and otherwise) who have a yearning to move to Israel and serve in the IDF. The objective of the organization, a branch of the Israel Scouts, is to create a family-type support environment for the individuals who participate so that they are not alone in their experiences. For these specific "lone soldiers" (those who serve without family members in Israel), the Garin becomes a "home away from home" and is a crucial benefit. Each Garin comes from a different region of the United States (or somewhere else) and begins by familiarizing its members with one another and their journey with seminars in their home area before moving as a whole to a kibbutz in Israel and preparing for/executing the draft process. Needless to say, there is more to be said about it, but that will do for now.

Garin Tzabar has become an extremely important part of our planning for aliyah and our draft into the IDF. The benefits of this program will make our lives much easier both now, in the planning stages, and in the future, when we are going through various parts of our service. We have both been registered to receive information on applying for the longest time and it would be impossible to explain how happy we were to see the preliminary registrations open. We are now eagerly waiting to be contacted for interviews. Our hope, of course, is that we are accepted into the program and are able to take advantage of what it has to offer.

I want to make sure that I am documenting each landmark, however major or minor, so that it may serve as something to look back on for us and something to assist whoever may be coming along the same path in the future. While it may seem trivial to blog about an extended form that we have filled out, it represents something large in the bigger picture. My intention is that our experiences are shared before, during, and after our move and our service.

 - Darren 

From One Stage to the Next...to the Next

I've gone through a major change of setting in the past few months, going from a high school graduate to a college student. I've enrolled in classes and begun my new life, yet my focus is still on what lies ahead and preparing for the next big stage in my life: serving in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Why have I elected to attend college for one year? This is something I've been asked by several people who have been informed of my plans, and something I've thought about considerably since making this big decision. The answer has many levels which make clear sense to me, and will hopefully make sense to you.

A soldier from another country with no family living in Israel is called a “Chayal Boded,” a lone soldier. Basically, lone soldiers are given specific benefits to make them as comfortable as possible considering the truly “lonely” situation they find themselves in: living in a new country, a new culture, and not having anyone to go home to on a free weekend. Darren has been accelerated a year, on track to graduate this coming May. As you've read and will continue to read in the future, his intentions to serve are the same as mine. It made clear sense to me that I should wait a year before going to Israel, enabling us to go together and making the lonely aspect of the lone soldier life much easier to deal with for both of us.

Another factor in my decision was “the college life.” Initially, I battled with the decision of going to Israel right after high school or waiting to earn a degree first. Ultimately, I felt that going earlier would give me the best option to be able to come back after my service and ease into academic and professional life. As the decision to wait for Darren was already made, I had to decide what I would do in the year after high school. Attending college and earning credits would make it easier for me to enroll again when my service is complete, not having to apply again as a first-time freshman. Further, the credits earned will shorten the time my undergraduate degree takes to complete after my service. I still wanted to be sure that I was making the right decision in bypassing all four years of college. I decided that attending for a year and experiencing the college life would help me take comfort in my decision. I would be sure that it was the right one, and I would know what I'd be coming back to after my service, motivated to return and finish up my academic life. At this point, I'm sure my decision to go early is the right one.

Anything can happen while I'm in my service and I may decide to remain in Israel and pursue a different path in life or even attend college somewhere else. However, my current plan seems to be the best one for me at this point.

What am I doing now with almost exactly one year until my life in Israel begins? Besides for taking classes, I'm trying to make sure that my Hebrew will be a satisfactory level upon arrival in Israel. I'm currently taking weekly lessons, along with Darren, taught by a Hebrew professor at our school. My preparation is not solely mental and academic, however. I'm also beginning to train and get myself in good shape for the specific unit I'd like to join (which I'll discuss later, I promise!)

I will post more in the near future and explain why I've made the decision to go serve in the IDF as well as the program we plan on doing it with. A lot lies ahead for us in the next year and we hope to document every big step along the way!

-Brett

Slowly, But Surely

The move to Israel is still a far way off, but certain preparations have to be made already. In one aspect, it is an obvious understanding that the army is a physical challenge unlike any other. In another, the level of Hebrew I currently possess is definitely below the amount I will inevitably need. These are two of many issues we've discussed and started to deal with in the last few months. While many solutions will only be found once the move has been made (let's face it, we won't be speaking fluent Hebrew in Florida), there are steps we have taken and will take in the next few months to make sure we are as ready as we can be.

As a “prospective” lone soldier, you hear a lot about the different units in the army and, more specifically, what it takes to get into them. While most of the brigades we would be interested in require a certain combat profile (another story for a post in the distant future) some are only accessible through physical tryouts. Additionally, wherever you end up, the life of a combat soldier is very physical. Needless to say, two years into college, I'm not exactly at professional triathlete fitness levels, and I've needed to start improving. So far, it's going better than expected. My running times have improved tremendously since starting to work on this, even if there's still much to do. Although it's true that so many of our challenges will have more to do with mental strength, overall physical fitness does provide a certain confidence that I will be able to hold my own. Maybe improving physically helps with the mental strength in the long run! It definitely is a boost and a motivation every time I'm a little less tired at the end of a work out or I'm able to run that small distance more.

On the language front, things will be picking up soon. I've spoken to a professor at school who is happy and eager to teach us privately and he won't find any more motivated students than the two of us. This is somewhat ironic, considering when I previously took his intermediate Hebrew class, I was hardly the ideal student. I'm not sure he remembers that (maybe he doesn't care), but regardless, the guy's a saint for helping us and for being as enthusiastic as he has been in getting started. The same generosity he's displayed is fortunately something I've been privileged to see in a lot of people who have heard our story and our plans. We have been in touch with all sorts of people in the past months, each kinder than the next. We have been offered every type of assistance and we're lucky and thankful to have the support we apparently do.

I realize we haven't talked about our reasons or the details of our plans. These will follow in the future! A year away, we are focused and excited to start the actual process and continue with our preparations.

- Darren

Brothers in Israel: An Introduction

Brothers in Israel is something we wanted to start to keep the people in our lives aware of a big decision we are pursuing and to serve as an outlet for reflection on our experiences in doing so.

In the coming months, we will be taking the first steps toward a goal we both have: to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. Both of us will provide background information about making this choice and document our journey with as much substance and insight as possible.

Our idea is that Brothers in Israel will showcase two brothers' experiences in following one goal. We expect that these will be similar in some regards and, in others, totally different. Our articles will mostly be written individually and labelled so that you may easily follow our stories separately and compare them without being confused as to who wrote what.

At this point in time, posts will be very infrequent. but will pick up when there are relevant moments to write about.

In the meanwhile, thank you for your interest in following along with us.

- Brett and Darren