Shavua Tavor

Before I enlisted, a friend of mine gave me apiece of advice that really saved me this week. He told me that whenever you are doing something and it seems difficult and you want to give up, remind yourself why you are there and then make it enjoyable by imagining you are somewhere else trying to accomplish some given task.

Being that this week we were once again in the shetach, sleeping in a tent not even two feet high and five feet long, I had one of the hardest physical week thus far. It was shavua Tavor, which means that it was the week to learn how to use our gun, the Tavor to its best ability. As a machlaka we shot over 14,000 kadurim (bullets in Hebrew), meaning that I shot at least 500 of them. It was an intense week, but one that was really satisfying. The week started off bright and early Sunday morning. I went to the meeting place an hour early to miss the madness that goes on Sunday mornings at the Tachana meracazi. It was definetly worth it, so I’ll probably do the same thing this Sunday. After waiting for everyone to show up, we made our way to the base where we prepared to embark on our journey to the shetach once again.

Everday was practically the same. We woke up early, ran up a hill with all of our gear because we were 30 milliseconds late, davened, set up the shooting range, and then returned at 12 at night. We shot all day, practicing different situations and different positions. It was really cool to finally learn how to use the gun in every situation possible. They made us run and shoot, lie down, and even stand up. As the days went on, our mifakdim got more intense. They began to yell more and make us run. By the end of the week we were in full gear for the majority of the day – that is, we were wearing our efod and helmet, the gear we would take to fight to practice the situations that we would learn. When things began to get difficult, I decided to listen to that piece of advice. The first thing I did was not give up. There were times when I wanted  to sit down and take a break or just liesurley walk instead of running the 400 meters in the sand. I reminded my self that I had to set an example, I am the volunteer who has to inspire everyone around me, so I didn’t stop. Even when I felt like I pulled a muscle, I ran, slowly, but it was still a faster pace than walking. When things got annoying, I decided to put myself in different situations. I imagined myself as being in a video game shooting at targets and being timed while doing so. I told the guys around me and they thought I was nuts, but it sure helped me as the days grew longer.

Ever since I found out that Daniel and I were going to be separate, I was afraid that I would not be able to find anyone to “kibbutz” with (or just to hang out with during the free time). Finally by the end of the week our group grew closer and we began to joke around.  Although most of the jokes were targeted at me for my accent and incoherent Hebrew, it was fun, and as a group we grew closer. Looking back at it now, it makes me feel much better as to the reason for my service.

The week ended off with another 5k masa, where, with all of our gear, we hiked at a rather quick pace. I don’t know why but it really felt like I was being Aliyah L’Regel, brining the korbanot (sacrifices) to the Beit Hamikdash (the holy temple) because we had the one leader, or the high priest (Cohen) with everyone guarding the pikalim, or the stretcher and water, which I imagined as being the sacrifices. Although this may all seem very weird, it made everything a lot of fun.

The week on base ended Thursday morning as it was parents day for the entire base. They took everyone like me, a chayal boded (lone soldier) to a beit chayal where they house people without immediate family in Israel. They served us a big breakfast and sent us home. It was really nice to finally have a few days off after the difficult weeks being in the shetach. Things were hard and will only get more difficult, but when things are difficult it only means that you are going up and are closer at reaching your final goal, a lesson I hope to take with me throughout my service.

Before I conclude I wanted to share a nice idea I said over on the parsha after mincha one day this week. At the end of this weeks parsha the laws of weights and measurement in terms of halacha are juxtaposed with the mitzvah to remember Amalek. When reading this I was very curious as to why the two parshiot were juxtaposed. Rashi mentions that it teaches us to be very careful with the ways we, as Jews, deal with business. When I looked at this Rashi it, at first, did not make a whole lot of sense. After thinking about it I realized that we learn a great lesson from it. Like in the army, we have to be careful as to everything that we do. We have to watch our time because zman barzel, we have to be careful with our word choice as to not offend anyone, and we have to be careful to be fair to not cheat anyone else when dealing with business. The simple things that we do in our life can be the most difficult to watch over. Even things like weights and measurement in business, people think that the nitty gritty details do not matter. However, what do we learn from this weeks parsha? We learn that they all matter, that we need to be careful. Because if we do not care, then “zachor et Amalek” – remember Amalek, the nation that it is a mitzvah to kill, the nation believed to be the most evil. WE have to be careful with every detail because we need to please Hashem and defeat all the evil and not succumb to defeat, succumb to the defeat by Amalek. I, too, must remember this that I am here in the army to fight for the state of Israel. I am also here to give inspiration to those that have to serve, being that I am only  a volunteer. I must watch everything I do because who knows, maybe there is someone watching me when I am take that leisure walk or not listening to my commanders. I have to be aware of my surroundings and watch my actions because I am here to help and not succumb to the evil, not to be defeated by Amalek.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Shabbos!

 

-- Ari Platt