D. grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood, but as a teenager in the yeshiva he dreamed of a uniform. • The Magellan unit became acquainted with an entry in Wikipedia, and the Shahar organization (Haredi integration in the IDF) helped him fulfill his dream.
"We were on a formation Saturday
at the Kfar Haroeh yeshiva, and there was a book about a national religious soldier who fell in one of the wars," says D.
"I did not know exactly what an army was, and if it was possible to remain religious in the army. I had dreamed of the army since childhood, I would see soldiers and get excited. But that was the stage where the dream became a reality. I was locked up.
A few months ago, the arduous journey of D., an ultra-Orthodox from Jerusalem, ended, which began that random Saturday.
He showed up at the IDF, received a uniform, shoes, a kitbag and a recruiting notebook, and officially became a soldier in the IDF.
From there he set out for paratroopers' training ("Already on the third day we fired"), followed by the long completions of the Magellan unit.
Upon completion, next summer, he will become the first Haredi fighter in the unit.
Documentation: Clash between Magellan and Hamas, May 2018 // Photo: IDF Spokesman
We met for the first time on the eve of his enlistment.
A skinny guy in a white shirt with protruding tassels, wearing a black velvet dome.
At his feet are heavy mountain shoes, a hint of the path he has taken in recent years, which in every possible sense deviated from the norms of ultra-Orthodox society.
He grew up in the Ramot C neighborhood, one of the oldest ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in the capital, and the family lives there to this day.
Thursday between seven brothers and sisters, all in the ultra-Orthodox mainstream.
Despite being Spanish, he studied all his life in Lithuanian education.
"In our neighborhood, the concept of 'soldier' is not known at all, except in negative mentions in the ultra-Orthodox newspapers. The ultra-Orthodox who go to the army are called 'ultra-Orthodox'.
There is nothing to talk about on the Internet, of course.
"My route was completely standard - I studied Talmud Torah like everyone else, and at the age of 14 I entered a small yeshiva, which is equivalent to high school, but does not study core studies but sacred studies from morning to evening. During the first year at the yeshiva, I came through "L), to sit the formation. The rumors about the organization spread by word of mouth, and those who want to enlist turn to them secretly.
"I talked to my parents about the possibility of enlistment, and they did not like the idea. I decided to keep my intentions quiet and see what would happen next. At the yeshiva I had difficulty adjusting, and at the end of the first year I moved to another yeshiva that suited me better. I did not know how it could come true.I connected to the yeshiva experience, so I did not feel like leaving.
"In my third year at the yeshiva, when I was 17, the thoughts of the army flooded me again. I realized I was suppressing my biggest dream. I talked to my parents again, I told them my decision was final, and the question is not whether I do it, but how. "It's very difficult for them at first, for them it goes against their way, but over time they digested the idea. Thank God, they didn't take me out of the house or anything like that."
Do they already understand you today?
"My mother less. My father already thinks it's good that I enlisted. He understands the situation, and is actually nice to talk to him about the army. For example, we had a hard Friday in training, a lot of shifts. Before Shabbat I called to tell him it was a hard day, and he said "This was the first time I shared it in my dealings with the army and received a positive attitude. You could say that our relationship has become a bit stronger, we talk more."
What about matchmaking?
Did not press you on the matter?
"No. Because I went to the army, matchmaking is not on the agenda right now."
As part of the assistance to the ultra-Orthodox who want to enlist, the Shahar organization conducts two-day formations for 17-year-olds, most of whom will enlist in the Netzach Yehuda Battalion (Haredi Nahal), Givati or the Hatz Company Masada on a night trip, D. also came to these formations, about a year and a half ago.
"At first I thought it was a trip, I did not realize it was an intense formation. There were two pretty hard physical days, like training. I understood what it means to be in the army and what combat service is, and I got out of Basot. In those two days I realized it's what I was looking for. ".
D. left the yeshiva in the middle of the year and joined the Harari Zion pre-military preparatory school in the Golan Heights.
After three years of studying Gemara from morning to night, he joined a group of people who wanted what he wanted - meaningful service in the IDF.
"For me it was a test case, a field test. When I arrived at the preparatory school I still had doubts about whether it was possible to remain ultra-Orthodox, or religious at all, outside the ultra-Orthodox frameworks in the army, which are very convenient. A few months later, On the General Staff Patrol.
That was my ambition.
"It was a difficult year socially. The guys at the mechina were not exactly in my style, but much more liberal, religious lite. I learned when to give up and compromise to be with the guys, and when to stand by my principles. It was not easy. If at all. The guys go to the club together this weekend and you do not, so you're not part of the group.True, they always told me they appreciate me, but that did not help me be part of the group.
"At that time I decided to take off my suit and hat. Every day, in the preparatory school, I was without, but when I went home to sit I was in a suit and hat, out of respect. Slowly I started to take off. Gradually, because I did not want to blow everything. "I'll wear a suit. That's not my thing anymore."
A hat and suit are the uniforms of the ultra-Orthodox world.
"I didn't think of it as a statement. I'm no longer a sitting guy, so it's uncomfortable for me and not for me. It's just not me."
What did the ultra-Orthodox friends say?
"Most of them looked at me as a different person, and that actually interested them. I told them I was enlisting. There were those who tried to dissuade me from it, said it was a mistake, and that in the army it is impossible to stay religious. But I did not give them an opening. Who are they to tell me whether or not to go to the army? "
Today you define yourself as an ultra-Orthodox?
As a national-religious?
"Today I do not define myself in a particular sector. I am very much in Baruchin, which is a communal religious community, and I have a family name that is already almost an adoptive family. But that does not make me national-religious. I am not confused, I just do not want to be associated with the sector One way or another. "
You still use a kosher cell phone.
"When you have a non-kosher phone, you face trials like Instagram and the like. The kosher phone is an external thing that protects me, like a black cap and a tassel. As long as I can persevere and not use a non-kosher phone, I will stay with my device."
Ability to buy a new device and install a block.
"Why do I have this headache? We're in a generation of screens, and I choose not to be on screen all day."
In preparation for his long-awaited service as a soldier, he underwent fitness training, as part of the preparatory program and independently.
He ran several long distances several times a week and did strength training, as part of the Jerusalem group of the Shachar organization. "This was the first time I trained an ultra-Orthodox guy who wants to join the commando brigade," says Omri Neubert, a fitness instructor from Egoz Patrol .
"In this training, the emphasis should be on the individual and not on the group, because in the special units in the army, each of the fighters is unique and special.
"I did physical training with D., combat fitness, Krav Maga, strengthen it as much as possible, as well as training that works on mental resilience, such as endurance, achievement, etc. We also did travel. D. is a guy with a lot of talent and a lot of physical and mental abilities. I "I am glad that there is someone who can represent the ultra-Orthodox sector in this way. My team at Egoz had a lot of guys from religious Zionism, but not ultra-Orthodox. I think this is the real and worthy combination."
D: "Ahead of 'Army Patrol Day', which tests physical and mental abilities, I would run three or four times a week for short runs, sprints, and long runs of tens of kilometers. It was easier in the mechina area in the Golan Heights, because there are no ups and downs. In Jerusalem. You spill after 10 km.
I also did strength training, parallel bars, tension, sit-ups. "
In October 2019, he successfully passed "Patrol Day" and asked to attend the formation of the General Staff Reconnaissance Regiment. During the exams, he injured his leg. "Instead, I was summoned for an interview with Magellan."
The Magellan Unit was established in 1986 as an anti-tank unit, specializing in the destruction of quality targets and the achievement of military intelligence. To Avi Ballut, and many others.
Magellan carried out covert operations in enemy territory, including in Lebanon.
It also operated during the Second Intifada and the Second Lebanon War, when its fighters destroyed about 150 targets and received a unit pay from the General Command. In Operation Eitan, the unit operated in Gaza, and three of its fighters were killed while handling a booby-trapped tunnel near Khan Yunis. The Chief of Staff. In December 2015, the unit was subordinated to the Commando Brigade.
"The truth is that until I received the message I received from Magellan, I did not know the unit at all," D. admits.
"I knew Cherry and Walnut because I talked to people who served there. We don't have internet at home, and when I wanted to know things, I asked friends who have internet on their cell phones. I learned about Magellan from Wikipedia. I printed the entry and read it. After graduation I had a few months left to recruit. "And I passed them on to the high yeshiva in Baruchin in Samaria. I met a fighter in the unit there, who brought me a book about its history."
In contrast to the ultra-Orthodox units, in the army, D. was forced to compromise on kosher food from the Chief Rabbinate, and not on kosher food, as he used to eat before enlistment.
Even kosher meat that members of the Eastern community eat is not accepted.
"I eat more chicken," he smiles.
Looking back, after the fears and anxieties, do you feel you got what you wanted?
"It's very good for me to be in the army. In the last months before the army I was quite in the air. I walked, worked, had no frame. I was pampered. Now it's a 180 degree inversion. It took me a while to get into the head, but I got in, I understood. I learned to love it Enjoying every moment.
"We are very busy in the unit, during the first closure, for example, we did not even have time to think about the plague. I would see in the news that people are dying, but it sounds to me like another, hallucinatory world. We were closed at the base for 40 days. When we left, I was shocked. Has changed. "
Can you keep the commandments?
"Technically, yes, it's very simple. Give me time for three prayers a day, kosher meals, everything. The difficulty is from the direction of the secular guys, especially on Saturdays. Although they respect me, try not to put music out loud.The first week or two it was hard, but practice.I know the rules and maneuver between all the challenges.
"In this respect, in Magellan it is easier. The guys here do not know the ultra-Orthodox world and do not come to it with anger and resentment, like many people who have left this world and serve in other units. They see me as an equal, as another guy who enlists in the team.
"Obviously it's not entirely simple, because our worlds are far away. To this day I do not fully understand what a secular head is. Although I understand much more than once, but it is still not enough. I will bridge these gaps over time, but with an open mind and conversation possible. To bridge them. "
Wasn't there a step in the path where you said, "I will go to an ultra-Orthodox unit and get food and treatment on a tray of money"?
"By no means. My goal is to do my best, and I will not give up on my dream because of difficulties. For me, difficulties only build me. It is impossible to know what will happen, but my goal is command."
Are you coming home in uniform?
"My parents asked that when I get home, I come without a uniform. Mostly my mother was bothered by it, she did not want my siblings to see me in uniform, even though they know I am in the army. My little brother is 12, it is their education, and I have no interest in defying. I try to understand them. "
In June, the media reported on a Zobor incident carried out by soldiers and officers in Magellan in two recruits in the unit.
One of them was tied to a mast, and water and tahini were poured on the other, during the soldiers' free time.
One of the incidents took place in the presence of a staff sergeant, and the other in the presence of a team commander, an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The incident was stopped only after a platoon commander saw the Zobor and reported to the company commander.
The incident was reported to the commander of the paratroopers brigade and the brigade commander of the commando unit. The team commander was immediately suspended, and later prosecuted and convicted of misconduct.
The soldiers who passed the Zobor are members of D.'s team.
"When I heard about the incident I called to ask how they were, and they told me about what happened. We are a very cohesive team, taking care of each other, and it was important for me to support them.
"There is no doubt that such incidents are not supposed to happen. I know those responsible for the case have been punished and hope that after the treatment they gave it to the unit, it will not happen again. Most of the Magellan fighters are not like that. There are quality people here."
The Shahar organization says that about 600 ultra-Orthodox enlist in the designated battalions each year. Most of them are those who have dropped out of ultra-Orthodox frameworks and move on the scale between religious to varying degrees and completely secular. "We build an awareness of meaningful service for the ultra-Orthodox," says Hanoch Rogoz. 'Insky.
"We are not committed to recruitment goals, but work out of a sincere desire to find the right platform and make the right discourse accessible to any ultra-Orthodox who wants to perform meaningful service. We explain to him what it means to be a pilot, commando fighter or soldier in 8200, and help him. This language in general.
"We realized that if we want to make a difference, we need to bring in real ultra-Orthodox who want to serve in combat units as officers and commanders. That if we want ultra-Orthodox leaders in the future, they will have to go through places like Magellan. I want to see the ultra-Orthodox lead in security. Champion of a woman, why not have an ultra-Orthodox lieutenant colonel? "
D. says that his ideal is that every young man will study in a yeshiva, serve in the IDF for three years and then return to continue his Torah studies. "I know it is complicated.
In the mind of a Lithuanian guy, whoever goes to the army is not an ordinary person, he is no longer a yeshiva guy, he is no longer an ultra-Orthodox.
The guys in the ultra-Orthodox battalions today are a kind of dropouts, and that's a shame. "
Do you feel like you broke some kind of glass ceiling?
"No, because it's a way I built step by step, and not from scratch to a century in boom. In yeshiva it was still a dream, now I'm here, it's happening. Today I'm another guy who enlisted in Magellan.
Do you have regrets?
Maybe go back to sitting?
"No. The yeshiva did not suit me, it is not for me. I connect with Gd more in the formation of the General Staff than in the yeshiva.
When I was sitting I prayed because everyone was praying.
When I was in the formation of the General Staff, however, they gave us six minutes to eat, and out of that, if you want to eat bread, you have to run to take hands, and after the meal to greet, without calculating at all the fact that you have to help the guys open the cans and tidy. There I took hands every time and felt connected to the Blessed One.
"When I am in the army, I connect much more with Gd. I talked about it with Rabbi Baruchin, Rabbi Meir Hilevich, and he explained to me that it makes sense. There are people who connect more to Gd through the world of action. Some people do not find Gd in the beit midrash, but rather in the field. "In the army. It is a sacred place for me. The people there may not be holy, but the Israeli army is a sacred thing."
shishabat@israelhayom.co.il