M

etro Detroit natives Daniel Selesny, 21, and 
Elijah Wolfe, 20, had a bit too much time on 
their hands in January as they quarantined 
for two weeks off their Israeli army base following a 
vacation with family and friends back home. 
They spent the days and nights in separate rooms in 
a makeshift quarantine center for Lone Soldiers in the 
coastal town of Hadera. They passed the time reading, 
FaceTiming with friends and family, and binge-watch-
ing Netflix shows like The Queen’s Gambit.
All meals were prepared and left by their door, 
causing them to crave the food back on base, which 
they said was quite good. Though they could not see 
the ocean from their windows, they enjoyed spending 
about 20 minutes a day outside. 
Soon, though, they would be reunited on base with 
the rest of their unit and with Yossi Nadel, 20, a third 
young Detroiter currently serving in the IDF in its Lone 
Soldier Program. All three soldiers are graduates of the 
2018 class of Farber Hebrew Day School in Southfield.
According to the Lone Soldier Center, more than 
7,000 Lone Soldiers serve in the IDF. Some are young 
Jews taking gap years abroad before entering college, 
others are immigrants or youth from low socioeco-
nomic backgrounds with little to no family connec-
tions. The Lone Soldier Center provides those with 
no social or family network in Israel with financial 
assistance, community connections and programming 
as well as Shabbat and holiday meals. 
Spending time in Israel between high school and 
college, the three enrolled in a program where they 
spent time studying in a yeshivah and then provided 
months of service in the IDF. 
While visiting in Michigan, Selesny spent time Up 
North with his family and hung out with high school 
friends who in ordinary times would be away at col-
lege but instead were taking online classes at home. 
He even dined in a heated “igloo” at Prime 10 restau-
rant in Southfield. Speaking in quarantine, Selesny 
expressed that he was back in Israel and looked for-
ward to being back together with his unit. 
The hardest part of quarantine: spending Shabbat 
completely alone.
“It was a full 25 hours of no electronics,” said 
Selesny. “There was no minyan I could attend, and I 
don’t see anyone. But Shabbat spent this way is a good 
time to reflect and spend time working on yourself.”

Sense of Duty

12 | FEBRUARY 18 • 2021 

OUR COMMUNITY

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ON THE COVER

Young Detroiters serve in IDF 
to “give back” to Israel. 

From right to left: 
Daniel Selesny, Elijah Wolfe 
and Joe Block, another 
Lone Soldier.

COURTESY OF SELESNY FAMILY

