OCTOBER 28 • 2021 | 11

my timeline, contrasting my
perennial studenthood’s free-
dom, comforts and indul-
gences with your challenging,
if hopefully fulfilling, road
ahead. My head lists all the
ways soldiering builds char-
acter, but my heart hurts that
we still need soldiers at all
— let alone how desperately
we need smart, effective, ide-
alistic soldiers like you. And
I, probably more than you,
keenly feel your sacrifice in
temporarily suspending your
autonomy to protect us all.
Ultimately, sidelining
history, autobiography and
ideology, I try looking at
you from your perspective.
You have an advantage.
Because enlistment feels so
natural to you, you’re far
more prepared for whatever
will come than any of us
middle-aged immigrants
could be. With your great
attitude, and your network
of friends and siblings who
have seen it all before, I am
confident you will thrive.
So rather than regretting
what could have been if you
were going to college now,
I am excited for all you can
learn and grow and benefit
from serving your people.
And unlike most friends
abroad, I don’t ask “how
long will you serve?” as
if it’s a prison sentence; I
join other Israelis in asking
“where will you serve” —
because it’s a privilege and
an opportunity.
On Shabbat, when your
siblings toasted you, they
vowed: “We’ve got your
back.” They wisely advised:
“Remember the little things
— be kind, help your com-
rades, the day-to-day is
key.” Finally, they empha-
sized how important your

service is, how the State of
Israel needs you.
I was moved by their
pitch-perfect balance
between the personal and
communal, the particu-
lar and the universal, the
ephemeral and the eternal,
the meaningful.
Before that, you cele-
brated your last week of
civilian freedom by walk-
ing with two friends mi’yam
l’yam, 80 kilometers from
the Mediterranean Sea
to the Sea of Galilee. As
you went off, carrying a
backpack the size of New
Jersey on your back, with
your usual smile on your
lips, I harbored a dad’s
fears about three young
women wandering Israel’s
backwoods. But I also had
a parent’s pride in your
self-confidence, skill, resil-
ience and range — know-
ing you’d be as comfortable
sleeping under the stars as
you would be in a five-star
hotel (or cushy university
dorm).
And that’s what I’m feel-
ing this week as you begin
basic training: Whatever
worries I have fade away as
I trust the person you are
— and consider your sacred
mission ahead. We are so
lucky to have heroes like
you looking out for slackers
like me.
Love,
Abba

The writer is a distinguished schol-

ar of North American history at

McGill University and the author

of nine books on American history

and three on Zionism. His book

Never Alone: Prison, Politics and

My People, coauthored with Natan

Sharansky, was published by Public

Affairs of Hachette. This essay was

first published on the Jerusalem Post.

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