24 | AUGUST 10 • 2023

B

y age 43, I was an
extremely busy mom,
and I had never gone to
Israel in my life. When my son
Bentzi drafted as a Lone Soldier
in the IDF in 2021, I was deter-
mined to get to Israel to see the
land he was helping defend —
and I wanted to see it while he
was in uniform!
In early 2022, I learned that an
organization called Momentum
ran a Year of Growth for moms
of Lone Soldiers, which was
kickstarted by a highly subsi-
dized eight-day tour around
Israel. I was one of hundreds
who applied … and was rejected.
In 2023, I figured I’
d apply
again. Cognizant of the fact that
Bentzi’s service would be ending
in a few months and anticipating
another rejection, in the mean-

time I booked a ticket to Israel
in May. I was surprised when
a few days before my May trip,
I received an acceptance letter
from Momentum!
Now, with the grace of G-d,
I have been to Israel twice in a
matter of weeks!
For my May trip, Bentzi was
granted the week off, which was
a beautiful experience filled with
many important Israeli lessons.
(My favorite: The dirtier the
place, the tastier the falafel!)
In July, Bentzi was on base,
and I was nervous about how I’
d
get from the airport to the hotel
without understanding Hebrew.
Every Lone Soldier is assigned
a host family when they draft, a
local family to go to for Shabbat
and Chagim. Not every match
works out, but Bentzi struck

gold with his and, over the years,
had told me about Leah Torem
from the kibbutz, Sde Eliyahu,
in Northern Israel. When Leah
heard I was coming, she mes-
saged me asking if she could
meet me at the airport. I grate-
fully agreed. Leah met me at
the airport, we took the train to
Tel Aviv, where she introduced
me to her son Natanel. We had
lunch together, I changed money
(with Leah and Natanel dragging
my suitcase the whole time) and
then they took me to the hotel,
only leaving when I was com-
fortably settled in.
When I was telling Bentzi how
nice it was, he said, “You don’t
know how nice … The kibbutz
is almost three hours away from
the airport.
”
I was blown away by her kind-

ness; we barely knew each other,
but she’
d treated me like the clos-
est family.
The next day I met my group
at the Prima City Hotel in Tel
Aviv. We were 30 women from
17 different time zones across
10 different countries — South
Africa, Netherlands, Thailand,
Cyprus, Germany, Argentina,
Australia, Canada, England
and the United States. We were
paired off randomly and that
first night found ourselves pre-
paring for bed with our new
roommates for the week, who
had been strangers just a few
hours ago.
That’s how I found myself
lying awkwardly in bed in a dark
hotel room with someone I bare-
ly knew.
“So, what are your secrets?”
I asked Renee Goldman of Las
Vegas, who happily started to tell
me about her family.
“My daughter went through
a hard time last year when her
best friend died suddenly,
” Renee
confided, and I grew still …
because my son’s best friend had
also passed away last year.
“
Asher Powers,
” I remembered
aloud.
“How do you know that?!”
Renee demanded.
Instantly we sat up, switched
the light back on and grabbed
our phones. What’s your daugh-
te’s name?! Who’s your son?!
We texted our kids and, yup,
it turned out our kids had met
while in Israel a few years ago
and had been best friends ever
since.
The awkwardness was gone;
we were practically related!
Momentum created a unique
itinerary for us moms of Lone
Soldiers. On Day Two, we visited
Nefesh B’Nefesh, where we were
treated to a compilation of loving
videos from our chayalim (sol-
diers) welcoming their mothers
to Israel. We were also gifted a
complimentary beret from our
child’s unit. Other special pro-

OUR COMMUNITY

Momentum brings moms of Lone Soldiers to Israel.

A Special
Reunion

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Rochel and her son
Bentzi, an IDF Lone
Soldier, outside the
Old City of Jerusalem