Telling Soldiers About Sar-El
By Brad Jacobson
I am sitting
on the rocks in the [Jewish quarter] of the Old City. Over there is a
soldier and sure enough she is eating on of the sandwiches we get on our
trips. My urge to ask her about it is too [great] and I walk over and ask if
it is a turkey or tuna sandwich.
She
stands up to start to talk to me and I sit down and she also sits and a few
of her friends join her. I explain to her I am a volunteer on an army base
with Sar-El. One of them says that she heard of this program that sends old
people to the bases to volunteer. I tell her that I have known volunteers 17
to 90. She tells me how wonderful it is that we come to help. I tell her
that the volunteers are very fortunate to come here and help. She asks me
why do I come? I say there is a strange feeling that I have that this is
home. We feel part of the country.
I have been coming to Sar-El since 1985. I remember very well [when] General Davidi [told] us that to volunteer is a chance not to see the soldiers above the eyes or below the eyes but straight in the eyes.
When I talk to them I get this strange feeling like they are like my cousins....it is a great feeling and quite different than I often get in the States sitting in a coffee shop on a Sunday morning talking to people.
During the year I have a great job working at the Asian Affairs center at the University of Missouri. Here it is my turn to be like a madrich as I lead various groups who come from far away places. One of the best teachers, Jim, has the students give a short questionnaire to Americans to kind of break the barrier of being strangers. I always encourage them to get involved in American activities and break out of the group syndrome. So when I volunteer here in Israel, I often see the same separation between the soldiers and volunteers. I especially notice it at meals. It is may be not so comfortable but a few times each week, I sit at a table with just the soldiers. A few times I hardly say anything but at the end we always have some good conversations. But most importantly, we volunteer no matter where we sit!