One Month Later....Reflections on Sar-El
Avi's Corner
Yes,
I've been back to fire ravaged and drought ridden Melbourne, Australia for
over a month now after my 57 hour shlepp home and restoring my home to how
it was prior to my departure. So now that that's all been done, I can now
remember and reflect back on the sensational and moving times that I had
doing Sar El this time around.
There were the two enormous
groups of 40 plus volunteers whom all managed to unite and work as a team
within the two weeks that I was with them each time. There were two smaller
groups of 10 and 18 whom all worked incredibly hard because of their small
size but were sensationally rewarded by the soldiers who worked with us, by
us being adopted into their social and working groups.
Such experiences, friendships and
feelings of helping Israel were captured by my camera and so with great
delight, I am about to enlarge these photos from this around to join my
other photos that I so proudly display in my home (as attached), here in
Australia. My new photos show the Canadian great grandmother who not only
was my boss on the army base back in October but who also turned out to be
my best friend.
Then
there was the 19 year old Aussie who actually came to Netanya from Tel Aviv
in his own time at his own expense to help me with my stupid MP3 player that
I bought en route to Israel. The bond I formed with him really was magic and
I will forever remember him when his photo in the group that I met him in,
also goes up on display. Then there was the Spaniard who didn't know how to
do anything else but smile, be happy and work his butt off for Israel. His
photo will go up twice as I was incredibly lucky enough to share two Sar El
groups with him. Then there the others, too numerous to write about but who
I was so lucky to have met, worked with, shared time with. At two of the
bases we had to wait for the ladies to finish their showers before we (the
men) could use the showers as the bathrooms were unisex!
Then there was the
Israeli army personnel whom we worked with on the bases themselves. Goodness
gracious me, what a privilege it was to meet them and work with them as they
truly were inspirational. They worked so tirelessly whilst having to put up
with some of our requests that at times were quite embarrassing for me to
hear. You see, when I was working with so many different types of people
from so many different countries, it was pretty hard to please all of us,
all the time.
Working
with them and working for Israel really came home to me during the Gaza
campaign when we worked without a break outside of the meal breaks from 8.00
am till around 9.30 pm every day. Nobody asked us to work those hours and we
were actually told to stop every night as we all collectively wanted to do
as much to help Israel as we possibly could do, whilst there.
So overall, the memories and
feelings of pride I had in Sar El this time around, were priceless .... so
thanks to
all of you in Sar El that have given me this sensational time!
Farewell, as Avi returns to Australia
Avi's Corner
My stay in Israel this time around again
has been supplemented by the wonderful people I've met and the great times
I've had helping Israel through Sar El. But as Mickey Mouse sang many many
years ago, "Now it time to say goodbye to all my company" so once again, I'm
returning to down under!
After every Sar El stint that
I've done, I've praised Sar El for organizing the lectures, the madrichot,
the tiyulim (excursions) and the Israeli army itself. I've mentioned the
volunteers but most of my praise has been directed to Sar El itself. So upon
my returning to Australia this time around, I would like to publicly go on
record to say how wonderful its been for me to meet, work with and
befriend such positive volunteers.
I am basically saying that Sar El
wouldn't be possible without those of you who are now reading my latest
spiel - "you, the volunteers"! When I come to Israel, your positiveness is
the reason I love to help Israel through Sar El. There's been times when I
was the baby amongst you and I found it incredibly hard to keep with you
ulter kucker volunteers because of your dedication and commitment to getting
the job done for Israel!
For that reason I would like to
dedicate this little spiel of mine to those whom I've worked with and shared
great times with, my fellow Sar El'nick volunteers of ........
-
Nov '04 (Tamar)
-
Nov '04 (Johanna & Mor)
-
Sep '05 (Edeet)
-
Sep -05 (Edeet)
-
Feb '06 (Danielle)
-
Feb '06 (Danielle)
-
Dec '06 (Asya)
-
Jan '07 (Nathalie, Inbal & Danielle)
-
Jan '08 (Shaket & Izmarelda)
-
Feb '08 (Dina & Techiya)
-
Mar '08 (Izmargard & Gabi)
-
Oct '08 (Jessi & Gavi)
-
Nov '08 (Ruth & Orit)
-
Dec '08 (Hadas & Gabi)
-
Jan '09 (Lior & Michal)
So Shalom till the next time I come back to Israel and rejoin you great
people in Sar El.
- Aussie Avi
Helping Out During War-Time
Avi's Corner
By Avi Feldman
(edited by Stacey Miller)
(Above) Helping out during the war, Avi and other Sar-El participants.
Friday the 9th of January, 2009
After Israel was
continually being rocketed from Gaza, it was virtually a foregone conclusion
that the IDF had to go in to stop those who were firing on Sderot, Ashkelon,
Ashdod and ever so recently, Beer Sheva etc. I gave up listening to the
English spoken news broadcasts after they proved to be incredibly
biased against Israel by portraying the aggressors as the victims. I
subsequently wanted to help Israel's plight by going back into the army
through Sar El which was the only thing I could do even though I had no
plans to do so.
After getting the
nod to join, I went to McDonald's to meet the Sar-El group who were there
starting off the second week of their three week program with a burger, as
they always do. That's when the initial problems started. You see,
I recently finished off my best ever stint with Sar El, only three weeks
ago. Then arriving at this Medical Supply base that I was at only two months
ago was one thing, but to join an already established group in its second
week, was incredibly hard. One does feel like the odd man out in situations
like this. Then our madricha took me out of the room I was going to share
with a guy whom I did know after I had befriended him on another base, and
placed me in a room with guys who didn't even speak English as their first
language, But Avi was there to help Israel which I had to remember all the
time to keep things in their right perspective..
So with this in
mind, how was my latest Sar El stint, one could ask?
Inspirational
would best describe it. I was with 44 other people all there for the same
reason that I was - to help Israel!
There were only a
few night activities that us Sar El'nicks usually get to enjoy every night
as there was too much work that had to be done which didn't allow us such
a luxury!. There were also no
afternoon
naps, nor
was there the usual day trip that us Sar El'nicks traditionally get to
enjoy.
So despite
missing these luxuries, the spirit was incredibly high to achieve as much as
we possibly could. One night for instance, as I was walking back from
dinner, I popped in to say hello to Meshiach, one of the warehouse managers,
as I saw his light still on in his storeroom. He asked me to gather a few
volunteers as he had just received a delivery. I mentioned his request to
some guys who were comfortably watching TV after an already hard day of
work. I asked three to come and five immediately came to the rescue. Then
would you believe, it only took us an hour to do it all and a truck
was waiting outside to take the 15 Medical boxes that we had so quickly
packed down to Beer Sheva that night, to be available for those in Gaza the
following morning.
Then take for
example the young 17 - 19 year olds whom I was lucky enough to work with on
those my last two days. We were so busy packing anesthetics into plastic
bags which we later packed into carry packs, we didn't even take any breaks
between meals.
So G-d bless Sar
El for giving us volunteers the opportunity to help those who have to fight,
for Israel to exist!
By Avi Feldman
Avi's Corner (edited by Stacey Miller)
Every time I
complete a Sar-El stint that I've thoroughly enjoyed, I've gone home
thinking just how wonderful it was. The overseas people I've met, the
activities I've enjoyed, the work I've done on the base, the soldiers with
whom I have worked and the madrichot who have shown me what hard work and
dedication can accomplish, are all the reasons as to why I always come back
for more.
The only trouble I find is with
when I start off again with new people, new madrichot, a new base with new
work and with new soldiers, I am scared that it's not going to be as good as
my last stint. Take for instance this time around .....
Having
come from Australia which is 20-plus flying hours away, I usually do Sar
El two or three times each time as let's face it, it sure is a long way to
come for a minimal time as I really don't want to meet myself getting there
when coming home......
My first stint with thirty
four other volunteers was great as we had so many Canadians who really were
terrific people. Then came the second stint which was the exact opposite as
we only had nine others in that group. However that too proved to be
incredibly pleasing as it gave us all a chance to really get to enjoy each
other. So after those two vastly different sized groups, I was incredibly
apprehensive when going to meet Pamela at Ben Gurion airport as we always do
on Sunday morning for my third stint.
So after that non-eventful
meeting, fourteen of us were off to the Negev but unlike most first bus
trips, there were heaps of laughter and chatting coming from the rear of
the bus. Upon arriving, we were greeted by about a million flies which often
proved a mouthful for me. As the group got to know each other, I was accused
of continually swallowing those wretched little things because I never
closed my mouth. Ah well, if one has something to say, I was taught to
always say it .....
Anyway, enough of the side
stories as I would truly like to go on record as saying that my 14th group
was possibly the best one that I've ever had. I am not writing you this to
brag but to share with you whoever you are out there that's reading this,
that everyone and I mean every one of those who went to (our base) 40
kilometers south of Beersheba, went there with
the right positive attitude. No one complained about our lodgings, no one
complained about the food, no one complained about the work that we were
given, no one complained that our Ma'odon that didn't even have a TV and
after the first day, we all stopped complaining about the flies. Emphasis
however was made by all of us collectively to become a group of friends /
workmates / colleagues.
Then at the end of our two week
stint, we all enjoyed a room party to beat all room parties. Reason simply
was that I've never been to a room party before in my life prior to this one
so it had to be the best. ....
So I write this spiel now to
remind us all ........ "BE POSITIVE" and you'll have a ball!
- Aussie Avi
After
every stint with Sar El that I have done so far, I'm usually on such a high
from the people I've met, the soldiers I've worked with,
from how we've contributed to Israel and from my absolute respect and
admiration for Sar El and its madrichot for organizing us in the first
place, that upon my return, I send you articles of praise to you every time.
So I was thinking that goodness gracious me Avi, how many times can
one use such superlatives as wonderful, terrific, sensational etc ...
After further thought, I decided
that if I do sound like a broken record, who cares as Sar El's work in
bringing total strangers together who's only common denominator is too help
Israel, deserves as much praise as one like myself can give. The only
difference between each group is not the good that we all benefit from but
it's the people themselves. Establishing such groups who have come from
everywhere and with different backgrounds, ages, educational levels, work
roles and subsequent financial dispositions should continually be acclaimed.
So Sar El ...."KOL HA KAVOD" or as we say down under - "Good on Yu Guys."
Even with this last group that
I'm once again thoroughly enjoying ..... can you imagine the lengths that
some of us go to do the right thing. Take for instance the lady who was
given the honor of raising the Israeli flag at the morning misdar
(assembly). Well, the lipstick had to go on beforehand because after all,
one can't raise the flag without a bit of lippy ..... There was also
meeting Aussie John who finally bought home to me just how different us
Aussies sound with our accents from Americans, English, South Africans
etc. Then there are those who work all year round who then spend their well
earned holiday getting up at 6.00 am to go to work at 8.00 am. And there are
those who live in 50 + square homes with swimming pools and a TV in just
about every room of their houses having to sleep on two and a half foot wide
bunks in used sleeping bags. Such dedication to helping Israel should be
acknowledged through the photos I send in.......
So Sar El, thank you very much
for facilitating us doing our thing to help Israel!
- Avi
WHAT CAN I ADD AFTER ...
- OUR 18 YEAR OLD MADRICHA GAVE US AN INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL CLASSICAL FLUTE PERFORMANCE FOR US ON OUR LAST NIGHT ON THE BASE
- ENJOYING MY FAREWELL BREAKFAST WITH THE GUYS AFTER TWO WEEKS OF GLORIOUS WORKING, SLEEPING AND SNORING TOGETHER
- TELLING ISRAEL'S TOP BRASS HOW WONDERFUL OUR BASE COMMANDER IS AFTER HE ASKED ME TO DO SO
- BIDDING FAREWELL TO MY 19 YEAR OLD BOSSES AFTER TWO HOURS OF REALLY SOLID WORK WITH THEM
- CATCHING A SHEROOT INTO TEL AVIV MY WITH MY COMPATRIOTS TO FINALLY SAY GOODBYE TO THEM
- ARRIVING BACK HOME (YES, HOME!) TO BE WELCOMED BY BILLS THAT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND
- WHILST INTERNALLY HANGING UP MY NEWLY WASHED CLOTHES, HEAR A PARTY OUTSIDE BEING BROADCAST THROUGH MEGA SPEAKERS
- GOING DOWN TO INVESTIGATE IN MY DRESSING GOWN TO LEARN OF A NEW TORAH BEING WELCOMED INTO NETANYA
- RACE UPSTAIRS TO DRESS TO JOIN THE PARTY.........
RAK BE YISRAEL
- AVI
I have just now celebrated my Sar El Bar mitzvah with a
small group of Mitnadvim (volunteers) from Canada, Britain, USA and Holland (but
now Aussie). I've been in large groups and some small groups and all have
been beautiful uplifting experiences that I shared with good and not so good
people from all over the world. Our first day started off as a pretty ordinary
day when no work could be found for us and the bathroom come toilet conditions
were a long way from inviting.
So instead of sitting around and complaining like some that I've
shared Sar El with beforehand would have done, a few of us cleaned up those non
inviting conditions and our madricha set out to make us feel at home by
introducing us straight away to the base officers and soldiers. By day two, we
started working and within one hour, we all knew what we had to do and
subsequently set out to do it as efficiently and quickly as possible.
We achieved this by developing very quickly into a team
that worked together. When things had to be shifted, human chains were formed to
move the reserve soldier's kit bags. So much so that the officer who went out of
his way to welcome us, was incredibly happy with us. That feeling that he had
was shared by his soldiers and by us, which further reinforced the reason why we
were there and so motivated us and the soldiers to work even faster.
So in a word, our collective 'positiveness' was self- fulfilling
for us and the Israeli army, making our stay there, once again, incredibly
enjoyable.
- Down Under Aussie Avi
By Avi
Feldman
Having done Sar El as many times as I have, I must admit that I didn't really know how to handle meeting so many in our group of 35 volunteers most of whom were closer to my parents age than to mine. I initially was as courteous as one can be with people whom you have nothing in common with and then simply tried to go with the flow as best as I possibly could.
But to my amazement and subsequent delight, once we started
doing what we were there for - work, I soon realized that all these wonderful
volunteers and myself did have something in common - TO HELP ISRAEL! I found
myself for the first time since doing Sar El, working like I've never worked
before in Sar El as their dedication to what they were doing was phenomenal. And
because of the size of the group, I could understand more fully how our menial
tasks all contributed towards maintaining the security of Israel.
You see, I could never understand the importance of placing a
printed piece of paper into a little plastic bag. But because of the number of
people all working together, that plastic bag was then used to place more
objects into it. Then again I saw how that bag was used with numerous other
bags that other volunteers had filled to fill a medical box which as we all
know, is absolutely necessary to have, should the need arise of course. Then
came the absolute realization for me as to what we were really doing.
Because of the ulters (Yiddish for old people) sensational work
rate and having the large number of them all there doing their best, I was
assigned a totally new job in the second week I was there. A group of us was
given the job of separating those plastic bags and kits from the actual
medicines that had been packed in them. I learnt that kits and plastic bags were
headed for the recycle bin whilst the medicines were to be buried in a tip. It
was explained to me that these medicines had gone past their used by date and
subsequently had to be dumped where they could cause no harm. The soldier who
explained this to me was pleased that so many medicines were there for dumping
because they weren't needed, meaning Israel wasn't having to deal with many
casualties.
So after
two weeks of working with people whom I initially felt out of place with, I
could see in plain and simple terms as to why Sar El is so important as someone
has to do, what we do! Off course there were the added advantages of sharing
Sukie and Martin's 60th wedding anniversary with them, meeting and befriending
such beautiful people that I was lucky enough to meet and having the wonderful
Madrichot organize us through all those precious times that we shared
together.