The 1940s were well before my birth. However, I do remember watching, from the perspective of a non-Jewish adolescent, the events of the Yom Kippur War on the television news. How I wished to be of service to the embattled Democracy! Alas, in 1973 I was not even old enough to drive an automobile. If I had been of age, I would not have known how to be of assistance. Therefore, all I could do was pray for the State of Israel’s welfare.
Years later, I sensed Judaism calling me. One of my responses was a journey to Israel. On Yom Hazikaron the tour bus pulled onto the shoulder of a road at 10:59 A.M. As luck or fate would have it, the vehicle came to rest abutting a makeshift commando training facility located just across the border. At 11:00 a.m., a siren wailed in remembrance of Israel’s fallen soldiers. As I stood transfixed in the aisle, my eyes observed armed and masked men in the nearby camp crawling under barbed wire fences and climbing over barricades. After witnessing the foregoing, I realized that the Jewish state’s enemies are impudent and determined.
The next day, a tour guide mentioned that the IDF sponsors a labor program for non-Israelis. However, he could provide no additional information. Upon my return to the United States, I consulted public library reference holdings and thereby learned about Sar-El.
By this time I had undertaken formal studies toward my goal of becoming a Jew. I came to understand through Talmud Sanhedrin, 27b, that, “All Israel is responsible one for the other.” From Tractate Taanit (Chapter 1) I gleaned that individuals “should share the common distress of the community” and that the world “cannot . . . exist without Israel.” With the aforementioned tenets and disturbing images of the “commandos” firmly in my mind, I decided to make a public demonstration of unification with the Jewish people by volunteering with Sar-El. After my conversion a rabbi provided a written recommendation, and I soon found myself in Israel on an army base. Thankfully, it was not the only time I would serve.
Sometimes callow soldiers incredulously ask, “Why do uncompensated volunteers willingly travel to Israel and perform menial and mundane labor?” For the religiously motivated, a primary reason is that Jewish and Christian Bibles indicate (Genesis 12:2-3, Psalm 122:6, etc.) God will bless those who aid Israel. Moreover, manual labor is a common form of work in the Bible. In fact, the sages “were themselves toilers . . . .” (Pentateuch And Halftorahs, 2d ed., Soncino Press, London, 1993, p. 929.) From the secular standpoint, historians and writers record that the State of Israel is being reclaimed by individuals physically remaking a harsh landscape. The work of maintaining and building is incomplete. Unfortunately there are simply not enough Israelis to do everything, and it is simply common courtesy to lend a helping hand to those in need.
Whether one’s motives are spiritual or secular, volunteering engenders non-monetary rewards of immeasurable value. For instance, the precious memories garnered through Sar-El service will be with me for the rest of my life. God willing, I will have opportunities to accumulate more!
Not a day passes during which I do not yearn to be in uniform and working alongside colleagues from around the world. As statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke once admonished, “No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” Fervent prayer will aid diplomats as they negotiate peaceful solutions to the complex problems of the Middle East. Another equally important course of action is to volunteer for Israel.