Israeli Lone Soldiers

Dateline September 27, Shabbat

Tonight, Friday night, is the beginning of the sabbath and our group had a Shabbat Dinner in our hotel.   Our Shabbat dinner included a short service and a blessing over the wine and the bread.   Dinner was a 5-course affair, beginning with an appetizer of liver or fish.  We then had consume with kreplach (a dumpling).  The main course was chicken with vegetables.  That was followed by a salad.  The meal ended with a  dessert sampler plate.  The nice thing about this meal was that we were all sitting at one large table, so it felt like a family.  Here’s a photo of Tobi and me before the dinner started.  You can see the small, individual challahs at each place (this is the traditional bread for a Shabbat dinner)  No wine yet!

But this meal was even more special because we had 4 guests join us.  Brendon, Lewis, Haffa, and Joseph are Americans who have come to Israel either to make Alliah (which is to become an Israeli citizen) or simply to join the Israeli Army (the IDF).  There is a program here for soldiers with no family near by.  They are called Lone Soldiers, and they are available to be invited to Shabbat Dinner when they are on leave.  We were very lucky to have these 4 amazing people join us.  Brendon is originally from New Jersey.  Lewis is from Alabama.  Joseph is from Maryland.  Haffa is from Pennsylvania.  We learned about their background, their reasons for joining the IDF, what they do in the IDF, what they would like to do after leaving the IDF and so much more.  It was like having a guest at your own dinner table.  Here is a photo of some of our group with Lewis.

Back again later!