THE LITTLE SOLDIER

By: Ian Blaustein and Jordan Katz

As Benjamin and his father, David, walked home from mincha services Friday afternoon, they passed a group of young men wearing matching green uniforms. Amazed by the men, Benjamin immediately ran from his father’s hand to talk to these mysterious men. “Get back here!!” yelled David as Benjamin ran off, but it was too late.

Marching in a single file line through the streets, the uniformed men ignored Benjamin’s questions. “Who are you?” Benjamin asked, “Why are you marching like that? Why do you have to wear those matching green uniforms?”

But just as Benjamin caught up to the soldiers, his father pulled him back by the shirt. “Come on Benji, we need to get home for Shabbat dinner, your mother’s going to be worried sick,” scolded David.

Later that night at Shabbat Dinner, everyone sat down to say the brachot.-“Baruch Atta Hashem Elokeinu Melech Haolam Hamotzi Lechem Min Haaretz” Amen! As the Goldberg family finished blessing the challah and sat down for their weekly Friday night Shabbat meal, Benjamin, the youngest boy, asked his father, “Abba, who were those men marching in those green uniforms on the street today?”-“Benjamin, those were Tzahal soldiers; they defend the state of Israel so that we can live peacefully in our home.” -“I want to be a soldier Abba!! I love the country of Israel and I want to make sure that our family can always live here.”

-“You know what Benjamin,” said his grandfather Jacob, “I wore one of those uniforms long ago, except back then we didn’t call it the Tzahal.”

-“Really grandpa? Tell me all about it!”

-“Benjamin, when I was just a few years older than you, I was a member of a group called Hashomer.”-“What was the Hashomer, Sabba?” asked Benjamin, with a confused look on his face. -“Simply put, it was the defense force for the Jews during the early 1900s. Created in 1909, it protected pieces of land that the Jews received from a major fund, called the Jewish National Fund. Hashomer literally means ‘the guard.’ They protected land from a people called the Arabs that believed that the land the Jews were settling was theirs.”

-“Wow, grandpa! You were so brave!” exclaimed Benjamin. -“Thank you Benji, but it was all for you, so you could live here peacefully with your family.”Rivka, Benjamin’s mother, placed the food on the table and Benjamin and his family ate, enjoying each other’s company.

-“Benjamin, you know your grandfather wasn’t the only one at this table to fight for the land of Israel” said David. -“What do you mean Abba?” asked Benjamin.-“Well when I was just a teenager I fought for Israel’s freedom just like your grandfather.”

-“Really? Were you in the Hashomer too?” inquired Benjamin.-“No son, by the time I was old enough to fight for the Jewish people, the Hashomer wasn’t around anymore.”-“So who’d you fight for Abba?”-“Well, son, I was a member of the Haganah.”-“What’s the Haganah, Abba?”

-“Well, son, the Haganah was formed in 1920,” David started. -“Wow, you’re really old Abba!” exclaimed Benjamin. -“Well maybe, but not as old as your grandfather, Jacob” chuckled David.  “Anyway, the Haganah was created in 1920 as a Jewish defense force to defend the Jews in Palestine.  I joined a few years later in 1935 because I wanted to help defend my people and help the Jews win possession of the land of Israel.  My time fighting in the Haganah was hard and scary, but I did it all for you, Benjamin, because I wanted you to be able to live freely in

the wonderful land of Israel.”  

-“Abba, that’s amazing! I can’t wait to help defend my favorite country in the whole wide world, Israel!”-“Nothing would make me prouder, son. But you wouldn’t be joining the Haganah, you would be joining the Tzahal…remember the soldiers we saw walking?-“Yes, Abba, the ones I ran up to! I asked them a bunch of questions, but before they could answer, you pulled me back. I can’t wait to join the Tzahal when I’m old enough!” Shouted Benjamin.

––10 YEARS LATER––

Ten years later, as Benjamin packed his bags in preparation to leave to join the Tzahal, a pamphlet advertising the Tzahal fell out of his bag. After picking it up, Benjamin read to himself the ideals of the Tzahal. “Always respect the values of others” Benjamin read, “value the dignity of human life.” Before having the chance to read more, Rivka yelled, “dinner’s ready!” Benjamin quickly put the book down and ran downstairs.

After Benjamin finished packing, he sat down at the dinner table for his last Shabbat meal before leaving to join the Tzahal, Israel’s Defense Force.With tears in their eyes, Rivka and David said, “We’re going to miss you, but you’re doing what’s best for our beloved country. We love you with all our hearts!”Benjamin, now much older, exclaimed, “I can’t wait to make you proud!”

Benjamin walked outside to meet with the army officers who would bring him to the Tzahal’s army base.He waved to his family in the window and they waved back.

--The End--

WORKS CITED

Dershowitz, Alan M. The Case for Israel. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. Print.

"Google Images." Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

Klein, Leslie. “Lectures and Zionism and the Jewish defense forces.” Beth Tfiloh High School, Baltimore. MD. 15 Jan. 2013. Lecture.