by Gloria Sheftel
For the past several months Rebecca Goldman has given reports of varying events regarding Israel. These very interesting reports were given to the Synagogue Board.
In September, her report centered around the parents of children serving in the Israeli army. Having young people going into the service is a trying and emotional experience. What caught my eye, and ear, was the author of this article. Rabbi Mark Cooper was a student in our religious school many years ago. He enjoyed his Bar Mitzvah in our Synagogue.
Excerpt from Rabbi Mark Cooper's article:
There is something authentically Jewish, even spiritual, about serving as a soldier in Israel's army. This is a Jewish army. Israel's army is different from other armies in the world because it exists to defend the Jewish people, and that should mean something to us as Jews. It is an army that is built to defend not only Israelis but Jews everywhere in the world from the dangers of the present and from the humiliations and agony of history. Tzva Hagana L'Yisrael - Israel's army - has a sacred duty to keep the Jewish people safe in the land of the Jewish people. This is the army that will ensure that Jews have a safe place to live, unthreatened by those who seek to harm us precisely because we're Jewish.
While the parent in me wishes that Josh could be exempt from any form of danger, the Jew and Zionist in me understands the meaning and importance of what he's about to do.
I'm proud of my son.
