Baltimore news about Israeli soldiers

Yom shlishi, 2 Adar bet 5771.

A request to Baltimore friends and family ~

You may not have heard about it...  but Chana and Ken Birnbaum are hosting a parlor meeting on Tuesday, March 8, from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM, that touches our hearts here in Israel.

If you can, please join them at 6204 Pearce Avenue to help out our Israeli soldiers.

Some of our Baltimore boys are holding that line against our enemies.  Please do what you can to help -- to keep them warm, to get them the equipment they need, to remind them that you are there for them, right behind them.  Your support keeps them strong.

For more information, call 419-358-7736 or 410-236-5398.

Tell them Josh E. and Aryeh and Michoel and Ami and Yaakov T. and Petey and Josh R. and Yaakov A. and Meir and Aaron sent you.

Their mothers, in Israel and Baltimore, thank you.

Haveil Havalim, Edition #307, is up at Esser Agaroth.  Among other great articles, be sure to check out West Bank Mama's explanation of the outpost phenomenon in The Forest Is The Politics, The Trees Are Our Children.  You will finally understand some of the concepts that the media obscure.

They're our kids. Let's keep 'em warm.

Yom shlishi, 2 Kislev 5771.

I think I've mentioned it before -- but one of the great things about having one's own blog is the opportunity to advertise what one loves.  Please take a moment to read the request below.  If you want to and are able to contribute, please click on the link below to keep our IDF boys and girls warm this winter.  Thank you -- and may you and your children have many blessings in the coming year!

www.stogether.org/wintergear

And if you have words of encouragement for our soldiers -- in Hebrew or in English -- please feel free to include them in your comments.  I'll be sure that Standing Together gets them to pass on to our brave soldiers.

"You make us strong."

Yom shlishi, 26 Sivan 5770.

Three beautiful chayalim greet us with smiles and stories.

They are young and beautiful children.  They are out on the streets at night, in some pretty lousy neighborhoods.  Some of them don't have homes to go to after hours.

Happily, they are not "lost children" or "off the derech kids."

They are the young men and women in uniform, who watch our highways, putting themselves in constant danger so that we can travel and live and sleep safely.

Of course, many of them are from families that have lived in Israel for generations.  ("I'm from Haifa; but my grandfather came from Syria."  "My family is here already seven generations, from Morocco.")

But many of them are olim, just like we are.  They are from Canada and Ukraine and Kazakhstan.  Some of them are here without their families -- and perhaps Standing Together is even more important to them.

According to its mission statement, Standing Together is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Israeli soldiers on active duty, and is funded totally by donations from concerned Jews throughout the world. It is a voluntary organization with no offices, almost no employees and no expense accounts.

The Dearly Beloved and I had the privilege of joining a small band of volunteers, lead by the founder of Standing Together, David Landau.  When we should have been heading off to sleep (and when many of the soldiers' contemporaries might just be starting up the night's entertainment), we drove out to some of the area machsomim (checkpoints) to visit our heroes.

Their families live not far from each other.  "Did you know each other before the army?"  "No -- we met here.  But we feel like we knew each other since we were born.  We are brothers.  The army makes you feel that way."

We gave them stickers with "love notes" on them.  "Give me more stickers!  The more, the better!"

The sticker says: "Dear Soldier!  Jews all over the world value and appreciate the holy service that you and your comrades do on behalf of the Nation of Israel.  All of us "stand together"!!  We will be happy to hear from you..."

We gave them ice cream and Elite candy bars from David's special refrigerator truck.  (In the winter, he and his volunteers make warm pizza and hot coffee available, among other delights.)  They gave us back the most beautiful smiles.

I have had the pleasure of going out on a couple of these missions since we have been in Israel.  Each time, my heart is moved by the beauty of these kids, their sweetness, their devotion, and their gratitude.  Every time we would thank them, they would thank us ten times more.  "You make us strong," one soldier said.

It's enough to make a mama weep.

My new friend (and also a neighbor!), Chaya Mandelcorn, writes for Makor Rishon newspaper.  She also couldn't stop smiling, and told stories of her mother.  "She would walk around hugging every one of them if she were here!" she said.  "It would catch them off-guard -- but they would love it!"

www.stogether.org

If you live here, give yourself the treat of spending a few minutes with a holy Israeli soldier.  As you expect, you will go with the intention of strengthening the soldiers.  As you also know, you will walk away strengthened by them.  This is especially good therapy if you worry that you're not doing enough, or if you're a little depressed, and want someone to lift your spirits.

If you still live abroad, think about arranging a mission with David and Standing Together when you are in Israel.  Nothing makes you feel more like part of the Jewish story than being permitted to participate, rather than just being a tourist.

Join Standing Together to Thank Our Soldiers!

Yom shishi, 22 Sivan 5770.

The Twelve Spies by Oleg Trabish (Thank you, Nechama.)

I want to tell you more about this amazing week -- but just for the moment I want to share with my fellow Neve Daniel citizens some news.

Standing Together will be heading out to thank our holy chayalim on Sunday night (yom sheni).  We will meet at the main gate of Neve Daniel at 22:00 (10 PM).  Chaya Mandelcorn of Makor Rishon newspaper will be there to hear what we have to say about what motivates us to go out in support of our boys and girls in uniform.  (If anyone needs a ride, please email info@stogether.org and they will see what they can arrange.)

This week's parsha, Shelach Lecha, has my favorite pasuk in the whole Torah.  I wonder if you can guess which one it is.

Shabbat shalom u'mevorach!

www.stogether.org/idfsailors

"Daddy, what did Mommy do while you were fighting the war?"

Yom chamishi, 12 Tevet 5769.

Today I offer you a special treat.  My friend and neighbor, Marc Gottlieb, did the liveblogging (which he updated regularly throughout the day) for the recent Standing Together mission to "500 meters from Gaza."  My intrepid daughter-in-law, Chana (aka Executive Girl, so named because she gets things done, and keeps 'em organized), went along.  (Hey!  Don't ask.  She's a grown up!  What can I say?)  With Marc's permission, I am posting their adventure here, so that you can sit on the edge of your seat, like I did all day Tuesday.  Don't thank me.  Love is sharing.  

 

Liveblogging Gaza Mission #3

Stay tuned as we provide updates to the Standing Together 1/6/09 Mission to Gaza.

Meet our Guest Hosts 
Rami Landau is David’s son. Besides the enjoyment he gets from helping out the soldiers, he’s taking video and photographs of the mission. 

Chana Eastman was married in July 2008. Her husband Josh is serving in the Golani brigade. He hasn’t been home in weeks. She’s hoping that they can find where his unit is stationed, and that he’s been rotated out of the action for today. Hey, it could happen... 

Anthony Harris, originally from Scotland, grew up in Perth, Australia, and is now living in the Zayit in Efrat. Anthony, who made aliyah too late to serve, is on the mission today because, “In 2006 I had many friends from work who went up to serve in the war. I couldn’t help out last time, but now nothing could keep me away!” 

Dan Leubitz just couldn’t stay away. Dan joined Standing Together on their Second Mission to Gaza on New Year’s Day 2009. Dan was born in Cleveland, Ohio and made aliyah in September 2006 from Teaneck, NJ. The last mission was so emotional he had to come back for more.



Brendan Rothschild, from Melbourne, Australia hasn’t made aliyah just yet. He served in the Nachal brigade until 8 months ago when he finished his service. He plans on making aliyah when he completes his degree. About a year ago, Standing Together came to visit him on the base during Chanukah, and he’s glad he has the opportunity to lend a hand today.

Wendy Gordon, an MSW originally from Boca Raton, Florida, now living in Beer Sheva, joined Standing Together because she felt a strong need to help directly, hands on, with the soldiers who are protecting our country. “It’s amazing how thankful they are, when it’s us who should be thanking them.”

9:30AM
Left for the South this morning with a car full of 500 packages including fleece masks, thermals and socks. Heading to Sderot to pick up food and personal items in the grocery.

 10:35AM
Still haven’t been able to get to a location with decent reception. Going to try again in a bit.

11:30AM
In the makolet, stocking up on supplies to bring south.
Chana: Im just trying to help where I can. My husband’s doing his part, so I’m doing mine.
Heard a Qassam in the distance (11:45)

12:35PM
As we’re leaving Sderot on the way to Nachal Oz, we heard the Tzeva Adom (Color Red) alert. We didn’t hear anything, but we quickly pulled over to a reinforced bus shelter. Three seconds later we heard a loud explosion. For some on the mission it was their first experience in a rocket alert.

12:39 PM
Another Tzeva Adom alert. That’s two in five minutes. How do people live like this every day of their lives?

1:00PM
Stopped at an artillery staging area in the middle of nowhere. We came with food and clothes, and they were most appreciative of the clothes because it’s freezing down here.




2:30 PM
Followed the smoke about a kilometer and a half to an insertion point. They’ve been there three days straight without a change of clothes. They constantly repeat thank you. Handing out bottles of water. We changed the mood from stressed to festive, we broke the monotony of waiting. We’re taking pictures of them, they’re taking pictures of us!


Wendy: I can’t get over the range of ages of the soldiers! Young, old, and they’re all here fighting for Israel’s very right to exist. I wish there was more I could do.













3:30PM
At a camp now, handing out hundreds of packages of cold weather clothing to soldiers.

Soldiers are hanging around the trailer like a little cafe, very funny. Soldiers from all walks of Israeli life. They talk about where they’re from. They’re overwhelmed by individual letters, and the thousands of people from the Facebook group who showed their support and love. Two officers approached us and thanked us, just thanked us. 

Anthony: Every soldier says to me “Ein milim” -- there are no words. I never knew I could bring this much pleasure by just coming to visit them, just to support them.

3:52PM
David: Last cold weather package handed out. 500 soldiers are sleeping warmer tonight, in clean clothes. Thousands more aren’t. Need help for more!

4:30PM
We’re starting mincha (evening prayers) with the soldiers. The religious soldiers and the volunteers prayed together between two tanks for safety. The sky is dark gray, filled with shadows. It really moves you to see that in the midst of it all, they stop to pray.

4:53PM
We’re 500 meters from Gaza right now, within sniper range. We’ve been handing out everything that we have to the soldiers who have just returned from inside Gaza. It was such an uplifting feeling to see them come back safely. Many are just young men who are experiencing combat for the first time. They appreciate what we’re doing even though it’s so little.

Wendy: We need more boxer shorts!  :-) 

Wherever we’ve gone, the soldiers are polite, and it’s really a pleasure to mingle and chat with them.
We’re getting ready to go home. We need to leave a little earlier than planned, before it gets too dark to see how to get back.

Chana shared another vignette after she returned safely to my house.  She said that one of the young soldiers sat down next to Wendy, the "mom person" on the trip.  He told her that he wanted people to understand how much Standing Together's visit meant to the soldiers.  "We know that everyone in the world hates us, and thinks bad things about us.  We are risking our lives here; and we get discouraged when the media make us look like the bad guys, and when people believe them.  And then you people come here to see us, and you bring us food and presents; and we feel loved.  We feel like you understand why we are doing what we do.  Thank you so much!"

Photos used by permission from Marc Gottlieb and Abba Richman

"What can I do? I can't just sit here..."

Yom shlishi, 10 Tevet 5769, Asara b'Tevet.

It's night time.  Tomorrow is a fast day, one of the few days each year that we remember the circumstances that led to the destruction of our Holy Temple.  Which, when you think about it, led to every rotten thing that ever happened in the world.  Including my Mama's diabetes.  Mumbai.  The current Gaza War.

Just to keep things in perspective.

Packages and treats keep appearing for the soldiers.  The Dearly Beloved had to remind himself that even if they appear during the fast, the boys can eat.  Soldiers at war, who get to fast on plenty of occasions when the rest of us are eating full and wonderful meals, are exempt from minor fasts.

Soldier Boy was talking about how the guys respond when the packages arrive.  He received a pair of gloves and a warm hat, for which he is very grateful.  He says sometimes the guys act like puppies pouncing on a good bone.  I have seen that, in films; but I have also seen them sharing tee shirts with each other, finding for each other the proper sizes, in a brotherly way that brought tears to my eyes.

The nicest comment he saved for the very last few minutes of our very short phone call, before he had to "go back in."

"Ema, I always try to save the little notes.  Some kid somewhere wrote that little 'love note' to an anonymous soldier...  and I was lucky enough to get it.  I wish they knew this:  the notes are even more special to me than the food and the clothes.  I hope they will keep sending them."

If you haven't had the chance yet to write your little love note to a soldier, or to donate for those precious packages, please consider contacting one or all of the following worthy organizations, with which I have been privileged to work.  They will deliver them for you.

A Package From Home
"Our mission is to strengthen the spirit and resolve of each Israeli soldier, and to show our appreciation for the sacrifices they are making in securing our safety and the survival of the Jewish People. Our care packages are not only a warm reminder of the love and esteem we hold for our soldiers but also are items that they truly need."

Connections Israel
"Connections Israel enables Jewish communities worldwide to stand united in helping to play a decisive role in improving safety, restoring normalcy, bringing a sense of gratitude to the IDF soldiers and bringing joy back to Israeli victims of terror."

Standing Together
"Standing Together partners with schools, synagogues and youth groups to establish a connection between Israeli soldiers and the Worldwide Jewish Community.  It is so important that the soldiers know their hard work is appreciated.  Whether its an email greeting for Rosh Hashana, a donut for Chanukkah, M’shloach Manot for Purim, chocolate for Pesach or barbeque for Yom HaAtzmaut, a small gesture goes a long way."

Also, please daven for our precious sons who were wounded during their struggle to protect and defend their holy people:

Dvir ben Leah
Noam ben Aliza
Li-El Hoshea ben Miriam
Nerya ben Rivka
Yitzchak ben Naava
Netanel ben Naava
Maxim ben Olga
Yisrael ben Ilana
Yoad Ido ben Freida Rivka
Idan ben Leora
Nadav ben Miriam
Raphael ben Nina

Have an easy and meaningful fast.