from the heart of jerusalem: rabbi binny freedman

The way back is long, but we’re on our way

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It had been a really long day, at the end of a really long week. We were in the middle of infantry officers’ training course and we had spent the week learning and practicing maneuvers in the field. We were physically and emotionally exhausted.

As the sun was setting on Thursday, and we anticipated getting out for Shabbat, our commanders told us to assemble. You could feel as much as see the smiles on the cadets’ faces until we heard those dreaded two words, “Shnei Turim!” (“Line up!”). This meant one thing: We were not getting on trucks or buses to head home, we were about to start a trek. I will never forget the feeling of despair that threatened to engulf me as we entered what would be one of the longer nights of my life: an all-night walk and stretcher run through the mountains of the Negev desert. After about ten kilometers we were commanded to open up stretchers and we had to take turns carrying the heaviest cadets they could find.

As the night became longer and longer, and the dreams of home cooking and a Shabbat at home in a warm dry bed slipped further and further away, I remember the moment that everything turned around for me. There was a fellow named Ofer on whom I had been taking pity all night long. He was not in my squad but as this run was with the entire company it was the first time I was with him in an exercise. He was short and stocky with short stubby legs, and I remember thinking how much harder this must be for him as he had to run almost two steps for every one step everyone else took.

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