Guardians of Judea:Serving on the Frontlines of Faith - Ari Abramowitz:The Land of Israel Fellowship

Shalom friends uh as you can see I am in the Army I snuck away to share this message with you because we're in the middle of training and we're at the shooting range right now so there may be shots heard behind me all as well um but yes I'm in the Army I've been called up to miluim to the idef reserves today is my first day and it looks like from the information that I've received I will be in for the next two months uh but uh one of the things that I've learned in the Army is that no one knows anything I'm in the Army everything's a rumor no one knows anything only Hashem only Hashem knows and so I'd start this I thought I would start this fellowship with a with a prayer with a prayer with all of us together Hashem here I am back in uniform thank you for this opportunity to protect the nation of Israel and the land of Israel it's my greatest honor to be serving in your army protecting your people and your land Hashem bless us bless us here with courage and strength because all of our success comes from you and you alone please bless my fellow Soldiers with faith and trust to defend all that is good and holy in the world please Hashem bless and protect your people and your heritage please bless my holy friends in this fellowship please bless them and their families wherever they are in the world for they too are fighting to bring your light and your truth into the world and Hashem right now we need your light please shine your light and your blessing into your people and into your land during these dark times because we need it now like never before amen so I thought I'd start with I'd share a little bit about how I ended up here in this uniform right now and I hope this is not being ruined by the shots behind me um and I figur that being that I'm in the Army right now and time moves at a different pace altogether I'd zoom out a little bit and uh give a little bit more of a background than I otherwise would not too much because I could fill up at least two back-to-back fellowships just with army stories Alone um so I'm not going to do that but as you know I was born in Texas I'm a fourth generation Texan and I was raised as an Ardent Fierce Zionist uh you know growing up in my family we weren't quite so observant in some ways Zionism was more of our religion than anything else we just weren't so observant according to Jewish law my family would support the IDF for many generations many my grandfather for example smuggled weapons to the hagana before the foundation of the state and there are many many examples of exactly that but there really never was any expectation any thought that I would ever join but I did go to a very small Private School in Houston called the Hebrew Academy and there were I think like nine 10 or 11 kids in my graduating class I forget it was a while ago but for my senior year in high school part of the program is that I had the option of spending that year studying in Israel an opportunity which I seized without any deliberations and after being in Israel only a few weeks probably less I realized that Israel was my final destination right after breathing the air of Jerusalem and learning the Torah in the Holy Land itself I just realized that this is where I would live and this is where I would die and after finishing a year of studies I decided that it was time to join the Army it wasn't an impulsive decision at all it was a dream that of that had since I was a little boy and I just wasn't sure i' ever be a practical option for me and then I learned that there was a program called Mahal which uh stands for which means volunteers from outside of Israel from abroad and it was essentially a pathway through uh through which non-citizens could join the Army it was founded by the famous Colonel Mickey Marcus before the establishment of the state they actually made a movie about him which was one of my father's favorite movies it was called Cast a Giant Shadow and he was played by Kirk Douglas I really think you should watch it if you have a chance Cast a Giant Shadow anyways I wasn't yet a citizen and I so so badly wanted to serve so I joined through that program and was accepted into the prestigious Golani infantry units well at least it's more prestigious than givati where Jeremy served and that's all that mattered to me that's all that's ever mattered to me is that it's more prestigious than where Jeremy served I'm just kidding it's all really the same thing it's just Army rivalry anyways this was h a time before there was a before this huge wave of volunteers from abroad it was much more of a rare thing back then and it was challenging but in so many ways it's who made it's what made me who I am today and so after basic and Advanced Training I had the Merit of serving in southern Lebanon primarily the the FMA gate I was in Hebron as well I was different places in the country and it was during that service that I really encountered the nation and the land more than any other time in my life and after being released from my initial service I went to University for a little bit in Israel then whole story I ended up going back to the states where I actually got my degree um that's of course where the famous stabbing story happened when I got stabbed in the back not in Lebanon or in Gaza or in Hebron but in New York City um but that's a crazy story for another time and after about a year and a half studying in New York I got my degree and immediately returned to Israel and just a few months later I was called up for reserves for the first time and we were able to arrange at the Jeremy and I were in the same unit with him actually serving as my commander for about I would say about 15 years he was my commander although the entire ranking system and reserves is really totally different but it was fun and meaningful and we got to serve together and that was great um here's actually a little slideshow I put together of uh some pictures not only of my initial service in Golani but also serving alongside Jeremy in reserves for all those years now you have to understand the Paramount importance of reserves for the Safety and Security of the state of Israel I remember learning during my initial service in Golani that the purpose of the standing army of Israel is essentially to buy time and protect the country for the first 24 hours until reserves are called up and really only once I started actually serving in reserves did I see how important they are for the country and the importance is not only about security it's not only militarily reserves in Israel is also critical for the social cohesion of the country for the unity of the country for the love of the country and within the country and the reason is because everybody is mixed together everybody and whereas the rest of your life as a civilian people usually end up in their own communi surrounded by people who share their values and ideologies for the most part and everybody else just becomes sort of you know the other but in reserves when you're on Long patrols together when you're under Fire together the other becomes your brother I think I just made that up that we should make a bumper stick or something like that but anyways it's just a critical opportunity for Transcendence of your own personal interests to do something for the nation as a whole there are just so many benefits to it for the individual and for the country anyway so Jeremy and I served together in reserve SP for about 20 years appr approximately a month every year on average now there are two benchmarks in your life for which the IDF retires you from reserves one is if you have six kids and the other is when you turn 40 years old and Jeremy was retired for both of those reasons he turned 40 and he had six kids and I was retired for one of those reasons I turned 40 I think at the time we only had dasas I had not yet been blessed with Shilo and morai shim anyways so we were officially released our time had come and so we reluctantly turned in our uniforms and hand it over to younger soldiers uh our our greens our uniforms our supplies to give to them to take our place just as we took the places of the heroes who served before us and so we were officially retired from reserves just a few b a few years before the horrific attacks on October 7th when you know that fateful day arrived um everything everything changed all of the standing reserves were called up and everybody showed up and we'd been retired Jeremy and I were not called up not officially but unofficially we certainly were we were in action because as you know Jeremy and I and our partners we settled these breathtaking mountains on the Southeastern tip of settlement in the Judean Frontier it was about 10 years ago it was just thorns and thistles and now it's a Garden of Eden like Oasis only with hashem's help and blessings but that's that's what we were that's where we've done and there's just a few of us out here on the very tip of the settlement and when the war broke out Israel was taken by surprise to put it lightly and you know just as a nation we were humbled and the nearby Village of ianal our dear friends and neighbors were called up to the Army leaving almost no one behind and the families of Ian are mostly Young families with almost all of the men being active members of reserves until between Lebanon and Gaza there were very few left in the village I can only say this now because enough time has passed and it's not like a a real security threat but the troops that were actually left behind to actually defend the villages in Judea were spread very very thin and there were periods particularly immediately after the war broke out when our farm had very little of any protection from the Army there was even talk about evacuating us a proposal which we didn't entertain at all but it was a very trying time for us personally for the farm for Judea and for all of Israel and so being the Jeremy and I were trained veteran soldiers we were provided with all the necessary military equipment and vests and ceramic and everything we need we we really deputized to defend our Mountains and the entire area we were incorporated into the official Guard and Patrol list even though we weren't officially enrolled and this was important because our lack of being officially enrolled yet serving and patrolling and protecting nonetheless gave the nearby Village two extra soldiers serving during a uh very important time when every Soldier mattered when every bullet mattered right now every bullet matters we only have a few bullets to actually calibrate our weapons we're still recovering from the shock of October 7th and and just being so short on supplies anyways during that time it was really a tremendous asset to have and I serving out there and patrolling without taking up those two Soldier allocations and it also gave us more freedom to do a lot of the important things that we were doing at the time and by the way I just want to say now many of you were critical in sustaining US during those days and helping us acquire security systems not only for our farm but for the nearby settlement of iban nakal which really needed it and with other needs during those times to to all of you you really share in the Merit of all the light we were able to bring into the world to protecting into sustaining us and the nation of Israel and the people of Judea all the protection you help provide we can never thank you enough anyways it was a very difficult time and for me personally one of the biggest challenges was not being in the Army in an official capacity I was surrounded by friends and neighbors getting called up to Gaza Lebanon front lines of Judea and Samaria men with wives and children who were literally sacrificing their lives to protect Israel and the Jewish people I mean how many orphans how many widows still now every week that goes by we have more and more just this past Shabbat we had the parents of a soldier killed in Gaza uh come to the farm and spend Shabbat with us every time the father who was so strong and so much faith in his heart every time he burst out in tears I burst out in tears and we all did I mean it was devastating it was heartbreaking it's unfathomable I mean it was just so fresh and so new it was December 24th his son was killed in Gaza anyways but throughout all of this we were not officially called up and so we were spending most of our time guarding our mountains and guarding our families and was important for Israel but in my heart I always wanted to do more and then about four months ago our army unit sent out a message requesting the vati hagdud the veterans the retired Veterans of the unit us included to get our medical tests done and returned to the ranks of reserves to be available to be called up should the need arise uh which I did immediately of course and uh you know if Jeremy wasn't so seriously wounded being thrown from a horse I have zero doubt knowing Jeremy that he would be there too and about uh two weeks ago my phone rang and it was the Army and I was getting called up fortunately uh my primary region of service will be Southeastern Judea which is very important to me as it allows me to be in proximity of my wife and my children if I was too far away from them I'm not sure I would be comfortable having them stay on the mountain alone without me which is why it was so important that we were there during this period of time because if we were not there if we were called up the mountain would have had to be evacuated and we could have lost the those critical Mountains for the Safety and Security of Southeastern Judea we were holding them down and so that's been important but anyways now I'm called up and it looks like I'll be patrolling Southeastern Judea uh the nearby settlement uh also but but mostly in eal um and um that's where I'll be from what I understand and I'm just so grateful to be protecting this holy land and these holy people and I remember feeling the same way I felt when I first put on this uniform in August of 1999 I still feel overwhelmingly honored and grateful to be serving in the first Jewish Army since the times of King David and that's really the truth we are a we are the Jewish Army but that's what I wanted to talk about here why why are the Jewish people called the Jewish people why not Hebrews why not Israelites we've spoken about this before that Mori was called Mori the Jew because he was from Judea that's the land we're from but on another dimension there's something even deeper I think part of the beauty of the answer is from this week's Torah portion this Torah portion we see the historic encounter between Judah and Joseph right Joseph is dressed as an Egyptian Viceroy he recognizes his brother Judah who sold him into slavery but Judah like the rest of his brothers has no idea that it's his brother Joseph who he stands before putting his very life on the line he has no idea that he standing before Joseph that Joseph is the source of all this torment that he and his brothers are experiencing he has no idea that this all powerful Egyptian dignitary is the very brother he sold into slavery but in this historic AR archetypal exchange between Judah and Joseph we see not only why the Kings of Israel are descended from Judah but also why we the nation of Israel are called Jews because as Rabbi saak points out the words that emerg from judah's mouth during this exchange demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was a radically different person than he was 22 years before when he sold Joseph into slavery we remember the story it's too painful to forget the brothers were filled with so much rage and jealousy of their brother Joseph that when they saw him approaching from a distance they decided to kill him that is until Judah who they all yielded to as a leader amongst them says what will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood come let us sell him to the ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him after all he is our brother our own flesh and blood and his brothers agreed his argument really isn't heroic it's pragmatic why kill him when you can sell them and make money it's it really seems like hardly the character of the forebearer of the king Messiah but that is who Judah was now however that his Mis this mysterious Egyptian ruler has been putting him and his brothers through a really a divinely inspired journey of confusion and torment culminating in they being forced to return with Benjamin their 12th brother to prove the veracity of their stories that they're not spies and every step of the way they demonstrated that they are indeed true penitence from confession of their sin to regret of their sin to the final manifestation of the entire process which which culminated in Judah himself when he stood before his brother Joseph disguised in plain sight and declared now then please let your servant remain here as my Lord's slave in place of the boy and let the boy return with his brothers how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me no do not let me see the misery that would come on my father he's in the exact same situation but this time his course of action is diametrically opposite he has every reason to Envy Benjamin who his father clearly didn't want to part with until Judah finally offered his very own soul as collateral Benjamin who just received five times the portion that his brother did Benjamin the last remaining son of their mother's rival Rachel right but but rather than turn his back and walk away and have the same thing happen again Judah offers himself as a slave for life in exchange for Benjamin and offer that if the Egyptian leader refuses our sages say Judah was willing and ready to attack Joseph and the entire Egyptian monarchy bring them down until either he was killed or they were destroyed that is the power of Judah a fierce Warrior but a man of Truth a true penitent a BAL chuva a man of such honesty that he would confess the truth even if it meant his own demise and that's why we are called Jews because you don't have to look back at an ancient history where the Jews would fall into idolatry again and again and again to see our flaws and our sins and our shortcomings October 7th the war we find ourselves in right now was the clear result of pacts that we made with evil in violation of the Torah arrogance complacency and putting our faith in Flesh and Blood rather than in Hashem but we will rise up like the Lions of Judah we will confess our shortcomings before Hashem we will repent and atone for them it's happening right now and I'm grateful to be seeing it happened from the front row from Center Stage that is why we are called Jews because we are a nation of Jud Dian a nation from which Redemption itself will Blossom may it be soon my friends love you all pray for me and I will pray for you and uh Shalom from the front lines here in reserve duty in the hills of Judea