On Campus and Off Campus “Moving into and out of the army is a difficult transition time, especially because our recruits generally don’t have parental, familial or community support,” explains Rav Klebanow. Therefore, the Netzah Yehuda Non-Profit Organization runs several programs to ensure that the soldiers will be successful. Chief among these is the rabbinical mentoring program: a team of rabbanim, guidance counselors and mentors are available for one-on-one talks with the soldiers and mediation between the soldiers and their parents. “In addition to lacking a support structure, the recruits are moving into a completely foreign world because they don’t have fathers and brothers who were in the army,” says Rav Klebanow. For example, every army has to deal with soldiers who don’t report back to base after leave. In the regular army, a soldier who is AWOL will be immediately jailed without being given the chance to explain himself to his commander. In Netzah Yehuda, commanders need to deal with the reality that soldiers aren’t aware of the severity of their actions. Before reporting the soldier to the army police, the commander will have the base rav look into the case. “By the way,” says Rav Klebanow, “we have the lowest desertion rate in the army.”
Netzah Yehuda is unique in another way too. The lone soldier is not a new concept in the IDF: any soldier without a home receives the privileges of a chayal boded. But what happens to a soldier who has a home and parents, but isn’t welcomed there because he is following an ideology that runs counter to his family’s? Luckily, the organization runs two lone soldier residences in Jerusalem which currently house about 20 such soldiers. With the announcement of the opening of a second fighting battalion in the Givati Brigade, there exists an immediate need for two additional residences. The organization is seeking additional sponsors for them.
Netzah Yehuda is open to charedi Jews who do not hold Israeli citizenship. In 2005, after a year in Yeshiva Torah Shraga, Avi Sandler, from Brooklyn, decided to sign up. “I couldn’t see why I was different from Israeli boys my age. I too wanted to defend our country,” he says. Stationed in the Jordan Valley, near Jericho, Avi’s unit helped to reduce the number of suicide bombers that were infiltrating Israel from the surrounding villages. “I had an outstanding experience,” says Avi. “I learned a lot about myself and our country, and made lasting friendships.” In fact, one of his friends insisted on attending Avi’s engagement in America a few years later.
Recognizing that Netzah Yehuda soldiers often lack a support structure, the organization continues to care for them after their discharge. Soldiers are guided as they enter the work force to find suitable employment. In addition, matchmaking services are available and, further down the line, a fellowship fund to help betrothed soldiers purchase appliances and offer financial support if they need it. “Depending on the amount of money available, we can offer more or less help,” says Rav Klebanow. “We have a 5 million shekel budget,” he adds. “Since we are a non-profit organization providing services to Netzah Yehuda, only seven to eight percent comes from the Ministry of Defense. We try to fill the gap with fundraising.” Then he shares another idea he has for the future: a kollel for Netzah Yehuda alumni.
“We will never pull charedi boys out of yeshiva,” says Rav Klebanow, “But for our soldiers, Netzah Yehuda is a transformative experience. You can’t put your life on the line and remain the same.”
For more information about the Nahal Hareidi contact Evelyn Weinberger, Stateside Liason to Rav Tzvi Klebanow, at [email protected].
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Jewish Law in Netzah Yehuda
When Battalion Commander Yonatan Magad opened his staff meeting shortly after taking on his position, he asked all his officers to give him their reports. Things went smoothly until one officer reported which soldiers were in jail that week. A light bulb went off in Magad’s head. According to the halachot of shmirat halashon, such information should only be shared by those who need to know: namely the officer and Magad. Explaining this to the officer, Magad asked that from then on, the officer mention only the number of jailed soldiers and not their names while in the presence of others. During the staff meeting a few weeks later, the officer reported that two soldiers were in jail. Magad, who thought that there were three soldiers in jail, asked who the third was. “Am I allowed to tell you his name in front of everyone?” the officer asked.