Israeli youth is conscripted for military service at eighteen. Although military duty includes both young men and young women, Orthodox young women may opt for Sherut Leumi, National Service, instead. Sherut Leumi includes work in hospitals, easing the burden of the medical staff, or in nursing homes, helping to tend to the elderly. Young Orthodox women in National Service also work in orphanages or institutions for children from troubled backgrounds, with parents who are physically or mentally ill or drug addicts. Here the young women are trained to provide the children with educational and psychological attention, with loving hearts and caring hands. There are numerous other social venues as options in the service of Israel’s needy.
Then there is also the rare opportunity of going abroad to far flung Jewish communities to bring the message of Israel, the spirit of Judaism and Zionism, to Jewish youth.
Michal Fried chose this option. She committed herself to spend a year in Uruguay, South America, in the capital city of Montevideo, where there is a vibrant Jewish community but the children are raised in a vacuum of Jewish practice.
Michal, 19, is one of seven siblings in a warm, happy family in the heart of the yishuv Peduel, itself an extended family, a close-knit community in the fabulous hills of Shomron, nestled atop the highest hill with an amazing view of the Sharon Valley and the Mediterranean coastline. To leave this home meant tearing herself away from the embrace of a world of familiarity and affection and plunging into the distant unknown – a foreign land with foreign sights, sounds, faces and attitudes.
Michal had never been away from home. And now, she was going so far away, for so long – an entire year!
She had to learn Spanish in order to communicate with the children and their parents. This was to be her job, to convey the message of Yiddishkeit, to teach Hebrew, the language of the Torah and of Israel, the language of Jewish prayer.
“I have to learn their language well so I can do a good job of teaching the Torah in Uruguay. That’s why I went,” Michal explained, her beautiful dark brown eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
She studied Spanish with a passion. As the weeks passed, her commitment to her mission in Uruguay helped her acquire the language to near perfection before her departure.
Upon her arrival in the Montevideo Jewish community, Kehillat Yavne, her linguistic ability combined with her enthusiasm and vivacious charm opened the gates of positive acceptance for her message.
Besides teaching the history of Israel in a classroom setting and conducting morning prayers for the younger children, she hosted teenage groups for Shabbat meals, complete with the Kiddush, challah and Birkat HaMazon, in her apartment. She did the same on Yomim Tovim; it was up to Michal to serve as role model and teacher of all the halachic practices for the younger adults as well as the children. On Chanukah she recited the blessings on Chanukah candles in the presence of her disciples, encouraging them to join her in the singing and in lighting their own menorahs.
“They learned by actually doing the mitzvot. And they loved it,” Michal remarked with joy. She showed me photos of young girls radiating joy as they surround a delighted Michal in front of the menorah.
On Yom HaShoah Michal put on a play based on a Holocaust survivor’s personal memoir. “I translated it to Spanish and turned it into a play,” Michal related. “And the girls really identified with the characters, their acting was so effective… the audience was very moved,” she concluded.