Mother of Soldiers  

Living in Melbourne, I never dreamed that my sons would be fighting on battlefields to protect our nation — yet since our family made aliyah in 2010, that’s what I’ve become, a mother of soldiers.

My sons serve or served in what’s called kravi units, combat units. The first to serve, Sruli, was drafted to the Givati Brigade in 2013, serving both on the Gazan and Lebanese borders. My next son, Shuki, was drafted to Nachal Haredi, serving in Yehudah and Shomron. Michi spent nearly two years in a pre-army preparatory course and was then drafted to Sayeret Golani, the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit. Michi was never one to share many details of his army service, but suffice it to say that his unit won an award for bravery after being attacked by a carload of terrorists near Jenin, during which one of the soldiers in his unit had a bullet bounce off his helmet. Eli is currently serving in Sayeret Golani and has been active in Jenin and Shechem over the last year. Just before Rosh Hashanah he received the Chayal Mitz’tayen, the Outstanding Soldier Award.

Being a mother of soldiers is always a multifaceted role. It means washing the Friday afternoon laundry that has just arrived home so that it will dry in time to be packed up for departure on Sunday morning. It means always having a supply of frozen cookies or muffins on hand so that my boys will have something extra to eat on base. It means the early Sunday morning dash to the train station. It means providing the patient, listening ear at whatever hour my sons manage to call and being the personal shopper for the often-obscure items that are needed in a hurry. It means being positive, supportive, and reading between the lines. And it means remembering that chayalim are always hungry (and no, a pita with hummus won’t fill them up).

But then there’s being the mother of soldiers who are fighting a war. When my sons enlisted, I had a vague awareness that there could be a war. But really it was a concept that I pushed out of my mind. Not any longer. The war is here and the sickening dread I feel is terrifying.