Last week I was fortunate to be a guest at a dinner sponsored by the Long Island Chapter of the Jewish National Fund. After dinner the film, “Beneath the Helmet” was shown. This documentary chronicled the lives of four Israeli young adults for a period of eight months; the period after they graduate high school, enter the army, and complete their initial military training in the Israeli Defense Force (“IDF”.)

The four teens chronicled in the film are shockingly, patently young. It was so difficult to realize that the onerous task of defending Israel rests on the shoulders of teenagers. And, most surprisingly, the documentary accurately shows that, while some of the four believe in the cause, others are  clearly there because they have no choice; all Israelis are required to join the IDF.

This blog is not about my feelings concerning Israel, Zionism, or the IDF. Rather, this blog is about my unexpectedly strong emotional reaction to this film, especially when listening to the interviews of the parents of the soldiers. This blog is about how, in our very busy lives, we often forget how privileged we are to live in a country where we are not required to send our children to war. And, as a parent, while I can strongly sympathize with the emotion and pain of the parents in the film, I do not have to live with their fear and uncertainty wondering if my children will survive their time in the armed forces and come home.

I admit that this is a subject that I do not often think about. I do not pause in my day to consider how thankful I should be that, if our children choose to serve in the military, it is their choice and has been since 1973. And, I do not often think about how thankful I should be that there those who choose to join the armed services to protect our way of life. But, it is something I will think about more often. How about you?