Week 14

We woke up Sunday and after running a 4k at 5AM, journeyed back to Tel Nof jump school. 

A run through of everything we learned during the week. 

Sunday: 

How to pack, unpack, put on and take off the parachute 

How to fall in more directions. We also started doing it off a ramp, building up slowly in elevation. 

More advanced entering and exiting the plane. How to jump out as a group of people in rapid succession. 

Monday: 

Sit down class on the different errors that can occur in the air and how to handle them. A twisted parachute, a chute that doesn’t open, a collision with other tzanchanim, etc.

How to fall off a moving Zipline.  Another step up in the elevation and speed of landing. 

How to quickly unclip from the parachute if you land and the wind starts yanking you. 

How to pack up the parachute in the bag after we land. 

We also had a circle discussion with the Machlaka about why people love Israel. I’m not exactly sure why but it was nice to hear Israelis speak about their home. 

Tuesday:

The מאמן machine: a machine with a high, raised platform. We attach ourselves to ropes and jump off, simulating a real jump. The main focus of the machine is to work on landing. After a few swings, the madrich drops us and comments on our landing. 

Another class on different takalot that can happen during a jump 

Jump from Migdal Eichmann: a 13 meter raised platform. You jump out the side and the Zipline pulls you to the left/right. It’s meant to train our plane departures, the counting and process we do once we jump out of the plane, and to reduce our fear of jumping from a high height. 

More practices on the Omega (the short Zipline). My butt really started hurting here and for the rest of the week. Impact after hard impact will do that to you. 

Night training to get us used to falling in the dark 

Wednesday: 

Classes on how to put on the tik lau – the extra bag we jump with that sits between our legs

Another day of jumping from Migdal Eichmann – this time we had to deal with takalot on the way down. 

Now, just to understand the army frame of mind. They hate giving us free time and relinquishing control over us. So even though during jump course, were supposed to be with the the madrichim of the course, and in my opinion, should focus solely on the course, they still find ways to punish/work us out. Every morning we had a Mesibat Tachposot – costume party. What is that you ask? It’s where they wake us up to shtaim bet and then immediateky make us change into madas (sports clothes). This goes on for 20 minutes – changing back and forth. Punishment for punishment sakes. Holding onto control before they let us go to the course. 

Another aspect of the army that all the chayalim Bodedim acutely felt this week is the lack of organization and the difficulty in getting answers to simple questions. We knew that there was an official Yom Siddurim for all the chayalim bodedim in Tzahal on Thursday. A Yom Siddurim in collaboration with Nefesh B’Nefesh and dozens of government agencies to help Chayalim Bodedim sort out everything bureaucratic they could possibly need. We knew that the army had to let us go out, but we didn’t know how being in course tznicha would affect it. Would we be able to do the jumps and get our wings if we missed a day? Were we leaving the night before or the morning of? Were we leaving at all or because we were in tznicha would we not be able to take off?

We asked the commanders everyday, relentlessly pestering and annoying them. This event being at the end of closing 21 days straight added to the stress and desire to maximize every minute with an earlier departure. On the last day, a few hours before, it was still unclear when the chayalim bodedim would be leaving. Some were told morning and some were told that night. They actually did end up splitting up the groups and THANK GD I was part of the group that left the night before. Sweet sweet freedom. 

The Yom Siddurim was really special. It was held at an Expo Center in Tel Aviv and, although I didn’t need much from the day (I dont have to worry about electricity/water/arnona and I converted my license a few months after making Aliyah), I still made it a point to go to see all the other chayalim bodedim, feel a part of the community, and marvel at how many people from all over the world chose to give up a normal life and draft to the Israeli army. It was energizing. I saw a cousin who works with Nefesh B’Nefesh and a good friend from Boca. 

Thursday night I grabbed dinner with Shlomo and then went back to his apartment where we met Shaun for a movie night and on Friday I went on a first date. Maximizing my time off 😉

Shabbat lunch I spent by Shlomo with Allegra and one of her friends by Shlomo’s apartment in Baka. 

One little postscript about the lack of organization in the army. Shabbat ended around 5:30 PM. Buses didnt start for another hour, so from Shlomo’s apartment I only got home around 6:45. I knew we had to make our way back to Tel Nof on Saturday night, but the army still hadnt told us the details about the transportation theyd arranged. I turn my phone on when I get back to my apartment and see texts in our Kitah group chat that the shuttle is at 6:30 and texts from my Mefaked asking me to confirm that I would make it on time. WHAT!? 

I called him a few times to no response and explained that there was also no public transportation to Tel Nof until much later. Everything worked out in the end (the bus ended up staying an extra hour), but would it really kill the army to let us know before Shabbat so we can plan these things out??