Aharon Holtzman
United States
Draft: August, 2021
This article is written for the pre draftees who are really looking to get ahead and do well in the army. The “pre draftee” phase is a very important one that has the potential to affect your service in a very positive way. These are some tips as to how to best maximize your time spent until your draft.
- Put yourself in Israeli environments. Constantly surrounding yourself with Israeli culture and language will prepare you for the culture shock that will hit you when you draft. It will make your transition into the army much smoother than other people who haven’t had a similar level of exposure.
There are many ways to do this. It can be a job, friends, volunteer work, there are a lot of options of how to get involved. You can search for all of these things on Facebook, or ask any friends you have who are in the army.
- Hebrew, Hebrew, and even more Hebrew. The learning should start when you decide to draft. There are many good ways to learn. The best is to speak to people in Hebrew. But if you’re not yet in Israel, or looking to also practice online, watch Netflix in Hebrew (bonus challenge: Do twenty pushups after each episode). Or when you watch it in English use Hebrew captions. If you have time go to an ulpan or take ulpan classes, do it. You can also ask around and find an ulpan textbook on your level and learn from there. Put Google translate on your phones shortcut toolbar and constantly be translating words that you come across and don’t know in Hebrew.
Let there be no doubt, the army is in Hebrew. If you do not speak Hebrew it will be very hard to really succeed until you learn it. So get the struggle with over now, rather than when you’re in basic training. Don’t just tell yourself “I’ll get it in michve (the army’s Hebrew course)” or “I’ll pick up Hebrew when I draft”. Do the maximum to help yourself now.
- Training. Attend Tzevet Mikey!! Tzevet Mikey will give you a taste of the physical hardship that is tironout (basic training) in the army, and start teaching you the little lessons and the mentality you need for the army. It will also leave you with amazing connections with other future Lone Soldiers and your instructors. The instructors there will be able to help you on a personal level, and tell you what you need to work on. Listen to their advice, and always take all the opportunities to train you can get.
There is no reason not to do it. Which brings me to my next point…
- Focus. The main thing is keeping the main things the main thing. Now read that last sentence again. If you’re reading this (I’d hope) your main thing right now is drafting. So in all things you do, remember what your main focus is. Don’t say you can’t come to train on a consistent basis because you have a job, or school, or a social life, or anything else, because none of that is the main thing.
Every day remember what you want, why you want it, and what you have to do to get it. Constantly refocus on your goals, and don’t allow yourself to get distracted.
- Finances. I’m going to write this assuming you are not in an extremely well off financial situation, and you are looking to save money.
There are too many people who come to Israel with a decent amount saved and they lose all or most of it before they even draft. Don’t be one of them.
Find a way to live for free. There are many places in Israel you can live for free in exchange for volunteer work, or on a program or mechina, or lone soldier housing, living with a relative or friend, having a job etc. And once you draft you can afford up to 1300₪ that’s paid for by the army for wherever you move. Your biggest expense is normally your rent. Find a way to make it 0₪ and it’ll create a very good starting point for your finances.
Establish a good routine for making your own healthy, cost effective food. Cooking at home rather than going out every night can save you an enormous amount of money. Invest in building up whatever kitchen space you have access to, and use it. That doesn’t mean never go out and enjoy yourself, just keep it balanced well.
- For people drafting through Machal (volunteering). Spend more time in Israel than you have to. With the Machal program you can come to Israel and draft in about three months. That is just not enough time to really get into the culture, the country, learn the language, learn more about the army and the units and get involved in the community you’re in. It will also give you a chance to better establish where you want to live when you draft, whether it’s with roommates or with a program.
Come earlier!! Experience the land you want to defend. How can you defend the land if you don’t know the land?
- Learn about your rights and resources. The army doesn’t offer that much aid to pre draft Lone Soldiers, but there are plenty of private organizations that do. Visit these organizations and learn about the services and networking opportunities they can provide for you. You could be missing out on something that could really be of assistance to you.
https://instagram.com/idf_lonesoldier?utm_medium=copy_link
https://instagram.com/themichaellevinbase?utm_medium=copy_link
https://instagram.com/nbn_lonesoldiers?utm_medium=copy_link
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lone.soldier/?ref=share
- Don’t believe everything you hear. When I first arrived to Israel, and was trying to find out information about drafting, how various units are, etc. a lot of times different people would give me different answers for the same questions, and I would get very confused.
Example: Someone told me the qualifying run for Yom Sayeorot is three kilometers. Someone else told me it’s two. Someone else told me it’s one.
Eventually I realized that this is because the army is constantly changing their rules for pretty much everything. So when someone tells you something specific about the way the army works, it’s possible the information was true for him/her, but the army already changed it. Keep this in mind whenever someone gives you information about the army and try and always get the most updated information you can.
- Fill your schedule. It’s very easy as a pre draftee to become very bored, with not much to do on a day to day basis.
It is crucial that you find a way to fill your schedule so that you’re not just drifting through the calendar until your draft. Fill your schedule with workouts, Hebrew sessions, social hangouts, volunteering, exploring around Israel, hobbies, work, whatever you can find. Just don’t let yourself fall into a lull where you’re sitting around all day not doing anything.
If you have any follow up questions about the article, or need help with something I wrote about (finding free housing, jobs, volunteer work, someone in a unit you’re interested in etc.), always feel free to send me a message on WhatsApp at 0503955244, I’m happy to help with anything I can. בהצלחה!
Tzevet Mikey - צוות מייקי 