Jewish Life Digital Edition November 2014 | Page 24

CHANUKAH 5775

MOTHER

THE OTHER DAY, MY MIDDLE SON CAME HOME
and said he wants to become an Israeli
soldier when he grows up. I immediately
(rightly or wrongly) replied, “But I don’t
want you to get hurt.” He said, “Okay
then, I’ll join the South African army.”
I gathered my wits and asked him, “What
does a soldier do that you want to be
one?” He answered, “Protect his family
and people.”
I sighed and said, “In that case, you can
become a soldier.”
I think no mother wants her child to be
a soldier. No Jewish mother boasts, “My
son the paratrooper.” Of course, we are
proud of our soldiers. My brother, a lawyer with two university degrees, was
drafted as a reservist and was serving on

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the West Bank. I was very proud of him.
Of course, I’d rather he hadn’t been there.
Of course, I’d rather there had been no
war. No Hamas rockets being launched
into Israel like shooting stars of death.
War is horrific and ever since those
three Israeli teenage boys were captured
and murdered, I’ve been silent. That horrified silence that overcomes me when I
watch black-and-white Holocaust films.
Because there are no