Basic training starts this upcoming week and continues for 16 weeks. The last week in March I have a regila, which is a week off. B'Ezrat Hashem, my mom will be in Israel during that time and I will be able to ride around the country with her and make her as at least as relaxed and happy about Zionism as my dad. Having your parents, and your family in general, support you is important. Although, considering how misinformed people are about Israeli life, and how disconnected family members can be from their more ideological relatives, many people in my situation have to go it alone. In a sense, it has a hardening effect. Just another factor of life in Israel that hardens people. But to get the good out of Israel, which is very good, we have to deal with some of the negative aspects.

With regard to the good, Zionism is doing well, as long as you don't listen to middle-aged immigrants, secularists obsessed with material wealth and post-Zionist left-wing intellectuals. Those three groups are really problematic. The first group will vanish with time and their childrens' full absorption will make Israel a better place. The second group will either continue to complain or move to Los Angeles, either way, they don't matter much. The third group is the real problem. Left-wing intellectuals run the Ministry of Education and the university system, which allows them to bring their demented anti-Israeli ideas to young people. Intellectual elites have historically done the best things and the worst things to societies. I guess Israel must bear through some massive national mistakes on its way to becoming a state with a sense of purpose. It's not pretty, but we'll have to bear it through.

Tomorrow, I will be placed in the pluga, company, with which I will stay for my first 12 months in the IDF. The key to getting through the IDF without getting angry, depressed or overwhelmed is to bond strongly with your fellow soldiers. No one can make it through the service by being an individual. The system is designed in such a way so as to make it impossible to do most things by oneself. It's a group effort all the way, or it's failure. Supermen are pretty much useless in the IDF ethos. From what I've seen so far, aside from a few bad apples, I should be getting put together with some great guys. My machlaka, platoon, should be 30-35 guys and there should be a minyan of 10 of those who pray regularly. That will definitely happen, as long as the commanders will spread out different social groups and not bunch people together. Being able to have a minyan, even when we're out in the field with no synagogue access will be a real kiddush Hashem.

In random news, I purchased and then returned two electrical heaters. I can't seem to find one that makes me happy. I am, however, overjoyed that I was able to return a product bought in a store and get my money back on the spot. This is standard procedure in the US, but in Israel this was not common practice until recently. Progress does happen. Sure, I had to raise my voice a little bit to get cash back instead of store credit, but it's a lot better that having to come to blows with the manager. Those who know Israel know what a great bonus it is to be able to get customer service without fighting for it.

Alright, I gotta go pack my bag and get some shut eye. Remember people, money is the root of all evil. And if you can't control the evil, it will control you.