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August 17, 2007
Serving God and her country
Observant Richmond woman makes aliyah days after grad.
FREEMAN PORITZ
Ayala Ragetli is 18 years old. She graduated from McMath Public
High School in Richmond in June 2006. She and her family proudly
affiliate with Chabad of Richmond. Now, while her colleagues are
pursuing their university degrees, Ragetli is in Israel with an
M-16 slung across her shoulder – defending her new country.
What drives a young religious Jewish girl from a Vancouver suburb
to move to Israel and take on such a difficult challenge? What causes
someone to commit to this sort of life-changing endeavor?
"She is very, very, strong in her Jewish identity," her
father, Rene Ragetli, told the Independent. "There is
no other identity. That's it. It's so much a part of who she is."
Ragetli said it came as no surprise to hear that his daughter intended
to join the Israel Defence Forces.
"It was pretty clear already from when she was very young that
she intended to at least spend significant time in Israel,"
he said.
Ayala Ragetli, who joined the IDF in March of this year, is as passionate
about serving the Jewish state after four months in the army as
she was the day she arrived in Israel. "I am [motivated to
be here] and I adjusted very well to my surroundings," she
said in a recent interview.
When she's not on one of the many army bases scattered all over
Israel, Ragetli resides in Sde Eliyahu, a religious kibbutz in the
Beit Shean Valley, close to the border with Jordan. "I lived
on the kibbutz for about seven or eight months before I joined the
army," she explained. "I volunteered there. I have an
adopted family there. I have become very close to them. They are
like my family."
It was at the kibbutz that Ayala joined the combat training group
Acharay! (After Me!) Through Acharay!, Ragetli adjusted to
the Israeli mentality and gained a love for the army through the
numerous social events, hikes and physical workouts. "It [Acharay!]
is one of the reasons that I'm in a combat unit. It opened me up
to the entire lifestyle of a combat soldier," she said. "Acharay!
had an army induction party for me. I don't think many people had
induction parties quite like mine. I was given a mission –
I had to take the group on a hike, carrying a stretcher to a certain
point. I was given a map and I had to choose the route between two
points. I had to try to do it in the quickest time. We needed to
get an injured soldier to the evacuation point."
Following her time volunteering at the kibbutz and being active
in Acharay!, Ragetli volunteered to serve in the premier infantry
combat unit for women: KaraKal. Serving in KaraKal required Ragetli
to make a three-year commitment, instead of the usual two required
for women. KaraKal is also a co-ed unit, making it an unusual choice
for an observant female soldier. The army willingly accommodates
her level of observance. "The army is kosher. The army keeps
Shabbat," she noted.
KaraKal was founded in the summer of 2000 with the goal of increasing
female participation in the historically predominantly male IDF
combat units. The unit is made up of two-thirds females and one-third
males, and usually guards and patrols Israel's eastern border with
Jordan in the Dead Sea region.
"I've always been very physically active," said Ragetli.
"I've always done a lot of sports. I did Judo for many years,
so I knew 100 per cent that I'd be able to handle it physically.
I'm very outdoorsy. I love hiking. I love the outdoors. I love physical
hardship – well, to a certain extent, at least. They [the IDF]
push it sometimes. I knew there would be no way I'd be able to stand
two years in an office, sitting behind closed doors, becoming bored
out of my mind. That was not an option." Her father added:
"She's always been quite gung-ho. She likes the physical challenge.
She loves hiking, canoeing and all that kind of stuff."
Ayala Ragetli admitted that there were difficulties with the transition
from Canada to Israel, and from life as a civilian to life as a
soldier. "Israeli society is more in your face," she conceded.
"Israelis don't ask, they tell! The girls here [in KaraKal]
aren't prissy little things. They can be crude. There is a lot of
swearing. There is a lot of yelling. But the girls really are great.
"This is the only time in my life I will ever have an opportunity
to have these experiences. Nowhere else and at no other time in
my life will I ever be able to experience anything close to what
we do here. I never thought that I'd shoot an M-16 a few years ago,
and now it's glued to my hip. It's my pillow. We call them our 'husbands.'
It's true: you're married to your gun. The only time you take it
off is when you shower," said Ragetli.
In Vancouver, Ragetli and her family are affiliated strongly with
Chabad of Richmond. "Our family was one of the first families
to go to that shul," she said. "I've been going there
since I was 12. I remember when there wasn't even a minyan every
Shabbat. I've known Rabbi [Yechiel] Baitelman for several years.
I worked for him at Camp Gan Israel since I was about 13. He's a
wonderful rabbi. He really puts his 100 per cent into his community."
"Just about every Shabbos, we get an update [on how Ayala is
doing]," Baitelman told the Independent. "I think
it [what she's doing] is quite wonderful. It sounds from the reports
that I've been getting from Rene and hearing from her, as well,
that she's been a very positive influence on the people around her
as far as a stronger Jewish identity there – she gives Torah
commentaries when the soldiers get together."
"I recommend that every Jew, at least once in their lifetime,
comes and visits Israel," said Ragetli. "It is such an
amazing place. I've done a lot of travelling in Israel, and there
are certain places where you can just feel that the land is holy.
The weight of the centuries is on this place. It is so amazing how
history has seeped into the very air. If you take a moment to yourself
in a quiet place, you can just feel it. When I came to Israel, I
came with the intention to stay. I never really thought about moving
back to Canada."
Ragetli's father, who lived in Israel from 1982-'87, misses her
tremendously. "I miss her very much. I'm very close to her.
I only wish I could move to Israel," he said. "I was proud
of her that she took the example of Rabbi Baitelman and applied
it, because just as he continues to live his lifestyle among a very
secular world, she was kind of doing the same thing, with the object
of influencing the broader community. Far from being timid and hiding
in her tent, she was insisting on having time to daven shacharit
[morning prayers] and arvit [evening prayers]. Ahavas
Yisrael [love of Israel] is the driving principle."
Freeman Poritz is a Vancouver freelance writer. He served
in the IDF from 2004-2007.
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