“Beautiful,” is the one word Max Rayan says he would use to describe Israel. After learning Hebrew with me at the JCA earlier this year and wanting to do more to support the people of Israel, Max used his knowledge of Hebrew with the Sar-El Volunteers for Israel this past summer.
Even though Max says he hoped to help by fighting in the field, he was able to do meaningful work while on his trip based in Bersheva while furthering his connection to the people and the land of Israel.
Born in Iraq and moving to the United States at the age of 25, Max knows what it means to live in a time of war and says he compares Hamas terrorists to ISIS, and that is why he wanted to do something more to support Israel. Just 25 miles south of Gaza in Bersheva, Max says he could hear explosions throughout his visit.
Max’s volunteer group was made up of 23 men and 13 women from all over the world including France, Australia, England, and Russia. During their time in Israel, the group was tasked with packaging food for Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers serving in Gaza. By the end of the trip, the group made 16,000 food packages.
Using some of the Hebrew he learned at the JCA during his stay, Max says he could even understand the soldiers when they were talking. At one point during his volunteer mission, Max was packaging cakes and needed more of the yellow variety they were packing. In Hebrew, Max was proud to say, “ani rotzei tzahov,” translated as, I need yellow.
During their meals in Bersheva, Max and his group ate with the soldiers and experienced more of the Israeli culture, which he describes as, “nice, friendly, and generous.”
After his service, Max had a few days to explore Israel and ventured to the Kotel also called the Western Wall. Wearing a kippah out of respect, Max says there were Arabs present who cursed and spit at him because they thought he looked Arabic and was a traitor and an enemy. After that unfortunate experience, Max went to the Jewish section of the wall where he saw a group of IDF soldiers dancing and singing in Hebrew. A rabbi who was standing there told Max that he would give him a prayer book to take to the wall, but that Max had to dance with the soldiers first. Hesitant, Max danced anyway and said it made him happy to see the soldiers smiling at him. Upon receiving the prayer book from the rabbi, Max went to the wall and said with tears in his eyes he became emotional praying for the protection of the people in Israel.
After a week in Israel, Max says would go back repeatedly to support Israel and encourages others to follow his lead. As Max explains, his work in Israel made it so soldiers did not have to leave battle to do the jobs volunteers could do. Additionally, Max did not feel like a foreigner or that he did not belong helping in Israel, as the IDF soldiers called him in Hebrew, ach sheli, my brother.
Our Hebrew classes at the JCA are offered each season. Please click here for more details, upcoming dates for Hebrew classes will be announced in the 2025 Winter/Spring Program Guide. If you have a story about traveling to Israel or using the knowledge of Hebrew you learned at the JCA, I would love to hear from you.
Please email, rachel.sandler@jcajax.org.
