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About Lone Soldiers

Every army has volunteers but only the IDF has young men and women who immigrate specifically to serve in the army in order to defend their newly adopted country. This is part of the modern miracle that is the state of Israel. The IDF is the first army the Jewish people have had to protect them since the Maccabees fought the Romans in 167 BCE and this is the appeal; to end the long history of oppression and defend the Jewish people in Israel and around the world. Many of these young men and women arrive alone, without family, becoming what the IDF calls a Ḥayal Boded (חַיָּל בּוֹדֵד), a Lone Soldier.

The number of these idealistic young people fluctuates but there are usually around 5,000-7,000 serving at any given time, with at least 40% serving in combat units and another 20% serving in combat-support units. A disproportionate number of Lone Soldiers, an estimated 1,600, come from the United States.

Some Lone Soldiers are Israeli. Orphans, youth from broken homes, or very low socio-economic backgrounds may lack a solid daily support structure and can be classified as Lone Soldiers. Another type of Lone Soldier is a young man from a Hareidi (ultra-Orthodox) home whose parents have rejected him due to his decision to serve in the IDF. It is estimated that about 46% of the Lone Soldiers have family in Israel, but are estranged from them.

Since these newly arrived young soldiers have no support structure, the IDF gives them additional benefits in the form of a higher basic salary from the IDF, as well as financial assistance from the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. They are also given help with housing, and the right to extra time off, including 30 days per year to visit family overseas.

But the salary of IDF conscripts is not intended to be a living wage so even with the additional benefits, Lone Soldiers typically struggle financially. Even with the stipend, it is often not enough for toiletries, clothing, food, and other necessities they need while serving, in addition to their monthly rent. There are no doting mothers and fathers to provide the small comforts that make life in uniform bearable. In Israel, there is a tradition in which mothers and fathers take their sons and daughters to purchase a watch and a backpack, necessities for soldiers. Lone soldiers have no one to do this, or the many other small (and not so small) things parents do for their children serving in the IDF.

This challenge is even greater for religious soldiers. They typically arrive at an empty apartment with little time before Shabbat. There is no mother or father to wash their uniforms and no sabbath meal awaiting them. There is no family gathered around the table to listen to their adventures and difficulties. It is on Shabbat and holidays when the loneliness of being a Lone Soldier is felt the most.

And even when they complete their service and leave the IDF, these young men and women have a difficult transition from the army, beginning a new life out of uniform. This challenge is even greater for the Lone Soldiers who come from abroad. They frequently experience a difficult time finding employment and as such often return to their country of origin for financial reasons, despite wanting to live their lives in Israel.

While there is no one who can replace Eema and Abba (mother and father), for more than a decade, Emek Lone Soldiers is there for these remarkable young men and women, helping them whenever the need arises and providing housing and a warm Shabbat experience. Many English speakers, especially the religious, who make Aliyah choose to live in Jerusalem. With its central location in Israel’s holiest city, Emek Lone Soldiers helps these lone soldiers begin their new lives in Israel as part of a vibrant community they can immediately feel a part of.

About the Founder

Rabbi Shalom Myers is uniquely suited to guide young men as they learn Torah and serve in the IDF. He grew up in South Africa and took an active role in Bnei Akiva, a religious Zionist youth movement before serving as an Army Chaplain in the South African Defense Force’s Western Province Command. He received Smicha (rabbinic ordination) from Machon Ariel in Jerusalem. After serving as a congregational rabbi for five years, he moved to Israel and taught young men for 14 years at Ohr Somayachin Jerusalem. A decade ago, Rabbi Myers founded the Emek Learning Center in Jerusalem’s German Colony.

Rabbi Myers has four sons who served as combat soldiers in the IDF. His oldest son, Natan, served in the paratroopers (Tsanchanim) while doing Hesder, a yeshiva program that combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service. His son, Levi served in the Kfir brigade, the youngest and largest infantry brigade in the IDF. His son, David, was a captain (Seren) in the paratroopers, and his son, Moshe served in Sayeret Nahal, a special forces unit of the Nahal Brigade that engages in reconnaissance and commando operations.

It was through his sons, who were not lone soldiers, that Rabbi Myers became aware of the dire need suffered by some young men in the IDF. His sons learned in Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox yeshivot (Torah institutions) and while many of the students came from families that saw army service as a national imperative, others came from communities that opposed the modern state of Israel as a secular entity. Their rabbis taught that it was forbidden for the Jews to reconstitute Jewish rule in the Land of Israel before the arrival of the Messiah. Serving in the IDF was seen as the worst form of religious heresy tantamount to converting to another religion. Parents of young Haredi men who serve in the IDF will usually reject them entirely, sometimes even mourning them as if they had passed away, refusing to allow them back into their homes. Even more tragic is when the families refuse to mourn their sons who were killed in the line of duty.

This represents a deep and painful rift in Israeli society. A study in late 2006 claimed that just over a third of Israelis considered Haredim to be the most hated group in Israel because of their rejection of the State of Israel and refusal to serve in the IDF. Rejected by their families, these young men became Lone Soldiers.

When Rabbi Myers became aware of the plight of these young men, he knew he had to provide them with a spiritual and physical home. This was the beginning of Emek Lone Soldiers.

Our Leaders

Rabbi Shalom Myers, Founder

Rabbi Shalom Myers was raised South Africa, where he was active in Bnei Akiva and Menahel Shichva. He served in the S.A. Defense Force as Chaplain for Western Province Command. He has Smicha from Machon Ariel and taught for 14 years at Ohr Somayach, heading the Mechina program. In 2013, he founded the Emek Learning Center in the German Colony, Jerusalem which provides Shabbat meals for large groups of Lone Soldiers from the area. He has four sons who served as combat soldiers in the IDF, one as a Hesder paratrooper, one in infantry, one as an officer in Paratroopers 202 and the youngest in Sayeret Nachal.

Rabbi Simcha Dumas, Assistant Rabbi

Rabbi Simcha Dumas was born and raised in Jerusalem, he learned in the Mir Yeshiva Ketana and at Yeshivat Ohr Elchanan. After his marriage in 2013, he began studying at a kollel in the Old City of Jerusalem, and volunteered in several Kiruv organizations. He has also studied Christian and Muslim theology to help Jews under threat from missionaries. In 2017 he received Semicha from Rabbi Zalmen Nechimyia Goldberg and he continued learning for the Israel Rabanut tests. Besides serving as the Assistant Rabbi at the Emek Learning Center and Emek Lone Soldiers, he also runs the worldwide 'Semichas Chaver Program' organization which was founded by an ELC alumni, Rabbi Elyada Goldwicht.