Recently my wife began a pen-pal relationship with a young American who left the country of his birth to serve in the Israeli army. For those of us who sometimes fear that today’s young people have lost their way, I give you the words of Matan Ronen, age 22:

“Thank you for your support. It really means a lot to me to know that someone out there understands the significance of what I’m doing here.

The hardest thing about being in a foreign army is being misunderstood. Americans think I’m crazy, “Can’t you just send a check like everyone else?” Likewise Israelis think I’m crazy, “America wasn’t good enough for you?” Somewhere in the middle, if not on the margins, are the people that respect what I and other volunteers are doing. To be certain, I am not doing the most effective service I could be doing for the Jewish people. After all, I am just simple soldier. But I do believe I am doing the most righteous thing a young Jew can do at this time. It is the exemplary path. Once this service is done, the real service can begin. What that may mean for me I am not yet sure. Perhaps it may mean working for a Jewish organization, perhaps it will mean raising my family in Israel. However, the bottom line is not where I live nor what I do, it is that my heart and my values are with the Jewish people. If every Jew kept every other Jew in mind we would be a much more secure, stronger, and happier people.”