If someone asks me where I was or what I was doing in 2015 or 2009, I’ll probably have to stop and think.
But if someone asks me in 10 or 15 years where I was and what I was doing in 2026, I know the answer will come immediately:
“Shnat Sherut 50+.”
This week, we returned home to Yokneam. Behind us, we left our home in Patish. And I deliberately call it our home, because that is exactly what it became.
A Year of Shared Purpose
It was, without question, a wonderful year.
A year of volunteering for the community without asking why, or for whom. A year of genuine partnership with people from across Israeli society, religious and secular, from cities and the periphery, from the political right and left and everywhere in between.
What united us was something simple but powerful: a willingness to contribute.
For me, that was one of the great lessons of the year. Beneath all the differences, there is something capable of connecting us: our shared Israeli identity.
Within our Merhavim/Adi Negev/Patish group, that sense of connection became very real.
Discovering a New World
This year introduced me to an entirely new world: working alongside people with complex disabilities and special needs.
The professionals have terminology for it. For me, the terminology mattered less than the people.
I discovered a world of extraordinary emotion, generosity and joy. There were difficult moments, certainly. Sometimes what I encountered was challenging to see or process. But alongside that complexity, there was always happiness. There was always hope.
Spending time each day with the residents of the village and with the children at the Adi Negev–Nahalat Eran school did something unexpected for me.
It calmed me.
It also made the purpose of my year of service very clear. I knew that what I was doing mattered to other people. But perhaps the greatest surprise was realizing how much it mattered to me.
Becoming Part of the Community
The year was also filled with practical projects and small acts of contribution.
Together, our group renovated the library in Moshav Patish, and I even built a puppet theater. Day by day, whether working at Adi Negev–Nahalat Eran or contributing to projects in the community, volunteering became part of the rhythm of our lives.
These were not simply tasks to complete. They were part of becoming connected to a place and to the people who lived there.
By the end of the year, Patish was no longer simply where we had been sent to volunteer. It was home.
We Came to Give — and Received So Much
I began this year intending to contribute. Somewhere along the way, I discovered that volunteering was giving something back to me too.
It affected the way I saw other people, the way I saw Israeli society and even my relationship with my wife, Mabel.
Some experiences sit too deeply in the heart to explain properly in words. This year is one of them.
And it was made possible by the people who shared it with us – Mabel, Nissim, Bracha, Maya, Shmulik, Shlomo, Orly, Talia, Tamar, Berko, Dalia, Gila, Hagai, Mali, Michal, Nirit, Miri and so many others who became part of our lives.
What Did I Learn?
As we set off back to Yokneam, Mabel asked me a question:
“What did you learn about yourself this year?”
I learned a great deal.
Perhaps most importantly, I learned that a year spent giving to others can become one of the greatest gifts you give yourself.
