"Reserve duty is not a burden, it's love": Between the battlefield and university studies

A reserve combat soldier describes the difficulty of returning to academic studies after rounds of fighting in Gaza, the sense of mission in service, and his pain over the Haredi exemption from conscription. He calls on academic institutions to see reserve soldiers as a crown jewel, not a struggling population, and dedicates his final project to fallen comrades.

A reserve combat soldier, identifying as a Torah-observant Jew, shares a personal essay about the journey between the battlefield in Gaza and the lecture halls at Ben-Gurion University. He describes the mental difficulty of returning to academic research after harsh combat experiences, noting that his battalion comrades, also students, managed to start and even complete bachelor's degrees immediately after fighting in Khan Younis. His main focus is on the issue of Haredi conscription: he expresses pain over the widespread exemption and states that from a halachic perspective, it is clear that everyone must go to war. He rejects the term "equal burden" and insists that reserve duty is "the greatest act of love" — devotion for the sake of others, not a punishment. He appeals to academic institutions to see student reservists as the highlight, because without them there are no fighters. The essay concludes with his dedication of the final project to the next generation, to friends who returned changed, and to Captain (Res.) Lior Sivan, who fell in battle.