If you were to meet me on the street, I don't think the first thing that would come to mind is, well, that guy must be a veteran of a Special Forces unit.

So this is a radio show, but I'm, you know, I'm four-eyed, nowadays, slightly chubby nerd.

Nothing about me screams, fighter.

Hey, listeners, it's Mishi.

So, as you know, during these incredibly difficult days,

we're trying to bring you voices we're hearing among and around us.

These aren't stories, they're just quick conversations, or postcards, really,

that try to capture slivers of life right now.

Many people, as you've heard again and again in these wartime diaries, sprung into action since October 7th.

And yet, at the very same time, many Israelis feel lost.

Not everyone knows what to do.

Not everyone feels useful or capable or relevant.

In that feeling, it resonates with Alon Shalev from Tsuradasa.

Zev Levi brings us his story.

I'm Alon Shalev.

In my day-to-day life, I am a would-be intellectual.

I write on issues on philosophy and Jewish thought and like.

I've lived in Israel almost my entire life since I was three years old.

I am what you might call a veteran.

It's not a word we use in Israel so much because everyone here does the army at some stage or other.

But I served in a unit called Maglan.

It's a special forces infantry unit, you know, boots on the ground, counter-terrorism. My unit, you know, the current regulars were amongst the first to arrive on the scene and to respond before we even had a clear idea of what was happening,

...