Chanan – A True Leader, by Linda Sabbagh

Our first experience with Chanan, one of our Israeli counselors, was not ‘ideal’. We can all remember getting off the plane and seeing him as he started yelling at us to stand in “chets” for twenty minutes. As the days progressed, we experienced Chanan’s tough demands and love for Israel.

Despite the hard activities and situations he put us through, his sense of humor and strong motivation got us through the hardest of tasks. We began to see the tremendous love and passion he has or his country. From rubbing the dirt of the land on this face, to his conviction while singing on Kabalat Shabbat, his strength and drive to get the job done inspires us all. When telling us he had to leave to go fight in the war, he said he’s happy to go because he felt sad watching everyone fight from the sidelines. This is the type of strength a true leader has. Seeing Chanan in his uniform truly made us realize and feel the reality of the war.

His courage and determination was felt by the whole group during the time he spent with us. In his mind there is no such thing as impossible. If you set your mind to something and push yourself you can achieve any task that’s given. We will all truly miss Chanan while he is away. We wish him, from the bottom of our hearts, a safe and successful time fighting for our people and for our country.

-Linda Sabbagh