For six weeks, I recently toured Israel, the land that gave birth to monotheism (a theory that supports the existence of only one God). The nation’s fertile soil, which grows pomegranates, dates and olives, has also been stained with blood amid religious warfare since the beginning of written record. I deplaned an El Al aircraft on Dec. 15th, 2008, suffering from an acute mental fog. The flight had lasted 16 hours. During that time, no alcohol was served; the current time zone was 10 hours ahead of us; and the airplane seat stole my sleep like a well-trained thief. Once on Israeli soil, a wild, wild ride lay ahead of me — and within my active imagination, I could very much relate with Dorothy’s disposition when she realized she and Toto were no longer in Kansas. Upon walking into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, a confident middle-aged man approached me and firmly shook my hand, issuing a sincere “welcome home.” He was the president of the organization responsible for bringing my group of young Jewish tourists to Israel. With me were my younger brothers, Wes and Zach, along with about 40 others in Birthright Group 1105, a program designed to show college students, graduate students and young professionals the beauty and wonder of Israel. After an hour of luggage recovery, we were herded onto massive tour buses by Israelis with guns. We just happened to have armed escorts. Our tour guide, Ron, sported an eccentric, flower-child personality and Einsteinian knowledge on just about everything. In the middle of his self-introduction on the bus PA system, he pointed to a spot not far from the road where David is said to have bettered Goliath with his rock and sling (a pretty surreal first 90 minutes, you could say). The tour lasted ten days. Food, accommodation, flamboyant tour guide and transportation (including airfare) didn’t cost a dime. I was so moved by the tour that for the following two weeks I joined Sar-El, the civilian volunteer service in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). The high cost of living in Israel inspired this decision in part — and in Sar-El, we were fed healthful soldier rations of base food and slept in army barracks in payment for our service. The conditions weren’t fit for a king, but they suited my shoestring traveler self just fine. The two weeks spent volunteering gave me an invaluable vantage point into Israeli culture. The Israelis really do put hummus on everything. M-16 rifles modified with vertical grips, lasers, tactical lights, stalks and pump-action grenade launchers are as common as Coca-Cola, and I never got used to seeing them. Israelis sorely lack in general courtesy skills toward others, and the idea of waiting in a line is a foreign and asinine concept. However, they more than make up for this with their bountiful hospitality toward guests and friends. I found a resolve to deal with an omnipresent threat of terrorist attack. I also found a deep sense of patriotism. If Israeli men and women do not enlist to protect the country, their nation-state will simply cease to exist. And speaking of protecting the homeland: What experience in Israel would not be complete without some kind of war breaking out? On the eve that I was to begin volunteering in the IDF, I heard the first bomb blasts of Operation Cast Lead exploding on the Gaza Strip. The operation was Israel’s answer to Hamas terrorist activities of last December and January – an answer hugely protested worldwide. I will never forget walking the cobblestone streets of Old Jerusalem in the early morning darkness, hearing the Muslim call to prayer eerily echo off ancient city walls, as I watched the sunrise over Jerusalem’s Western Wall. The trip was profoundly impacting, marked by untold love, hate and history intertwined in one nation the size of New Jersey. I came back to the States on Jan. 25 this year with an awakened connection to Judaism and a deeper appreciation for things like security and manners, so easily taken for granted. — Joseph Greenberg is a former intern and now a freelance writer for The San Diego Community Newspaper Group.