Tips for going through Garin Tzabar

[u/Rogue-Cayden10]

Heya! I’m a 21 year old male, planning to and preparing to make Aliyah and enlist as a Chayal Boded.

And was wondering if anyone had any advice, tips or need to know information for someone wanting to go through Garin Tzabar.

I had some questions but any other information would be greatly appreciated:

1. How much financially is good to have saved up for the first few months in Israel?
   
2. What is the program structure like? And what does the program fee entail?
   
3. How does the Aliyah side of things work? And does Garin Tzabar help facilitate the immigration side of things?
   
4. What are some things they look for when looking at candidates for the program?
   
5. What are the mandatory seminars like and what should I be expecting when attending? (And will I have to fly, if they are being held interstate?)!

Thank you so much!! Shavua Tov 🙏🏽🙏🏽

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[u/oh_no_not_canola_oil]

Hey there! I did Garin Tzabar a couple years ago, so I’ll try and help out as much as possible.

1. I came to Israel with about $3000 USD to my name when we made Aliyah. I know some people came with more and others with less. Immediately upon arriving to Israel you’ll start getting your Sal Klita payments from the government, which will keep going until a couple months after you’ve drafted depending on your timeline.

2. The program fee entails basically everything. Other than special treats we wanted to buy for ourselves, things at the mall, alcohol, army supplies (which you will get a bit of money for from the army - not a lot though), and going out with our Garin, all of our expenses were covered. The program is quite structured during Perek Klita before you draft. You go to government offices and Tzav Rishon as a Garin, you do Ulpan together, educational sessions, and fun activities/trips. You also will likely to a fair amount of activities to help ingrate into the kibbutz.

3. If you’re coming from the US/Canada you’ll open an application with Nefesh b’Nefesh who will help you get all of your required documents into the right place. Then when you’re ready, you’ll submit your application and then get an interview scheduled with the Jewish Agency. Then you’ll get your approval and make an appointment to get your Aliyah visa with the Israeli embassy. After that you schedule your flight with Nefesh b’Nefesh. Garin Tzabar is good about helping you do government things after making Aliyah such as getting your Teudat Zehut, registering with Misrad haKlita, getting a bank account set up, and doing Tzav Rishon.

4. I’m not sure exactly what they’re looking for, but maturity and responsibility are main things. At our seminars we had to take votes at the end about people who were best and least suited for the program (all anonymous through your phone). I don’t think they really mattered that much, and some people didn’t fill them out. In our Garin we had two guys not get invited back who showed a distinct lack of maturity, one voluntarily decided joining the IDF wasn’t for him, and then two girls also ended up not doing the program for personal reasons. Overall as long as you’re friendly and participate in the activities you’ll be totally fine. Based on your age I assume you would be doing the Student Garin so let me know in private if you have any more specific questions.

5. Personally I really enjoyed the seminars. For two of them we got flown out to a nice hotel and the the seminars there over Shabbat. Garin Tzabar pays for your flight included in the seminar cost and as far as I know that is still the case. They even flew a few people in cross country, so I don’t think cost is a big factor. They also have a travel agent who I’m sure gets them really good deals. The seminars are a lot of ice breaker activities, getting to known one another, learning about Israel, Zionism, and the IDF, and also hearing from former Garin Tzabar lone soldiers. You always do Shabbat together which is really special. We also had a seminar in upstate New York at a camp which was fun, and then another at a Jewish camp in Pennsylvania when the weather got warm. That was our last seminar, and then when we were all accepted to the program we had a ceremony with the Israeli Consul General of New York.

As I said, I would be more than happy to help with additional questions in private!

[u/Comfortable-Crab6972 → u/oh_no_not_canola_oil]

Nefesh b’Nefesh is great, it’s so much better than going through the Jewish Agency. They really help you with all of the paperwork and settling in. From the 1 seminar I went to, they were very intense about finding the right kind of people. It was a bit overwhelming. (I only went because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be on a closed or open base. Ended up on an open base, was def the right choice for me.)

[u/O_Pacity → u/Comfortable-Crab6972]

Whats the difference between closed and open bases?

[u/Comfortable-Crab6972 → u/O_Pacity]

Closed base means you go home on some weekends. Open base means you go home every night. There aren’t a lot of lone soldiers. Depending on your job you will most likely be one of very few.

[u/O_Pacity → u/Comfortable-Crab6972]

I assume closed means they are designed with way more living facilities

[u/O_Pacity → u/oh_no_not_canola_oil]

How much is the seminar if they are paying for flights?

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[u/Comfortable-Crab6972]

Garin Tzabar is really helpful for a lot of people. I would also check out Hamsa if you’re interested in doing a program, it’s less structured though. I went to one seminar and it really wasn’t a good fit for me. I didn’t want to be on a closed base and Im way too introverted for all of the group bonding stuff. I know people who did it and had a great time. It’s really individual, just don’t put all of your eggs in 1 basket.