* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin ([email protected])
The video of a Wolt courier bringing deliveries to IDF soldiers in Gaza has gone viral. I spoke to Officer Yaakov Selavan, the subject of the video, and he explained his motivation as follows: “We have now entered the month of Adar. We know that ‘when Adar arrives, we increase in joy,’ yet it is difficult to increase in joy during a war. Nevertheless, I found a way to increase joy in Gaza despite the difficult moments and the chaos, the pressures and the battle fatigue. "
"Most of the soldiers in my brigade know me as their lieutenant commander and combat operations officer. Suddenly they see me riding a bicycle with treats in a Wolt delivery bag. It’s a surprise, it’s funny, it breaks the routine of waiting for orders and the tension.
"I made deliveries to the staging areas at Ramiel, Shejaiya, el-Bureij, and Khan Yunis, and I saw over and over again how the soldiers’ laughter was a release for them and also for me. Following the laughter, we would enter into deep discussions, processing our experiences and talking about the lessons we had learned.
"My commanding officer said to me with a loving smile: 'Selavan, you are such a fool.’ I answered him: ‘If I wasn’t a little foolish from time to time, I would lose my sanity.’
The month of Adar reminds us that laughter, an expression of ‘foolishness,’ you might say, is vital to keeping us sane. You don’t have to dress up as a Wolt delivery guy in the the middle of Khan Yunis but, if you look for them, you can still find many opportunities and moments to provoke laughter.