Shlicha Ella Bokobza speaks about her service in the Israel Defense Forces during a Shaving Israel fundraiser on May 17 at Traditional Congregation. Bokobza was trained to be in the army and continued with outstanding service to become an officer. Her responsibilities included training soldiers on the difficult task of operating heavy machinery to clear physical paths for other IDF units to go through. There were only 20 women in this unit, yet she was in charge of training mostly men for these difficult jobs. Shaving Israel is a St. Louis nonprofit that raises money to provide much-needed personal items to Israeli soldiers, including a variety of toiletries, socks, shoelaces, sewing kits and other essentials. Also speaking at the event were Shaving Israel cofounder Rachel Miller and Sar-El volunteer Laurie Walker. Find more information about the group online at shavingisrael.org.