I am not that Yael Shahar. The Yael Shahar who lectures on counter terrorism and intelligence, who studies the art of war, who became proficient at the art of killing at a distance, that is not me.
I must admit that I share a life with her; we share a house, an overdraft, and, somewhat awkwardly, a husband.
I am the other side of that Yael. A softer side? No indeed! Let us say, a side that has lived a subconscious, if no less real, existence.
Until now.
What has changed?
Well, that is Ovadya’s story and I’ll let him tell it. My part is to give expression to those things that have until now lived a less public existence, pulling the strings behind the scenes, but never said openly. The thoughts of Teshuvah and Redemption, the understanding of death, the appreciation of life.
As for that other Yael, she’s still there. She’s not hard to find. I, on the other hand…well, you’ll have to come looking for me.
So who am I?
I’m a student, both of Judaism and Life. But what exactly I study isn’t so easily categorized. I study Talmud, Jewish philosophy, the development of Halakhah… And then there are the wider interests—mathematical logic, relativity physics, the history of ideas.
What else? Well, I am a teacher, though for most of my life, this has been the provenance of “that other Yael”. In that persona I have taught Methodologies of Threat Assessment, Terrorism Informatics, Fourth Generation Warfare, and Organizational Dynamics of Terrorist Organizations. Oh, and sniping…. Yes, of course I’ve taught the art of long-range riflery.
But now, it seems time to try my hand at other things….
