It was all very familiar.

“Who goes there? A rightful brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity and neophytes who desire more light on Brotherly Love…” I had heard those words hundreds of times. But this time was different, almost an out-of-body experience. I had flown 8,118 miles to watch my son, Sam, become our brother.

It had been 6,874 days since the first time I held him in my arms. I remember thinking then – among a thousand other emotions – that I hoped he would one day join our great fraternity. And just like that, in what felt like the blink of an eye, I was standing in a room at the Olami Center in Herzliya, waiting for Sam to walk through the door and receive the secrets and mysteries of our fraternity.

The Aleph Chapter, AEPi’s first chapter in Israel, was chartered at what is now Reichman University. Mensches that they are, the brothers asked if I would surprise Sam and serve on the ritual team. I was moved beyond words. Of course, I said yes.

I put on the familiar blue nylon robe and looked around the room. The atmosphere hummed with excitement as brothers filtered in, clapped shoulders, traded jokes, and practiced their parts for the ritual. But there was one striking difference from every other initiation I’d ever attended: several brothers wore holstered firearms.

The weight of that moment did not escape me. Nearly everyone in that room was either currently serving or had completed service in the IDF. Many had been to Gaza or the Northern Border and had seen active combat. In my 38 years in AEPi, I had never felt prouder to be a brother – standing shoulder to shoulder with men who stand in protection of our ancestral homeland. They represent the very best our brotherhood has to offer.

The ceremony was beautiful. Sam was initiated with my badge – the same one my nephew, Corey, wore when he joined in 2011 at George Washington University. Afterwards came the big, back-slapping hugs, the photos, and yes, a tear or two during Good & Welfare. I gave Sam his first set of letters and a few gifts. You couldn’t have wiped the smile from my face as we headed back to Tel Aviv.

However, when I returned to my hotel room, I felt a sense of unease. I had just experienced a “top ten” day in my life and had been walking ten feet off the ground (thank you, Marc Cohn—IYKYK).

I realized that being at Sam’s initiation wasn’t the destination I thought it would be. What I want for him is so much bigger. I want his AEPi experience to be deep and meaningful – more than just the privilege of wearing our letters, but a life-changing journey filled with laughter, friendships, and memories that span decades. AEPi can be an endless well of relationships that take you – literally – around the world if you let it.

Having joined the ranks of fathers who have initiated their sons into AEPi, I now understand just how special it feels to be part of this “fraternity within a fraternity.” I also think about the next generation of legacies on deck – Leo Derdiger, Samuel Carr, Richard Brook, Cam Neiberg, Jonah Waitz, Lee Kaplan, Samuel & Ezra Farbman, my great nephew, Camilo Jacobson, and so many others. My hope is simple: that wherever they join, their AEPi colony or chapter honors our legacy policy and upholds the core values that make our fraternity unlike any other Greek‑letter organization in the world.

To Benjamin Alfon, Yoni Ben-Naim, Tzuf Netanel, Kevin Simckes, David Steinbock, Daniel Tawil, and all my brothers in the Aleph Chapter: I am eternally grateful for the gift you have given me and my family,  one I can never repay. Perhaps that is the true definition of brotherhood. And after all these years, this poem now carries new meaning for me:

No one could tell me where my soul might be;

I searched for G‑d, but He eluded me;

I sought my Brother out and found all three.

B’Shalom,

PSM Jeff Jacobson

(Editor’s Note 1: Recommend an AEPi legacy here. Make sure you let the international office know as soon as possible of these young men so we can notify the chapter!)

(Editor’s Note 2: Do you have something to say or a story to tell? Submit your own Voices piece for consideration to [email protected] and we’d be happy to work with you and publish your story!)