- IDFצה"לצבא ההגנה לישראל
- The Israel Defense Forces. In Hebrew the acronym is Tzahal.
- Tzav Rishon (First Order)צו ראשון
- Your first appearance at the recruitment office: medical checks, the Dapar test, a personal interview and a Hebrew assessment. Usually at 16½–17.
- recruitment officeלשכת הגיוס
- Where you report for Tzav Rishon and later for the draft itself.
- draft candidate (malshab)מלש"במועמד לשירות ביטחון
- What you are called between Tzav Rishon and the day you actually enlist.
- Daparדפ"רדירוג פסיכוטכני ראשוני
- A psychometric test scored 10–90 (average 50). It measures verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning, and it can be retaken. Dapar is the threshold for elite-unit selections, officer courses and most technology roles.
- Kaba (Kabat)קב"אקבוצת איכות (מ-2022: קב"ת)
- A composite quality score on a 41–56 scale, built mostly from Dapar, the interview and your education record. It is the gate to the prestigious tracks: the academic reserve, the pilot course, elite intelligence. Officially renamed Kabat in 2022, still called Kaba by everyone.
- medical profileפרופיל רפואי
- A number from 21 to 97 summarising your health. 97 is the maximum and opens every combat unit; 82 covers field units and infantry; 72 combat service other than infantry and recon; 64 combat support plus some combat roles; 45 non-combat roles without heavy physical work; 24 temporarily unfit; 21 unfit to serve. There is no profile 100.
- Hebrew scoreציון עברית
- A 5–8 scale set by how you speak at the interview; some candidates also take a reading-comprehension test. It gates some roles — for a new immigrant it is the score that improves fastest.
- Yom Ha-MEA (assessment day)יום המא"היום מיון, איתור והכוונה
- A professional assessment day you are invited to based on your scores. It measures separate traits — information processing, spatial perception, teamwork, sustained attention, maturity — and those marks appear verbatim in the requirements of many roles.
- gibush (selection camp)גיבוש
- A multi-day physical and mental selection for combat and special units: sustained effort, teamwork and pressure. They are not measuring records — they are watching how you behave once it gets hard.
- itur (active selection)איתור
- Itur roles are the ones you reach through a dedicated selection day or gibush, rather than by scores and preferences alone.
- preferences questionnaireשאלון העדפות
- The form where you mark the roles you want. Placement combines your scores, these preferences and the army's needs. Older soldiers call it the manila.
- draft orderצו גיוס
- The notice with your enlistment date and where to report.
- tironut (basic training)טירונות
- Every soldier's basic training. Its level is written as a number: 02 is the shortest, then 03, 05 and up for combat roles.
- security clearanceסיווג ביטחוני
- The vetting done before classified roles: a questionnaire and sometimes an interview. Foreign citizenship or long stays abroad lengthen the process but do not by themselves rule you out.
- mashak (NCO specialist)מש"קמפקד שאינו קצין
- A commander who is not an officer: a specialist responsible for a domain and for soldiers — a welfare mashak, an operations mashak.
- squad commanderמ"כמפקד כיתה
- The first rung of command — leads a squad after the squad commanders' course.
- officer trackקצונה
- The senior command track. Officer suitability is assessed three times: after Tzav Rishon, at the end of basic training and after the officer tests.
- Bahad (training base)בה"דבסיס הדרכה
- A training base where the professional courses run. Each corps has its own, numbered — Bahad 20, for example.
- Aman (Military Intelligence Directorate)אמ"ןאגף המודיעין
- The IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate, home to most intelligence units including Unit 8200.
- General Staffמטכ"להמטה הכללי
- The IDF's top command level.
- infantryחי"רחיל רגלים
- The corps that fights on foot: Golani, Givati, Nahal, Kfir, the Paratroopers.
- batash (routine security)בט"שביטחון שוטף
- Day-to-day security work — patrols, checkpoints, guarding borders and towns — as opposed to training or war.
- Gadna (pre-military youth program)גדנ"עגדודי נוער
- A week of army activity for high-school students — a taste of service before the draft.
- Kaban (mental-health officer)קב"ןקצין בריאות הנפש
- The unit's mental-health officer — where you go with difficulties during service.
- Tash (soldier welfare)ת"שתנאי שירות
- The system that handles a soldier's service conditions: money, housing, lone-soldier status, family problems. In the unit it is the welfare mashak you talk to.
- lone soldierחייל בודד
- A soldier whose parents are abroad or who has no supporting family. It brings extra pay, additional leave days and housing support — a common status for an immigrant who came alone.
- mandatory serviceשירות סדיר
- Compulsory service: currently about three years for men and about two for women, depending on the role.
- keva (career service)קבע
- Paid service continuing after the mandatory term. Many technology roles require a keva commitment in exchange for long training.
- reserve duty (miluim)מילואים
- Periodic service after discharge, mostly in combat units and in-demand trades.
- Shnat Sherut (a volunteer year)שנת שירות
- A volunteer year before enlistment — an officially recognised deferral for educational or community work.
- mechina (pre-military academy)מכינה קדם צבאית
- A preparatory year before enlistment: study, fitness and team-building, usually ahead of combat or command service.
- Atuda (academic reserve)עתודה אקדמית
- An army-funded degree before service, in exchange for a longer service in a role matching the profession.
- Talpiotתלפיות
- The IDF's elite science-and-technology program: a physics and mathematics degree followed by systems development, with a long service commitment.
- Havatzalotחבצלות
- The intelligence reserve program: a humanities or Middle-East studies degree alongside intelligence training, then a role in Aman.
- Unit 8200יחידה 8200
- Aman's large signals-intelligence unit — a well-known source of high-tech talent.
- Unit 669יחידה 669
- The air force's airborne search-and-rescue unit; entry is through a long and demanding gibush.
- Sayeret Matkalסיירת מטכ"ל
- The General Staff's commando unit for intelligence gathering and special operations; an unusually long selection.
- Golaniגולני
- A veteran infantry brigade, brown beret.
- Givatiגבעתי
- An infantry brigade, purple beret.
- Paratroopersצנחנים
- The airborne infantry brigade, red beret, includes a parachuting course.
- Nahalנח"לנוער חלוצי לוחם
- An infantry brigade that grew out of the youth movements, light green beret.
- Duvdevanדובדבן
- A commando unit for undercover work in urban areas.
- Shayetet 13שייטת 13
- The navy's naval commando; a long maritime selection.
- armored fighting vehiclesרק"םרכב קרבי משוריין
- The umbrella term for armored vehicles: tanks, APCs and engineering vehicles.
- APC (nagmash)נגמ"שנושא גייסות משוריין
- An armored vehicle that carries soldiers on the battlefield.
- weapons and combat materielאמל"חאמצעי לחימה
- All fighting materiel: weapons, ammunition and combat equipment.
- operations room (chamal)חמ"לחדר מלחמה
- The situation room from which events on the ground are tracked and managed in real time.
- study units (yechidot limud)יח"ליחידות לימוד
- The unit that measures how much of a subject you took in the matriculation exams. "5 units of mathematics" is a common requirement for technology roles.
- new immigrant (oleh chadash)עולים חדשים
- Someone who immigrated to Israel. Years in the country and the Hebrew score affect both service length and access to some roles.