Your first encounter with the army is your Tzav Rishon (lit. first draft). Tzav rishon takes place at your local draft office. It is used to set your physical profile, kaba (quality score) and dapar (intelligence score). The day will comprise of data verification, a personal interview (only for males who pass the Hebrew Test), a medical examination and an intelligence test. Bring with you any relevant doctor’s notes and graduation certificates.
Imut Nitunim (Data Verification) (yellow station) Here you will be asked personal information including your address and telephone number, educational background and years of study, languages you speak, profession (if any), certificates and licenses, family problems, and individual needs including learning disabilities, religious levels etc. At this time you will be given a Hebrew level evaluation which will determine whether you will need to attend an IDF Ulpan or not. You will need to score at least a 6 to avoid attending the IDF ulpan.
Rayon Ishi (Personal Interview) (red station) The objective of this interview is to determine if one is motivated enough to serve in combat. One who receives a low score at the interview will not be allowed to serve in combat. Women who are interested in serving in a combat unit will be asked to a personal interview at a later date. If you do not pass the Hebrew test you will not be given this interview.
Bidikot Refuiot (Medical Examination) (blue station) The medical exam is to determine your physical profile. It includes a urine test, eye exam, height/weight, and a body examination. In rare cases you may be asked to take a blood test if the doctors feel that you may have a medical condition or you have a tattoo.
Mivchanim Psycotechni (Intelligence Test) These tests are comprised of quantitative reasoning exercises – math, shapes and reading comprehension. You will have the option to take the test in one of the following languages: English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Russian and Amharic. The non-Hebrew version does not have reading comprehension and is a significantly shorter test (45 minutes compared to 2.5 hours).
Mador Prat (Individual Department) – to get your lone soldier status you must meet with a mashikat tash (social worker). He/She will take all your info and process it in order to get your status as a lone soldier. You can also give them your rent contract in order to get rent subsidy from the army once your service starts. If you do not give them your rent contract you can always give it to the mashikat tash of your unit. *Remember to ask for a sisma (code) for your ezor ishi (personal file) on the site mitgaisim.idf.il there you can check all of your scores from the tzav rishon and updates concerning your draft.
Kaban (Mental Health Officer) You may be asked to see a mental health officer. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean necessarily that the IDF thinks you are crazy. It could be that you said something in the data verification stage that alerted their attention. For example if you said that you do not talk with one of your parents. In cases like this the kaban just wants to check that there are not any issues that will effect your serivice. Even if you do not get called to see the Kaban but you feel the need to, you can make a request to see a kaban.