He was meant to arrive at 10:30am, but Mendel Roth was almost an hour late for his first day of work as a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
The rigour and discipline of his new career might have proven a bit of an adjustment for the singer, who has even penned a song about the new gig.
At the IDF draft centre in Tel Aviv's outer suburbs, a steady stream of new recruits walked through the gates to start their national service.
But few look like Mendel Roth, dressed in a long black coat and wide-brimmed black hat, with curled locks of hair stretching down his face.
In Israel, everyone must serve at least two years in the IDF once they turn 18.
For decades, ultra-Orthodox men like Mendel could avoid being drafted — as long as they continued their studies of the Jewish faith in yeshivas — institutions that focus on the study of traditional religious texts — until the age of 26.
Last June, Israel's Supreme Court ruled the exemptions from national service afforded to the nation's ultra-Orthodox community could not continue.
That decision has triggered widespread protests by some ultra-Orthodox men who say they serve their country, not through fighting, but through religious study.
But at a time of war, Israeli reservists say more ultra-Orthodox men need to join them on the front lines.
'The cry of the nation is a real cry'
Mendel is signing up to a dedicated IDF brigade for ultra-Orthodox men in which they can continue their religious traditions, while also serving in the military.
But he says his decision to enlist is also prompted by his desire to protect Israel.
"Without October 7, I wouldn't be here," he told the ABC.
"The cry of the nation is a real cry, screaming to the heavens."
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that left nearly 1,200 people dead and a further 250 people taken hostage.
Since then, Israel has been at war with Hamas in Gaza, a conflict that has left about 48,000 dead, with another 70,457 wounded, according to health officials in the strip.
A ceasefire that came into effect in January lapsed two weeks ago.
So the 33-year-old has made a decision few others in his community have: to willingly join the IDF, planning to serve for two years.
His father is an "admor", a senior rabbi from one of the oldest ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods in Jerusalem.
"In my family, it is complicated," Mendel said.
"They weren't raised with this issue, so it's not easy. But I think they know my soul, they know my intention is holy, they understand what I want, they know I'm not going [to the army] because I want to leave the heritage or anything like that."
As he considered whether to break ranks with many others who share his faith and join the ranks of the IDF, Mendel wrote and recorded a song.
The catchy tune and music video, showing Mendel wandering and dancing through the streets armed with a vintage tape recorder and headphones, speaks of the tension he felt between his faith and his loyalty to his nation and fellow Israelis.
"In the Torah it says you must fight for the land of Israel," he said.
The push to force the ultra-Orthodox to take up arms
In the months since Israel's Supreme Court ended the exemption on military conscription for some ultra-Orthodox religious students, thousands of draft orders have been sent out.
Thousands of arrest warrants have also been issued for those who have not complied.
The situation has led to violent protests across the country, with members of the conservative religious communities proclaiming their allegiance is to their faith rather than to the Israeli state, and that they would rather be thrown in jail than be forced to undertake national service.
Some have decided to accept the call-up, including 21-year-old Uriel Cohen from Israel's largest ultra-Orthodox city, Bnei Brak.
Arriving at the draft centre with a duffel bag over his shoulder and a number of plastic bags carrying his possessions, Uriel said he had not considered joining the army until last year.
"Suddenly I said, 'There's no way that I will live in this country and not do something to contribute to it,'" he said.
One of nine siblings, Uriel said some of his brothers and sisters had no idea where he had gone.
"All of sudden, now the house is empty, my room is empty and it'll be like, 'Where's Uriel?'"
"My parents [won't allow] me to go home. It really, really bothers them that suddenly I'll be seen in uniform with a weapon."
The political battle to reinstate orthodox exemptions
Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is considering legislation proposed by the government to reinstate the exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
If it does not pass, it could derail the Netanyahu government's agenda and existence.
Some religious members of the governing coalition are threatening to vote against the budget if the bill is not passed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the legislation would have dual goals — formalising the status of ultra-Orthodox community members who were studying at yeshivas, while also bolstering the number of ultra-Orthodox men being drafted into the military.
The United Torah Judaism party is one of the most vocal supporters of the exemptions being restored.
Its chair Yitzak Pindrus insisted the issue presented an existential threat for Israel, and that support for religious study was one of the only reasons the state existed.
"If you don't keep the Jewish tradition, if you don't keep the Jewish culture, we wouldn't be back here in the country," he told the ABC.
Mr Pindrus said the argument was particularly tense, given Israel was at war on multiple fronts.
"The war, when you have 100,000 people, 200,000 people, 300,000 people with families out there serving in the army, then mothers are not sleeping at night, wives are not sleeping … it's very easy emotionally to say to the Jewish public, 'Listen, you see these guys? They're out of the business.'"
He argued the matter of protecting the exemptions had been repeatedly delayed, and needed to be dealt with urgently to provide certainty for the ultra-Orthodox community.
Reservists accuse politicians of double standards
Thousands of reservists have been called up during the war in Gaza and Israel's other fronts, such as in Lebanon.
Yair Weigler, 29, is a schoolteacher and the founder of the Forum of Religious Reservists, which has been lobbying politicians not to restore the exemptions.
He has spent more than 200 days away from his family and his students while serving in the IDF.
He said there were many reservists of faith who were fed up with the double standards afforded to the ultra-Orthodox community.
"The ultra-Orthodox did not take part in the war, in the army, but they don't understand that the reality has changed," he said.
"They don't understand that they can no longer say, 'I'll sit and study Torah and you'll go and die.'
"There are ultra-Orthodox parties sitting in the cabinet [and] in the government who send me again and again to fight, and their people they exempt and say, 'They won't go.' We're not willing to accept that anymore."
Mr Weigler argued the Torah set out the responsibilities of all Jews.
"There is a verse which says, 'Don't stand on the blood of your neighbour,'" he said.
"You cannot watch your brother being killed and not do anything."
Israel's parliament is considering legislation to restore the exemptions, with threats being made against the Netanyahu government if it does not pass by the end of March.
