Last Sunday morning Israelis were the recipients of a flat out there’s no other explanation for what occurred but:
Miracle
I don’t bandy the word about lightly.
Yes, every day is full of unrecognized miracles and the continued existence of the Jewish people and our return to the Land of Israel all fall under the heading. But this was on another scale given the intensity and time frame of just a few minutes.
9 million people, waiting for hours for an unprecedented attack by hundreds of lethal weapons (60 tons of explosives), were left virtually unscathed. The massively invested in defenses worked nearly perfectly, both the Israeli Air Force and others (I heard from a helicopter pilot that the Americans were fabulous) did an extraordinary job, but even one missile could have killed and injured many and this week would have looked very different for mankind.
No bombast. True.
I’m feeling deep gratitude for the people who did (so well) what had to be done and for that extra layer of protection that we pray for but don’t always merit, for reasons way beyond our understanding.
(Perhaps a national הגומל Hagomel blessing is needed to acknowledge the escape from death)
This in no way minimizes the horror and grief on the brutal murder of Binyamin Achimeir, the sweet-faced 14-year-old killed by jihadists for the ‘crime’ of shepherding in the Shomron.
We have work to do, the war is by no means over and has now entered a much more serious, regional phase.
However, we are not alone.
It will take me a long time to process what happened. Pesach is coming with its ever-relevant message of the collective experiences of our Am, and the pillars of fire and cloud that accompany us.
Yup.
ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד.
ואין על צה׳ל
Shabbat Shalom,
-Eve Harow
