My Quiet Shabbat

The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.
―G.K. Chesterton

הִנֵּה לֹא-יָנוּם, וְלֹא יִישָׁן-- שׁוֹמֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל
Behold, He that keeps Israel doth neither slumber nor sleep.
―Psalms 121

I received a WhatsApp message this morning from a close relative (who lives in Not-Israel) who told me that she was thinking of me and my family and knew that I had not had such a quiet Shabbat as the last one had been. She was referencing the rocket that hit a house in Beer Sheva Saturday afternoon. Luckily, there were no injuries. The house that was hit was not in my neighbourhood. I don't know where it was, but I knew it wasn't particularly close by because the 'boom' wasn't particularly loud. 

But our Shabbat was the same as the previous one in terms of 'quiet'. Here in Beer Sheva, we get an average of one siren a day. Sometimes there aren't any and two or three days can pass without running to a safe room, and then there will be three in one day. So, on average, one a day. A lot of places get MUCH more than that, so I'm grateful. (GRATEFUL???? ! I'm grateful to terrorists for not shooting missiles at my home? I'm definitely going mad). 

Though yesterday was the first time a house in Beer Sheva took a direct hit, those daily missiles have caused damage. Parks have burned, cars have been destroyed, there are craters is some roads. Gravestones were shattered when a rocket hit the cemetery outside of town several days ago. Shrapnel from the many intercepted rockets is everywhere, including in my front lawn. 

Shabbat was punctuated by the usual sounds of continuous aircraft overhead. We live quite close to a large airforce base, and we hear the comings and goings even when there is 'peace'. But now there is a continual roar of fighter planes overhead heading to or returning from missions. I regularly scan the sky for signs of helicopters, though these can be heard long before they are seen. As opposed to the jets, helicopters fly much lower and are slower. Helicopters have two main purposes: A) they transport equipment and personnel to wherever needed, and B) they transport wounded to the hospital. In the case of the present war, personnel and equipment are already in place, leaving only option B. Fortunately, apart from that very first awful black day, we've heard few helicopters. 

But we do hear the booms. Less than 40 km from Gaza, we hear, especially in the early mornings or late evenings, or the quiet afternoon hours of a Shabbat, the booms of tanks, artillery, the Iron Dome intercepting incoming rockets. My ear is not good enough to distinguish between the different kind of booms. 

In normal times, we do not use electronics on Shabbat - no TV, computers, phones. We take a break from it all. But these days, one can leave the radio on one particular station, called - appropriately enough - the quiet station, that has no programming except to warn of incoming rockets. Therefore, our quiet day is occasionally interrupted by announcements of incoming rockets, not on Beer Sheva, but on Ashdod, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Sderot, Netivot, Petach Tikva, Rishon L'Zion, Nir Galim, Yavne, Rechovot, and a hundred other places. 

The day is quiet in terms of children playing outside, skateboarding up and down my street, or of men leisurely walking home from shul arguing politics, religion, or whose children cause the most grief and/or joy. There are fewer joggers, fewer strolling young couples, fewer music-blaring cars racing up and down. The streets are mostly empty. 

The second part of the WhatsApp message my relative sent me was 'what can we do to help'. 
Many people have asked that question in one form or another. 

I have therefore compiled a list for four simple items: 

1. If you haven't already, give money to a Jewish organization - preferably one that supports Israel. If you've already given, give more. 
2. Check on your friends, especially the Israeli ones, or ones with family/friends in Israel. Let them know you're thinking of them. It means more than I can describe, in these times, to know that there is support and love out there. 
3. Pray. Read Tehilim (Psalms). Say a prayer for the soldiers, for the State of Israel and its people, say a prayer for the hostages, and for the families of those massacred. Pray more. Pray more and mean it. 
4. Do a 'mitzvah' - a good deed. Bring food to a neighbour who is not feeling well. Let a mother with a crying kid go before you at the supermarket checkout. Invite a person new to your community over for a meal or even just coffee. Check in on older relatives and friends you haven't spoken to in a while. Shop for the housebound. Buy local from small businesses, even if you pay a bit more. Bring toys or flowers or books to a hospital. Tell someone you like their dress, or their haircut, or the beautiful roses in their yard. Smile at people. Be nice. 

We are witnessing so much evil in the world today. While the IDF is doing its part in eliminating some of that evil, it is up to the rest of us to counter it by increasing the good, by uniting and supporting each other, by sharing love and joy.

Together, we will win. 

מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת חַיָּלֵי צְבָא הֲגַנָּה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, הָעוֹמְדִים עַל מִשְׁמַר אַרְצֵנוּ וְעָרֵי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מִגְּבוּל הַלְּבָנוֹן וְעַד מִדְבַּר מִצְרַיִם וּמִן הַיָּם הַגָּדוֹל עַד לְבוֹא הָעֲרָבָה בַּיַּבָּשָׁה בָּאֲוִיר וּבַיָּם. יִתֵּן ה’ אֶת אוֹיְבֵינוּ הַקָּמִים עָלֵינוּ נִגָּפִים לִפְנֵיהֶם. הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא יִשְׁמֹר וְיַצִּיל אֶת חַיָלֵינוּ מִכָּל צָרָה וְצוּקָה וּמִכָּל נֶגַע וּמַחֲלָה וְיִשְׁלַח בְּרָכָה וְהַצְלָחָה בְּכָל מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵיהֶם. יַדְבֵּר שׂוֹנְאֵינוּ תַּחְתֵּיהֶם וִיעַטְרֵם בְּכֶתֶר יְשׁוּעָה וּבַעֲטֶרֶת נִצָּחון. וִיקֻיַּם בָּהֶם הַכָּתוּב: כִּי ה’ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּכֶם לְהִלָּחֵם לָכֶם עִם אֹיְבֵיכֶם לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם: וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן:

He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.