The War of Miracles

By Netivotgirl

Yesterday I made my way to Ma'ale adumim (my friend's keyboard in Jerusalem is unable to make a capital 'a'- my apologies!) Our 12th graders from Ulpanat Tzvia Sedot Negev were hosted by our sister school in that lovely city for two days of study. The trip was stressful, as our van entered Sederot. We travelers had all heard of the miracle earlier in the week when a driver's quick thinking had saved lives. Immediately evacuating his van during a colour red alert saved passengers and driver alike as shrapnel blew out all the van's windows! So, yesterday we all had belts unbuckled, ready to bolt!

Then during the ride we all heard of the latest developments up North: several Katyusha rockets arrived from Syria or Iran via Lebanese terrorists. This latest news caused our pupils to become distinctly depressed. Upon arrival, my colleague from Kfar Maimon and I found a disheartened group of girls who had no wish to study. However, once we got the ball rolling, the atmosphere improved. We teachers called every girl aside one by one to assess their preparedness for the upcoming oral Bagrut exam in English.

This was an excellent opportunity to feel the pulse of each pupil and give support and advice where needed. One girl suddenly burst out crying during an assignment. Taking her aside I assured her that her reaction was normal after 12 days of sirens and rocketing on her Moshav. I shared with her that one day this week I too had cried at the drop of a hat from the accumulated stress.

Her friend meanwhile boasted of becoming stronger in her faith since her brother, a Givati soldier, was deployed to Gaza. The most moving discussion, however, came as each girl told of miracles she had witnessed in her neighborhood. One girl from Moshav Maagalim lives near the local mikve, which has a huge tank of gas hooked up to heat the water. FOUR times rockets have landed nearby, and pikud ha'oref has no explanation as to why the gas didn't ignite!

There's a simple explanation that even Hamas knows. Interviewed earlier this week a Chamas representative was queried by a correspondent, "How do you explain the fact that so many thousands of rockets have been shot at us with such few casualties?" (Boruch Hashem :)
"Your G-d is protecting you!" was the answer. Distinctly uncomfortable, the reporter replied more or less, "Come now, please get serious! This is a news report!" The Chamas spokesman continued, "It is true! In our practice sessions our aim is perfect! But when we rocket you your G-d protects you and they land where we have not sent them!"

Nobody in southern Israel can argue with this glaring fact, so obvious even the blind can see it! Hashem is guarding us. Yes, sadly, there have been casualties, like our school's dear Ella abukasis (still no capital a on the keyboard) three years ago. However, illogical events that can only be defined as "miracles" due to siyata dishmaya- help from heaven have repeatedly continued to occur. Witness the woman up my street whose entire house collapsed like a house of cards motzei Shabbat last week. She left the wreckage with a very minor leg wound.

The media such as "Mishpacha" may call this "The War in Gaza." We civilians of the south call this "The War of Miracles!"