Sometimes it is not only good, but necessary to take a break. All day Friday, tensions were running high up here in Northern Israel. Sunrise brought us loud booming noises followed by the sounds of the IDF jets as Hizbulla decided to wake us up early with shelling. Nazralla, head of Hizbulla and Iran operative, was set to make a nationally televised statement at 3pm. Would he open up the Northern front and declare all out war?

I take it all seriously. When I am in the house I make sure to bring with me (from room to room) everything I might need to take into the safe room. Bags of medicine and personal objects for the day, iPad, chargers, cell phone, Bible, purse, keys… at night everything is lined up to grab quickly in the event of a red alert. There is a list taped to the bedroom door. We have 18 seconds to get into the safe room from the moment the alarm sounds. I continually go through checklists in my head. Will I need? Do I have? Did I forget? And so we live-

Instead of spending Friday fretting, I decided to cook for Shabbat. Mostly comfort foods which not only satisfy the always upset stomachs, but food that nourishes the soul. Every Friday John goes to the store to pick up two challah breads. It’s a matter of convenience. This Friday, along with many, many of my Israeli sisters, I made my own. It’s a commandment and a blessing.

This Friday was different somehow. Already three full weeks into the war, we had heard of several miracles. One is the reawakening of the people spiritually. Not only are women who usually are not challah bakers, making their own bread, but women who never light Shabbat candles have decided to start celebrating Shabbat. Thursday night I spoke with a dear Catholic friend back in California. She was going to light Sabbath candles together with her Jewish neighbor who hadn’t kept Shabbat in decades. I love the bonds of friendship between Faith traditions. It’s a beautiful thing. We all need to take a pause from time to time, not only to break away from the busyness but to just be.

And the pause continues in other ways. Throughout the world we have been witnessing a huge rise in antisemitism: on university campuses there are unruly mobs chanting ‘death to Jews;’ people pulling down signs of the kidnapped victims because they do not want the world to know the truth; Jewish cemeteries desecrated and burned; Jewish stars and swastikas marked on the homes of Jews.

This Friday both Israel and the US have issued a warning for Israelis/Jews to reconsider global travel at this time. The world is just too dangerous for a Jew to travel – so what are the leaders doing to curb the threat? Telling people to cancel their travel plans. Planes going to or coming from Israel are now too much of a target. Our Easy Jet airline tickets to go to the UK to visit our daughter at the end of November have been canceled. The only airline flying in and out of Israel is ElAl. For us, this is an unwelcome pause of inconvenience.

It is interesting to note that during a war, most countries experience an egress of citizens fleeing the country (Syria, Ukraine, Lebanon, Nigeria). For the first two weeks after 7 October, tens of thousands of people have flown into Israel to join the IDF or to help out in any way possible. Airlines cancelled flights, but ElAl had full flights several times a day. Israel has had a sizable uptick in returning expats as well as people escaping persecution in their own countries. Our immigration numbers are surpassing all records for this year. This is unheard of in a time of war. It’s beyond time for the Jewish people to return home. No pause. This too is miraculous.

The only other planes entering Israel are chartered private flights. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is here on his third visit since October 7. He is trying to convince our government to reinstate a “pause” in Israeli troop movements in Gaza. This Israeli ceasefire is to allow for more innocent civilians to move into Southern Gaza as well as for more humanitarian aid to come through. There was absolutely no mention of a ceasefire for Hamas/PIJ who are still sending rockets into Israel, albeit more sporadically. Thursday night, Friday and Saturday the greater Tel Aviv area was hit several times. The missiles are currently being fired from S Gaza for the most part.

Netanyahu has adamantly stated the military is not going to break in its mission to clear Gaza of Hamas terrorists. However, they are still letting in 50 semi trucks a day with humanitarian relief from Egypt. The IDF admits 100 trucks of aid in through the Kerem Shalom Israeli border crossing. According to a senior US official in a press briefing in Israel yesterday, oxygen concentrators and other “tunnel materials were being smuggled in as well as chemicals for explosives assembly disguised as flour sacks.” It was discovered that several ambulances coming across the Egyptian border were stacked with well-armed ‘paramedic ‘ terrorist infiltrators and Iranian RPGs and guns.

Blinken also requested a pause in order to get Americans out of Gaza through Egypt. At the press briefing in Tel Aviv it was stated, “The pause in allowing foreign nationals to leave was not due to Israel, but was caused by Hamas not allowing anyone to leave Gaza. Another route of escape from the Red Line dividing Northern from Southern Gaza has been completely shut down by Hamas operatives who are shooting their own civilians, forcing them back into the war zone.

“After Hamas was convinced in negotiations by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, to allow the exit of foreign nationals and wounded, Egypt on Wednesday agreed to open its Rafah border crossing.

“Hamas was to provide a list of people wishing to leave beforehand, which was then vetted.

“But the list that was provided, once it was vetted, had about a third of the wounded Palestinians on the list were members of Hamas, fighters. They’re members of Hamas,” according to the U.S. official.” – the New York Post and Times of Israel.

Israel is supposed to play by the rules. Israel is almost always the country accused at the UN of war crimes and of crimes against humanity, although it follows the Geneva Convention Rules of Engagement. Thursday Iran was made head of the UN Human Rights Council. There is definitely a pause from reality and a pause from common sense in the world.

As for the Israeli Defense Forces, there is no pause. Time is more and more of the essence for the rescue of the 234 hostages, especially the babies and the elderly (under 12 months, over 80 years). The army has now completely encircled Gaza City and is involved in building to building urban warfare. Tunnel systems and entrances are being located. Robots and other high tech instruments are being used to limit casualties as the tunnel system is well booby trapped. The terror infrastructure is being hit from land, air and sea.

Concerning pauses and breaks, Yehezkiel Z., a NYFD Captain was going to volunteer with a group of 117 other US firefighters to come to Israel to fight. Boots on the ground wherever most needed. He spoke with his brother-in-law, an IDF chaplain who told Hezekiah, “Stop. You are big strong guys, Hezi. But that’s not what we need right now. You know what we need? A magen, a shield. A shield of protection. We need you to daven (pray) for us 24/7. We have men and women here praying and saying Psalms. But we need prayers from midnight to 6am Israeli time. Especially from 2am-5am when the fighting gets tough here. That’s 7-10 pm New York time. We need your prayer covering. G-d’s shield. That’s what we need right now, Hezi.”

So I think we can all do this. Take 15 minutes. Read a Psalm out loud. Say a prayer for there to be no or only a few casualties. Say a prayer to end evil. Say a prayer for the wounded. Several people have asked me what Scriptures I use when I pray. I will include them at the bottom. If you don’t pray, send us some good vibes. We can use all the help we can get right now.

Scriptures I am praying:

Genesis 12:2-3

Psalms 3, 5, 7, 17, 18, 27, 37, 56, 83, 91, 121

Proverbs 3:21-26

For the hostages: Psalm 31

Also:

Zechariah 9:1-5

Jeremiah 39:17-18.

I love Isaiah chapters 51-55

John’s favorite is the story of Sennacherib, also a beautiful poem by George Gordon, Lord Byron (“The Destruction of Sennacherib “). It can be found in 2 Kings:18-19, 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 36-37.

It recounts the story of Judaea and Jerusalem when it was completely surrounded by not only the Assyrians, but all the neighboring armies of the Middle East. Things looked pretty hopeless. Instead of fretting, the Israelites m ,under King Hezekiah, prayed and trusted in G-d. In the morning, before the Hebrews set out to battle, they found all 185,000 enemy soldiers dead before them. Sennacherib had fled back to Nineveh and no battle had to be fought.

Until next time, May there be peace to all people of good will. 🕊️