Northern Town Deserted on Shabbos
There is no question that this country is being sustained by miracles. This past erev Shabbos, 25 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Meron, but not a single rocket caused any damage. We have long grown accustomed to hearing news reports about rockets falling in open areas, and we have come to take these things for granted. But the truth is that every rocket that lands in an open area is a tremendous demonstration of Divine chessed and hashgocha protis.
Nevertheless, even the mere prospect of missile fire is wreaking havoc on its own. A man from Yerushalayim told me that he spent this past Shabbos in an eight-room house in Meron. Every year, he rents the house for his family, to the tune of thousands of shekels per night. The spacious house is generally rented by older people who want to spend time there with their married children and extended families. This year, his family wanted to avail themselves of the accommodations once again, but when they called to inquire about it in advance, the price was too high for them and they discarded the idea. Two days later, the owner called them to say he was willing to give them a significant discount, which turned out to be a huge reduction; the final price was just enough to cover the cost of electricity for the weekend and washing the linens and towels. It was a simple matter of supply and demand; with no paying customers in sight, the rent took a nosedive. “There was almost nobody in the entire community of Ohr Haganuz, near Meron, that Shabbos,” the man told me. “The regular residents weren’t there, and there were no vacationers either. There was barely even a minyan on Shabbos. In fact, the rabbonim in Meron instructed local residents not to congregate in one place due to the intelligence warnings of potential missile fire.”
Still, as I mentioned, miracles are taking place all around us—and sometimes it even takes a highly improbable turn of events for us to become aware of those miracles. This was the case in Tel Aviv three weeks ago, when a massive terror attack was miraculously averted. As time passes, more evidence has been discovered that lends credence to the theory (which is supported by security footage from the scene) that the terrorist was planning to enter the shul and merely took a step backward to adjust the explosives he was carrying, which then blew up on the spot. Had the terrorist blown himself up in some hidden location, we would never even have known about the miracle that saved numerous lives. But since the explosion occurred in the middle of the city, just a short distance from his target, we now know that he was moments away from carrying out a dreadful massacre. One week earlier, a car exploded in an empty area, in what the authorities believe was a premature detonation of a bomb that terrorists planned to use for a major attack. Two terrorists were killed in the car, in what was dubbed a “work accident.” But for a believing Jew, this was no accident at all; it was a miraculous display of hashgocha pratis. Let us not forget that we recite the words “hallelu es Hashem kol goyim—praise Hashem, all the nations” in Hallel. Only the nations of the world truly know the extent of their schemes against us, and only they can truly praise Hashem for having saved us from their nefarious plans. We are often not even aware when our lives are being spared.
Miracle on Shabbos: Booby-Trapped Cards Explode and Take Out Terrorists
But there are still more miracles to report, such as the cars that blew up at a gas station at the Gush Etzion junction and at the entrance to Moshav Karmei Tzur. Both vehicles were on their way to carry out massive terror attacks, but the explosives went off while the terrorists were still en route.
Both incidents occurred shortly before midnight on Friday night. First, a car exploded at the gas station at the Gush Etzion junction, and the terrorist was eliminated. A few minutes later, a terrorist infiltrated the nearby community of Karmei Tzur and was eliminated as well when his car blew up. The IDF first reported that they were uncertain if the two incidents were connected, but they soon began to suspect that the terrorists had been plotting a simultaneous multi-pronged attack. The theory under investigation now is that the two terrorists traveled together on Route 60 with the goal of carrying out synchronized bombings, one at the gas station and the other in Karmei Tzur. It seems that a “work accident” at the gas station prevented the terrorists from conducting a massacre of the emergency personnel who would have been called to the scene in Karmei Tzur.
The incident at the gas station left a 24-year-old and a 34-year-old wounded. Both were unintentionally hit by gunfire from Israeli forces. At Karmei Tzur, a 28-year-old member of the local security patrol was wounded after crashing his car into the terrorist’s vehicle. Gal Rich, the commander of the Gush Etzion Regional Brigade, was wounded in his arm after being called to the scene, but he continued overseeing the response to the incident despite his injuries. Numerous IDF soldiers, Shin Bet operatives, police officers, and other special forces were summoned to Gush Etzion in response to the two terror attacks, and intensive searches were conducted in Karmei Tzur due to the concern that additional terrorists might have infiltrated the community.
According to the initial reports, this was the sequence of events: The terrorist at the gas station observed that his car had caught fire and emerged from the vehicle to attack the gas station employees and emergency personnel. A video of the incident shows him standing next to his burning car and then trying to pounce on the soldiers who faced him with their rifles drawn. The two Israeli victims who were inadvertently wounded by friendly fire were evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Yerushalayim. A few minutes after the car exploded, an alarm sounded to indicate the suspected infiltration of Karmei Tzur, a settlement only a few kilometers from the junction. The authorities quickly determined that a terrorist had infiltrated the settlement; it seems that the terrorist drove through the checkpoint at the entrance and attempted to run over the security guard. A member of the local security patrol deliberately crashed his car into the terrorist’s vehicle and then opened fire, and the car blew up with the terrorist inside it; the explosives in the car were apparently set off either by the collision or by the gunfire. The patrol member was lightly wounded and taken to Hadassah Hospital.
Three Police Officers Killed in Terror Attack Near Chevron
Terror is continuing to rear its ugly head, and Israel has witnessed a fair share of both open miracles and devastating terror attacks. While the country was still reeling from the news that the bodies of six hostages had been located in Gaza, and that the hostages had been killed shortly before they were found (discussed in a separate article), we were informed at the beginning of the week that three police officers were murdered in a terror attack near the Tarqumiya checkpoint: Arik Ben-Eliyohu, Roni Shakuri, and Hadas Brentz.
The three officers were killed when terrorists opened fire on their car near the checkpoint, which is located north of Chevron. Magen Dovid Adom paramedics arrived on the scene and attempted to resuscitate the victims but were forced to pronounce their deaths. Chief Inspector Arik Ben-Eliyohu, a 37-year-old resident of Kiryat Gat, is survived by his wife and three children, his parents, and two sisters. His funeral took place on Sunday at the military section in the Kiryat Gat cemetery. Hadas Brentz, a 53-year-old resident of Sdeh Moshe, is survived by a husband, three children, a grandchild, her parents, and five siblings. Roni Shakuri, who was 61 years old, was a resident of Sderot and is survived by a wife, a daughter, a granddaughter, and three siblings. He was buried Sunday in the military section of the cemetery in Sderot. This was not the first time tragedy struck the Shakuri family; the victim’s daughter, Mor Shakuri, was a policewoman who was killed in the battle at the Sderot police station on Simchas Torah.
The terrorists opened fire from a passing car, which they subsequently abandoned near the scene of the attack and they fled on foot. The road was immediately closed to traffic, and IDF officers launched a manhunt while sealing off the nearby large Arab village of Idhna. Yaron Rosenthal, the head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, told the media that the attack was the latest in a string of incidents including the car bombings this past Shabbos and the planting of an explosive device in eastern Gush Etzion last week. “We must make a preemptive strike and clear out the terror nests in Chevron and the vicinity,” he said. “We cannot allow terror to raise its head. I wish a speedy recovery to the wounded and I send my encouragement to the soldiers and commanders of the IDF, who are fighting heroically.”
Doctor in Soroka Hospital Exposed with Ties to ISIS
Here is a story that boggles the mind: A doctor in Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva was recently arrested after it was revealed that he had sworn allegiance to ISIS. The doctor, 34-year-old Mohammed Azzam, who lives in Beer Sheva and was born in Nazareth, worked as a medical resident in Soroka Hospital. An investigation revealed that he joined ISIS and swore allegiance to the organization and that he has been eagerly consuming media content associated with ISIS for a long time. After the investigation was completed, the southern regional prosecutor filed an indictment against him, and the police and Shin Bet released the following joint statement: “We take very seriously any involvement or connection of Israeli citizens to terror activities, including the Islamic State, and we will continue to work to prevent these crimes and to bring the full weight of the law to bear on the perpetrators.”
Let me just put this incident in perspective. The culprit was a doctor in an Israeli hospital—a place where soldiers who are wounded in Gaza, hostages who are released or rescued from their captors, and Israeli residents of the south are regularly brought for medical treatment. Just imagine how many people this doctor has the opportunity to murder in the course of his work! To make matters worse, this isn’t the first time that an Arab doctor has been exposed as a supporter of terror.
One piece of evidence is especially chilling: When a group of soldiers wounded in Gaza were brought to Soroka Hospital for treatment, this doctor conversed with a friend over his cell phone, an exchange that was later viewed by the investigators. The friend told him that Al Jazeera had reported that 27 wounded soldiers had been brought to Soroka Hospital for treatment, and Azzam confirmed that soldiers were being airlifted to the hospital every day and went on to list the soldiers’ injuries. Azzam mentioned a specific wounded soldier, and his friend wrote, “May Allah extinguish his light.” To that message, Azzam replied, “Ha! Amen.”
It has been reported that the internet is rife with material published by ISIS that provides guidance for doctors to kill Jewish patients in a wide assortment of ways. This may sound incredibly unrealistic, but the case of Mohammed Azzam seems to indicate that even the most outlandish schemes can easily become reality. Azzam is an ISIS-affiliated doctor who was employed in an Israeli hospital where wounded soldiers were brought for treatment, who expressed a desire to see the soldiers die, and who had been studying methods to kill patients in the course of their medical treatment without leaving evidence of his actions. What would have stopped him from putting the ideas he had been studying into action?
According to the Civil Administration website, there are about 100 Arab doctors from the areas of Yehuda and Shomron who are employed in hospitals throughout Israel. Many of them drive into Israeli territory in their own cars, which bear Palestinian Authority license plates. The Civil Administration reports that these doctors are permitted to enter Israel “with the goal of preparing them to work in the public health system in the Palestinian Authority.” Many of these doctors have been guilty of incitement to terror.
In the case of Mohammed Azzam, at least, the Minister of Health ordered him suspended from his position.
Insights of the Gedolim on Helping Struggling Bochurim
I attended a convention held by the organization Chanoch Lanaar, which employs hundreds of yungeleit who serve as mentors and tutors to yeshiva bochurim. This initiative is led by Meir Porush, who arranged eight years ago for a portion of the chareidi coalition funds to be earmarked for this project. The original budget of 6 million shekels quickly grew to 7 million, then to 11 million, and finally to the current sum of 19 million shekels per year. According to Chaim Moyal, director of the education ministry’s division for at-risk youth, the initiative became a government program after ministry officials recognized its importance and benefits. The project therefore continued even while the chareidi parties were in the opposition.
As Chazal tell us, when tzaddikim gather, it is good for them and for the rest of the world. This is also true when their gathering yields scintillating insights and highly effective new tools for every educator’s toolbox. I attended a speech by Rav Yehoshua Fink, who said, “If the Ministry of Education praises our organization, then we certainly have reason to take pride.”
I was also riveted by Rav Yisroel Meir Druk’s account of the various questions that he had presented to Rav Chaim Kanievsky on behalf of the organization. Rav Druk related that when he asked for advice for bochurim who do not have motivation to learn, Rav Chaim said, “This is what was decreed on them, but they will be successful.” Rav Chaim was also asked if a yungerman should learn with a child in his father’s place, and he replied, “There is no one who can take the place of a father.”
“Is it true that the Steipler learned with you until the end of his life?” Rav Druk asked.
“Yes,” Rav Chaim confirmed.
“If a bochur tells a mentor that he has grievances against his parents, should the mentor share the information with his yeshiva if he feels that it will benefit the talmid?” Rav Druk asked.
“He should speak about it as little as possible,” Rav Chaim said.
“Is it better for a mentor to learn with a bochur or to converse with him in order to boost his spirits and motivation?”
“It depends on the situation,” Rav Chaim replied.
“Should a yungerman prepare the Gemara that he is planning to learn with a bochur, or is it sufficient for him to know the sugya?” Rav Druk asked.
“It’s better to prepare it,” Rav Chaim said.
Finally, Rav Druk asked, “Is there any way at all to help a bochur who lacks the motivation to learn?”
“Give him a candy,” Rav Chaim suggested.
Rav Moshe Blau and Rav Shlomo Rein, two of the veteran educators involved in Chanoch Lanaar, related that they asked Rav Gershon Edelstein what to do if a bochur feels that he is not gaining satisfaction from learning Torah?” they asked.
“Then he is probably not learning in a way that suits his nature,” the rosh yeshiva said.
If Lapid Was Smart, He Would Keep Quiet
Yair Lapid, the leader of the Knesset opposition, makes a laughingstock out of himself every time he opens his mouth. He is living evidence of the importance of silence. As long as a fool stays silent, his foolishness will not be on display. Sadly, Lapid seems to be incapable of keeping quiet. Take one of his recent comments, for instance: When Israel’s credit rating was lowered, Lapid said, “The middle class in Israel will feel this in their pockets. The intolerable costs will keep rising, and the country will pay higher interest rates. The ratings agencies are telling us that Israel’s economy isn’t being managed properly. The government does not know what it is doing. This war is too long and too expensive, priorities are skewed, and abandonment is rampant. To stop this downward spiral, we need to immediately close at least twelve superfluous government ministries, cancel the coalition funds, promote engines of growth instead of supporting people who do not work, and present a balanced and responsible budget that provides for the needs of the economy rather than the needs of the politicians,” he declared sanctimoniously
I shook my head in disbelief as I read Lapid’s words. Who is he to speak about a government with unnecessary ministries? Yair Lapid founded the most bloated government in Israeli history and invented the position of alternate prime minister, running up a huge bill for the government with the many positions that he created. And his hypocrisy doesn’t end there. While he smugly derides the government for its use of coalition funds, Lapid is probably hoping that everyone has forgotten the millions of shekels that he promised to Mansour Abbas!
Missile Strike in Galil Leaves Victims Seriously Wounded
Of course, there are many more topics that I could write about. I could easily write about bein hazemanim, which is now over. This year’s summer vacation featured a large number of events for the tens of thousands of yeshiva bochurim in the country. Of course, there were numerous yeshivas bein hazemanim programs as well, and there were also some special events in honor of the beginning of the Elul zman.
On the political front, the country is being rocked by heated controversies, and there is much to discuss about the results of the ongoing polls. And the battle over day care subsidies is still being fought. Yoav Ben-Tzur, the Minister of Labor is continuing to lock horns with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Ben-Tzur has demanded to be given separate representation in a Supreme Court hearing, since his position on the subject is completely at odds with the attorney general’s stance, but she is stubbornly refusing to allow anyone else to represent the ministry.
I could also write at great length about the beginning of the academic year both in the secular community and in chareidi schools. This year, since Rosh Chodesh Elul and the first of September are only a couple of days apart, the boys’ schools and girls’ schools are all beginning classes at the same time. But the beginning of the school year wasn’t a happy or smooth occasion for everyone. Many parents in the north and south are fearful of sending their children to school, and a large number of families from those areas, in any event, are temporarily displaced from their homes, and no one even knows at this point when they will be able to return. In the north, three people were wounded on Sunday by a direct hit of an anti-tank missile in a moshav in the Galilee. Two of the victims were airlifted to a hospital, one in serious condition and the other moderately wounded. The third was transported to a hospital with light injuries.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first missile strike in the area in recent times. Last January, a mother and her son were killed when an anti-tank missile hit their home in a moshav in the Galilee. The father of the family was spared from harm because he was in a different room at the time. The latest strike comes as the new school year begins, while the families protested that they were fearful of sending their children to school, claiming that they would be “sitting ducks” in the event of further missile fire.
Last week, most of the heads of local governments in the north boycotted a meeting with General Uri Gordin, head of the Northern Command. Only six of the local government heads showed up for the meeting, and the general told them about the preemptive strike that the IDF had launched against Hezbollah. For the time being, this hasn’t changed the security situation in the north. Moshe Davidowitz, chairman of the Forum of Settlements on the Line of Conflict and one of the officials who boycotted the meeting, declared that he was not willing to participate in such conversations with the general. “The purpose of this meeting was for the IDF to boast about its operations in Lebanon,” he said. “As a citizen and the head of a local government, I have no interest in joining that party.” Or, to put it more bluntly, he wanted actions, not words. And it is very easy to understand his feelings.
The Scourge of Deadly Road Accidents
The headline was alarming: “2024 Was the Deadliest Year for Motorcycle and Scooter Riders in the Past Decade.” But the statistics quoted in the article were even more fearsome: “Since the beginning of this year, 63 people have been killed in motorcycle and scooter accidents in the country. This represents an increase of 29 percent in comparison to the same period last year, and is almost twice the percentage of the general increase in fatalities in traffic accidents this year, which is also especially high and reaches about 15 percent. Most of the fatalities were below the age of 35, and about 43 percent of them were especially young, below the age of 25.”
To put this in perspective, think about the impact of even a single death, which plunges the victim’s family and friends, not to mention the driver involved in the accident, into unspeakable anguish. I always wonder if the high fatality rate among riders of motorcycles, scooters, and electric bicycles is due to the fact that these people tend to be less cautious or is simply a function of the fact that these vehicles are more dangerous, and that motorists on the road might be negligent when driving in the vicinity of motorcycles. But whatever the cause may be, 63 deaths in a single year is far too many!
The article features another saddening and worrisome statistic as well: The year 2024, which is far from over, has already become the deadliest year on the roads of Yerushalayim. Twelve people have been killed in traffic accidents on the city’s streets since the beginning of the year, and we are only halfway through this year. For the sake of comparison, there were fourteen traffic deaths in Yerushalayim in the entirety of the year 2023 (and even that is a staggering number), and twelve people were killed in the year 2022. Yet this year’s death toll has already reached twelve, even though we are only in the middle of the year 2024. That is a horrific figure. Most of the fatalities (ten in 2023, eight in 2022, and seven in 2024) were pedestrians. That does not mean that these accident victims weren’t sufficiently cautious; it is very possible that the drivers were the ones who were at fault. But regardless of who was responsible, the sad fact remains that twelve people were killed on the streets of Yerushalayim in the first half of 2024.
Do Not Mourn for Liberal
There is no reason to mourn, but the Israeli periodical Liberal breathed its last this week. The magazine was known for its elitist mentality; its articles were laced with hubris, as if the writers felt that they were somehow superior to the rest of the country, that they knew better than anyone else and they would enlighten the rest of Israeli society with their penetrating insights. It was a pompous magazine, perhaps fitting Avishai Ben-Chaim’s famous description of “the hegemony that isn’t aware of its hegemony.” Almost every issue of the publication, which was delivered free to every member of the Knesset, offered at least one incentive to dispose of it as quickly as possible. At the very least, there was the advertisement for a treif chain of food stores that appeared in every edition. The latest—and final—issue also contained a deplorable ad featuring a mock emergency order for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. The signatories to this “order” were representatives of the center-left and those to the left of them, all the way to the farthest reaches of the radical left. Throughout the years of its existence, the magazine also maintained an obsessive focus on chareidim that extended into its final issue—just as the wicked do not repent even at the entrance to the Gehinnom.
The magazine’s publisher, a wealthy oligarch, decided some time ago to reduce the frequency of its appearance, releasing new issues only every other month at the most. Apparently, even the wealthy are averse to simply throwing money away. The 100th issue, which appeared last week, was dubbed a “farewell issue,” and I found myself savoring the editor’s column for the very first time as it bemoaned the magazine’s demise. But even in the magazine’s last gasp, he remained as firmly entrenched in his views as ever. “The true existential threat to the state of Israel,” he wrote, “is the continued rule of Netanyahu and the continued existence of the current Israeli government, which any insightful observer would define as an ongoing terror attack against the citizens of Israel.”
Of course, I disagree vehemently with this assessment.
Does the Chareidi Draft Exemption Dampen Soldiers’ Motivation?
The Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University has published a paper addressed to the army and the government concerning the draft of chareidim. The institute has a very clear and solid opinion on the subject: “The defense establishment must draft 7000 eligible candidates from the chareidi community this year for the country’s internal security needs.” I am sure that the people who wrote this paper have no idea about what is taking place within our nation, yet they are somehow considered experts on national security.
There was one paragraph in the paper that I found especially grating: “Extending mandatory service and increasing the reserve burden without a significant increase in chareidi recruitment will erode the people’s army and gravely harm the motivation to serve, whether in the regular, permanent, or reserve forces.” Now, this is very interesting. Over the past 75 years, no one ever claimed that the yeshiva bochurim harmed the motivation of the IDF soldiers. In fact, the opposite is true. Many soldiers, even during the current war, have expressed their appreciation and admiration for the country’s Torah learners and have even begged them to continue learning and davening while the army goes about its job.
Aside from that detail, the institute seems to have overlooked the blatant double standard evident in their accusations. The paper does not address the impact on motivation of the tens of thousands of draft dodgers in the upscale neighborhoods of Tel Aviv. Somehow, their failure to don IDF uniforms doesn’t impinge on the other soldiers’ motivation at all. Only those who are learning Torah (most of whom, in my view, are probably not fit to serve in the army in any event) are somehow sapping the soldiers’ willpower by remaining in the botei medrash. And what about all the draft refusers participating in the Kaplan protests? They, too, apparently have no ill effect on the army, despite their refusal to participate in the war effort. But why is that?
Remembering the Rebbetzin
Last week, we marked the yahrtzeit of Rabbanit Margalit Yosef, the wife of Rav Ovadiah Yosef. Rav Ovadiah once told a remarkable story in one of his shiurim concerning his righteous rebbetzin.
“Listen to a story about the late rebbetzin, who passed away in 1994,” Rav Ovadiah began. “We used to have a small herb garden, where I would recite the brachos of atzei besomim and isvei besomim on Shabbos to complete the quota of one hundred brachos for the day. There was a gardener named Rav Menashe Yonah who tended to the garden, and he always made sure that there were plants that I could use for the brachos. After the rebbetzin passed away, there was no one left to oversee the garden, and the plants dried up. Then Rav Menashe came to see me one day and informed me that the rebbetzin had appeared to him in a dream the night before and had asked him, ‘Why aren’t you taking care of the rov? Why aren’t you tending to his herbs? He has to recite the hundred brachos!’ He woke up in a panic, and he came to me the next morning and told me about his dream. Rabbosai!” Rav Ovadiah exclaimed. “She is in the World of Truth today; why does this matter to her? Because tzaddikim are still considered alive even after their deaths!”
Rav Ovadiah’s family members had incredible stories to tell about the powerful bond between the rebbetzin and her husband. Their relationship was extraordinary. I, too, was privileged to witness some of their interactions; I observed the rebbetzin’s profound concern for her husband’s well-being and watched as she invariably set aside her own wishes to assist him with exceptional deference and dedication. She even addressed him as “Harav Ovadiah.”
I had the opportunity to observe the rov and rebbetzin on two trips out of the country. One was an expedition to Egypt, when Rav Ovadiah was a guest of President Mubarak. There was a relatively large Israeli delegation, but only a handful of the visitors were permitted to travel to the presidential palace in Alexandria. Of course, it was clear who would be sitting at his side throughout the journey….
I also accompanied the rov and the rebbetzin on a trip to London. I remember that the rebbetzin removed the rov’s ornate rabbinic robe and hat from her suitcase after we retrieved their luggage from the baggage carousel at Heathrow Airport, before we could even head out to see the crowd waiting to greet him. Rav Ovadiah, who was wearing a frock and homburg, looked at her and asked, “Why do I need this official robe? What is wrong with what I am wearing now?”
“Harav Ovadiah, perhaps it is in honor of the large crowd waiting outside to greet you,” the rebbetzin replied. The rov immediately donned the robe to greet the waiting crowd.
