Shalom all,
Israel Update – Shabbat – Day 8 of the War.

Shortly after midnight last night, the Israeli Air Defense Forces intercepted two flying aircraft that penetrated Israeli airspace from Lebanon. A little earlier, an alert/alartm was triggered when an unidentified aircraft intruded into the region of S/hefa-Amr, which is about a half hour drive drive Haifa. No alarms were triggered in haifa, but we did hear drones overhead around 03:00 a.m. People were not gathered together in a s”safe”/“secure” room. We’re OK. There were no explosions and no injuries were reported as a result of those drones. But, Hezbollah continues to flex its muscles and fired rockets into the northern town of Har Dov this afternoon, resulting in a retaliatory attack in southern Lebanon by the IDF. While the northern arena is heating up, the communities in the south continue to come under attack by rocket fire from Hamas, whose targets include the coastal city of Ashkelon and areas in central Israel.More and more independent reports confirm the atrocities committed by Hamas. More and more bodies are found, shifting numbers from missing to dead. Outrage continues to grow against the invasion of Hamas, the murders, rapes, decapitations, burnings and kidnapping of individuals, very old and very young, old school or new age, male or female. U.S. Defense Secretary  Lloyd Austin, a former U.S. Army General who led the campaign against ISIS, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, and said, in part:  “We’re with you, Mr. Prime Minister, and as the president said, we have. Your back…It’s an awful week…disgusting acts by this terrorist group…As you know, I was the guy that initially put the ISIS campaign together and I know a lot about ISIS, and this is worse that what I saw with ISIS.”President Biden met yesterday with the families of 14 Americans who are missing following the attack of Hamas. After the meeting, he said: “The more we learned about the attack, the more horrifying it becomes…These guys [Hamas] make, they make Al-Qaeda look pure. They’re pure evil.” <https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/378459> Another article, among a multitude of similar other articles, relates to the missing from here:“The barbaric massacre that took place in the Gaza border area on October 7, 2023, the horrific rapes and abductions of civilians have nothing to do with the struggle for the rights of Palestinians or human rights. These are acts of pure sadism, of the worst and most abominable type imaginable, of the kind ISIS committed against their victims. Those who committed them would have gone on to do the same to any Israeli resident – Jew, Arab or foreign national that had fallen into their hands had the security forces not stopped them…It is the duty of Israel and of humanity to protect themselves and eradicate such acts and those capable of committing them. The world must know and act against them and help us bring the innocent captives back home, for the sake of the continued existence of Israel and for a sense of humanity, wherever it may be found.”For the full article, see <https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1jzxapzt>. There is little doubt that “7/10” is Israel’s “9/11”. There is also no doubt that it will be “a date which will live in infamy” (from the speech of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941, after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor)An entire week has passed since the unprecedented invasion of Hamas. Hundreds of funerals have taken place and hundreds more will soon take place. Those attending the funerals acknowledge the loss of a loved one, a friend, a neighbor, a colleague, a victim of terror, who may be unknown to the one attending to identify with, and sympathize with, the mourners. Not so with the families of those whose fate has yet to be announced. It is difficult to express the the growing agony, anguish and anger of the relatives of those who are still missing and believed to be taken hostage to Gaza. Demonstrations took place this afternoon in Tel Aviv with the relatives demanding answers to the burning question: “Where is _____?” – a question that, at least for some, cannot be answered at this time. For some, the frustration takes the form of political exasperation. Some are openly accusing the Netanyahu-led government (before the emergency unity government) of bearing full responsibility for the Hamas attack, with some putting the coalition government on an equal footing with Hamas, saying both should be punished and bear the penalty for their sins. Indeed, difficult questions will have to be answered, but they should wait until this war is over. Right now, we need to be united in our goal to fight and to win, to eliminate Hamas and any other potential threat that might emanate from Gaza.
With the continued military buildup here, concern grows over the consequences of the ground operation in Gaza and the potential for a second front opening in the north, particularly from the Hezbollah terror group. As Shabbat here draws to a close, you may want to join in a prayer, expressed about 175 years ago, by Fanny Neuda – the daughter of a Rabbi from Bohemia (what is now known as the Czech Republic, 1855):

For a Son Serving in the Army

Gird your sword upon your thigh, mighty warrior, your glory and your splendor. In your majesty ride prosperously for the sake of truth and for the cause of righteousness, and may your right hand show you awesome things. (Psalms 45:4-5)

My God in the heavens, Lord of Hosts, Who rules with a high hand over the heavens and the earth: I offer my prayer to you from the depths of a mother’s heart. My God and God of my forefathers – hear my prayer in Your great mercy. The time has come for my son to join the ranks of those who fight for our country, to maintain its security and to remove the plotting and wickedness that threaten the homeland and its inhabitants. I am thankful to You, my God in heaven, for granting me a child whose limbs are strong, who is able to bear arms in the noble war for our country.

But my maternal heart is fearful and trembles at the thought of the dangers and temptations that surround him. He is young and lacking in experience, far from the teaching of his mother and the guidance of his father. His heart may easily be drawn after some forbidden thing, and come to sin. Therefore I pour out my supplication before You, Almighty God of heaven. Spread Your protection over him, shield him, and surround him, in Your great kindness. Nurture and strengthen within him every refined emotion, every positive intention, every remembrance of parental guidance that is imprinted on his soul, that he may always have in mind proper ethics and fear of God, that he not alienate himself from the faith of his forefathers, that military life and arms not harden his heart, that the insidious temptations of sin never control him.

Bless him, my God, with the wisdom and strength to behave conscientiously, to fulfill his difficult tasks properly. Let him not come to betray, nor to transgress, nor fall into error or doubt. Cause him to obey his commanders, and be loyal and ready to sacrifice, dedicated to his flag.

And on the day that he is called out to the battlefield, where death reaps its harvest – there, my God in heaven, spread Your mercy over him. May Your kindness be his shield and armor. Give strength to his arm, imbue his heart with courage, and let the remembrance of the mighty warriors of Israel guide his heart, that he may go out to battle joyfully and with purpose, and with courage and presence of mind defend the glory of his God and his loyalty to the ruler, to his nation and to his country.

My God in heaven, listen to my prayer. Let his mother’s blessing hover over him. May this blessing be a protective banner, and at the conclusion of his service may he return, whole in body and spirit, decorated for having carried out his obligations, bringing gladness to my heart and praise and glory to Your great Name, Amen.
A final word: Many have asked “Do you know this (person/organization)?” “Did you hear so and so’s message?” “Do you follow so and so?”, and questions along those lines. I try to communicate in these updates what is reported by reputable and professional news sources. There’s a lot of “clutter” that people receive that is intended to pass for genuine information, much of which is puffed up and outright false. Call it “fake news” or whatever else you want. This type of irresponsible reporting confuses the recipient and sometimes causes the reader or hearer to suffer a panic attack. Please be careful about what you allow to enter into your mind and thinking. No individual has a special, private source of information, unless it is based on personal, first-hand knowledge or by first-hand experience of family or close friend. Almost everything else that is reported can and should be able to be verified. “Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they deported an entire population To deliver it up to Edom. So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza And it will consume her citadels” (Amos 1:6-7)“Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deut. 20:3-4)“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your places’.” (Psalm 122:6)

Shavua tov (have a good week)!

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin