View From Sderot: “Seeing Miracles With Our Own Eyes”

It can catch you on the road, or it can catch you at kollel, or it can catch you at home. But when the Code Red siren goes off, you have 12-15 seconds to run to safety.

During those seconds, your heart races and, if you’re a father, you are filled with worry: where are your children? Are they safe?

This is how we have lived in Sderot for 13 years. Sometimes it is a number of times a day; other times it is once in a number of days. To our sorrow, these days, as rockets and missiles are landing not only in Sderot and elsewhere in the south, but all over the country, we are all experiencing these frightful events together.

There isn’t anyone who lives in Sderot who hasn’t witnessed miracles. Anyone who wishes to share in faith and trust in Hashem should speak with one of the residents of the city.

I personally witnessed the great chasdei Shamayim. It was two weeks ago, as I was waiting for the No. 490 bus from Sderot to Bnei Brak. Suddenly, a Code Red siren wailed and we immediately took cover. Not 10 seconds passed before we heard the boom, and it sounded very close. We waited until it was safe to venture out, and then saw that the field opposite us was on fire from the explosion of the rocket.

We hear the sounds of the war quite clearly, living as we do so close to the border. Every missile fired, every artillery round, is heard clearly. The whole house shakes.

Last Friday night, close to 9 p.m., we were still davening Maariv. All at once there was heavy fire, planes and helicopters roaring overhead. It was obvious that something big was happening, much bigger than anything during the past week.

Even as I write these lines, in the background can be heard heavy fighting, tremendous explosions, the sounds of fighting with a cruel enemy in northern Gaza.

We daven that Hashem will defend and save us from any harm.

This article appeared in print in the July 21st, 2014 edition of Hamodia.