Pre-Passover 2024

I imagine everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear about the last couple of weeks. In particular, how did it go last Saturday night? Let’s rewind the clock a bit. Shabbat last week was in Netanya, with great company, Shlomo and Nadav. Since the Passover holiday is about a 2 week long spring break like affair, there is a lot of down time for older kids, particularly with Passover preparations looming large in most homes. The younger kids (like grade 3 and below) either have day care or ‘camp’ like programs to keep them occupied, but older kids are on their own. So, we decided to help out by picking up Shlomo and Nadav, aged 13 and 10, on Friday and let them hang out with us in Netanya until Monday. Shabbat was fun, with games and discussions, walks and great meals (of course) and when the kids went to bed on Saturday night after a movie, no one was really talking about what was looming. After they went to bed though….

I guess we were alerted something was happening around 10 PM. The news came that Iran was sending 300 unmanned drones. Then that changed to drones and ballistic missiles. Then a few minutes later “unconfirmed rumors” about Cruise missiles. We kept getting news updates and WhatsApps from friends and family all over the place. What were we hearing? Where is your shelter? How long do we have when a siren goes off? What will happen if the drones get through? And so it went. At about 1:40 AM Israel time, sirens went off in the east and south of the country, including Jerusalem and Efrat, where Elan and Nomi live. Our niece Jenna spent time in her bomb shelter, as did Nomi and the kids who were at home. We were alerted by Barbara’s Red Alert app, which she has not only coded to Netanya but to the cities our kids live in. We continued to chat, follow news feeds, and hope that there would be minimal damage. By about 3:30 AM it began to look like most of the drones, ballistic and cruise missiles (indeed the rumors were confirmed) were being intercepted. No sirens in Netanya (nor most of central and costal Israel). Although we slept very little on Saturday night, our grandsons both woke up Sunday morning pretty much unaware of what went on. That was most certainly a good thing!

As you know, the results of this potentially disastrous attack were nothing short of miraculous. First, 99+% of the attacking projectiles were shot down. That in and of itself is amazing. Picture a video game and you are trying to shoot all the enemies. Even the best misses occasionally. 90% would usually be considered good, but this was quite incredible. Second, perhaps a bigger miracle was the cooperation of the neighboring countries. Jordan and Egypt both participated in the defense, with the Jordanian Air Force showing accuracy as good as all the others. No one was killed, though one poor child in a Bedouin community was seriously injured. Now, if you get your news from CNN, you have been getting a steady stream of “The Iranian Attack was more for show than for destructive purposes” or other versions of this, minimizing what actually happened. There are plenty of pictures of the few missiles that landed in open areas or the one that hit an Israeli Airforce base, as well as of others that were shot down. The average ballistic missile that Iran shot is about the length of a Mac truck and has an 800-pound warhead. This was not just a bunch of firecrackers and roman candles. This could have been very destructive. Israel and its allies prevented that, perhaps, as we say, with a bit of divine intervention, but nonetheless this was not just hand-waving on Iran’s part. They retaliated for the assassination of an individual responsible to providing arms and strategy to Hezbollah by attacking major population centres in Israel. Anyone who says that was just a show of force without teeth is trying to cheapen a very dangerous situation and is very misguided. No one wants escalation, but those that are chanting “Death to Israel” are also chanting “Death to America”. We should not turn deaf ears to very loud shouts from Iran. 

So, what else happened? As you know, in general, we try to keep things light. That’s really because there is a lot of light in our life, a lot to be thankful for! The previous Shabbat we were hosted by Elan and Nomi in Efrat, which is always a treat, but also worked out very well as Nomi was going on a work-related trip and asked if we could babysit Sunday afternoon and evening. Of course, we did not hesitate. Saturday evening, we visited Gila’s parents, Geula and Yitzhak Twersky, who live in the nearby town of Neve Daniel. Sunday morning, we had brunch with Debbie and Zev Kessler in Jerusalem; without traffic Efrat is 15 minutes from Jerusalem. 

We were back in Efrat in time for the kids to come home from school and treat them to burgers for dinner. This week, the theme of helping out continued, with having Shlomo and Nadav for 4 days and then Elisha for 2 days. Plus, fter dropping Shlomo and Nadav off on Monday, Barbara took Aryeh out to the mall for Poke Bowls (did I mention our grandchildren were foodies?) and a rocketship ride. Of course, this was not a freebie for the kids. To earn their keep, they had to help with Passover shopping and other choirs, with the payment including made to order breakfasts, nice dinners, and movie nights!  

Passover starts on Monday evening. Passover, as you know, is the holiday of liberation of the Children of Israel from Egypt, 3500 years ago. We will be reciting the Haggadah, which elaborates the story of Passover, and partaking in the customs that remind us of both slavery and bitterness, as well as freedom and redemption. I hope to write more about Passover next week, but I think that Passover comes this year 6 months into a war which has brought much sadness to Israel. Many Passover Seders will have empty chairs, with lost friends and relatives and 133 hostages still missing. With the specter of Iran looming and the Gaza campaign still active (although much less so at the moment), this will be a Passover that will be filled with prayers that we soon see an end to the fighting, the release of the hostages, and building on the cooperation that we saw last Saturday night to create a better situation for all. 

We wish you Shabbat Shalom, and Happy and Kosher Passover

Barbara and Bruce

We wish a speedy recovery (Refuah Shlema) to Shmuel Zev ben Rachel Ita

We wish a speedy recovery (Refuah Shelma) to Chaim Tzvi ben Shaindel

We wish a speedy recovery (Refuah Shelma) to Moshe Aharon ben Leah

Happy Birthday to Elan!

Happy Birthday to Ora!

Happy Birthday David!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Welcome to Israel Haim Fruchter and the Steckler Family for Passover visits! And everyone else who has decided to come to share in Passover in Israel!

And a shout-out to my mom, Phyllis Mazer who is travelling with Jenna to Edmonton to spend Passover with Roanne, David, Aviva, Danielle, Brandon and her new twin great grandsons!