From: David <david@glowcreate.com
Date: 13/07/2014 12:56 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: When the sirens went off on Shabbat
Dear Rabbonim, family and friends in the Diaspora
Yesterday at about 6.55pm on Shabbat, my family and I were taking a walk down a suburban street with our kids returning from our friend's home. We were 5 minutes from our home. The sun was shining, it was beautiful Israeli weather. All around people we didn't know were also walking with their families, some with elderly parents or relatives, most with kids. The public park was pretty full, where a hundred, maybe two hundred people were visiting.
And then suddenly, without any prior warning and disturbing all the peace of a Shabbat afternoon walk was the all too familiar sound of the sirens. So, what would you do?
Well, here's what happened to us.
I was holding my 2 year old son's hand and in the other hand I was holding his sippy cup and a snack. I immediately dropped both things on the floor and picked him up. I grabbed the hand of my nearly 6 year old daughter and instinctively looked around for the safest place to go. My wife was a few feet away from me also switching into high alert mode trying to work out where we should put ourselves. Our 'new anti-terror attack training' which started a few days ago tells us to go into the nearest home or failing that to go next to a wall or car and crouch down holding your hands over your head whilst smothering your children underneath you in order to shield them as much as you can.
So far, we're up to about 5 seconds into the situation.
We see across the road a religious man calling us and others, ushering us with his hands towards his house. I've never seen this man before, a stranger but my brother. This is Israel, we're all brothers and sisters here after all is said and done. I run across the road holding my boy in my right arm and my daughter in my left hand, my wife right next to us. I catch a glimpse of my daughter's face as we are all running. Panic defines her expression and she lets out what can only be described as a desperate cry of innocent fear. It was very painful as a father to see that.
We reach the staircase leading up to the man's home. It's now maybe 15-20 seconds since the sirens went off. In Southern Israel the rockets would have already landed and exploded by now. In Jerusalem we have a little longer but believe me you're not aware of the time when it's happening, you just run, you focus and deal with your situation. Remember all this is happening on a quiet suburban street.
Concerned for my daughter getting up the 15 or 20 steps not quick enough I decide instinctively to pick her up in my left arm. Holding both of them now in my arms I ascend the steps. My wife is nearby next to us. As we climb the stairs (now 25-30 seconds in) I see lots more people going up the stairs in front of us - kids and adults from this man's family and maybe other families presumably - all aiming to get to 'safety' inside the house. A lady at the entrance door ushers us in and points to me to 'go down there'. Now inside the house, 'down there' was a stairwell of darkness, no lights on. I assumed it led to the bomb shelter. It did. I reach the bomb shelter which was pitch black and couldn't see how many people were inside but I could hear many voices, mainly children speaking hebrew. I honestly don't know how many people were in there but it was many and the space was narrow and small. Not the first time Jews have been in confined dark spaces huddled together in fear. Yes, images of cattle cars came to my mind. Nothing has changed, the holocaust and hatred of the Jews continues but the perpetrators now are darker skinned and speak a different language.
My son is not crying but just keeps talking about 'the sirens daddy, the sirens. I don't like that noise'. He does not understand what's going on but knows that it's not good. He's as brave as a 2 year old could be under the circumstances. For the past few days he regularly comes out with things about 'the sirens, the scary noise'. My daughter was standing next to me, holding on to me with all her life, quiet in her innocent confusion. My wife was next to her, we were all together standing with numerous strangers listening out for explosions. We're now at the 45-50 second mark since the sirens went off. One lady next to my wife says quietly in hebrew "Hashem ya'azor", "May Hashem help us". Amens are heard. The sirens stop.... A pause..... Silence...... then BOOM! A few seconds pause..... BOOM! Nobody screams or really makes a sound. Then a pause. The children chatter away in the darkness of the bomb shelter, trying to distract themselves, some even laughing at the fun of this situation. The door of the shelter was never closed because there were too many people.
Maybe 5-6 minutes later we decide it's safe to leave even though the suggested time is 10 minutes. But it's ok, we're all getting a bit too used to this now and we 're beginning to know the drill.
As we emerge from the darkness to leave the house, we exchange "Shabbat shaloms" and "Toda raba's" (thank you's) with our kind 'hosts' and then exit the house, go down the stairs to the main street and walk home. We're all ok thank G-d. The booms were most likely the miraculous Iron Dome system intercepting the missiles of evil as no apparent damage can be seen where we were at least. We're keen obviously to get the kids home to their familiar environment knowing full well that another attack could occur at any moment. As we reach the top of our road a few seconds from our home I split off, with my wife's agreement, from my family to go and daven Mincha (the afternoon service) in a nearby shul. The time now is about 7.10pm.
That was what happened to us in fifteen minutes today. I davened very well at Mincha. Never more is it clearer that Hashem's might and commitment to us is our only hope without taking anything away from our amazing soldiers, IDF and advanced Iron Dome technology that Hashem has blessed us alone with the intelligence and skill to create, develop and produce..... and it works! In hebrew the Iron Dome is called 'Kippat Barzel' - in English that means 'the metal kippa' as in the kippa that a Jew wears on their head as a sign of awe of Hashem who is above him at all times.
You are not here experiencing this physically with us but please, please, please read this email and imagine it happened to you and your family. I know many of the Jews in the Diaspora are doing all they can to help us but just in case any of you are not as tuned in please take on board that as Jews living outside the Land of Israel you are not exempt from joining us in this extremely dangerous and harrowing experience. This kind of thing is happening to hundreds of thousands of families and people across Israel ALL THE TIME at this very moment in some form or another. If you were here it would most likely be happening to you. Kids on their summer holidays are traumatised, people are anxious and terrified despite the great wave of unity and faith in Hashem that envelopes our holy people here. Life carries on but with a constant feeling of anticipation for the next siren G-d forbid.
Please switch off your TVs, your Smart Phones, your life for just a moment and reach into your Jewish heart, your Jewish soul and force yourself to really think about this war for a few minutes and what it truly means to you. This is not a 'religious' demand on you, this is a Jewish demand on you regardless of your religious standing - and there are a very broad mix of religious levels on this email list. But, if you wish to count yourself amongst the great Jewish nation then you need to take my request into your hearts and choose to live through this war with us for as long as it continues, every step of the way. You need to passionately support Israel, your brothers and sisters in the only Land that can be called the Home of the Jews. You need to pray to Hashem, our Father, our King, for our safety for He is the only One who can help and save us. Are your eyes open to the miracles that are happening to us here every day? I hope so. Stop taking seriously what the anti semitic news channels report or international bodies like the UN or the EU - they are vile, sickening and evil institutions who distort the truth. What they lack in journalistic integrity or humanity they make up for in hatred of Jews. Jewish life is cheap to the world, Palestinian Jew hating terrorist life is not.
As the Torah informed us over 3200 years ago it's clear as day that we are despised by the nations with a tiny handful of truly exceptional and wonderful righteous gentiles who see our plight and know the truth.
But one thing that I have to deeply thank Hamas and their cohorts for is helping to create unprecedented Jewish unity across Israel and the world. The teenagers they kidnapped and killed, these barbaric rocket attacks on us only cause us to come closer together and strengthen our collective, national faith in Hashem. In the end, every moment of evil that they engage in will ultimately backfire and lead to their downfall. Hashem has a long, never fading memory and all deeds will be accounted for.
Sent with love, blessings and faith in our Creator from the Holy City of Jerusalem, shavua tov, have a good week. Take care wherever you are. We're davening for you too.
Date: 13/07/2014 12:56 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: When the sirens went off on Shabbat
Dear Rabbonim, family and friends in the Diaspora
Yesterday at about 6.55pm on Shabbat, my family and I were taking a walk down a suburban street with our kids returning from our friend's home. We were 5 minutes from our home. The sun was shining, it was beautiful Israeli weather. All around people we didn't know were also walking with their families, some with elderly parents or relatives, most with kids. The public park was pretty full, where a hundred, maybe two hundred people were visiting.
And then suddenly, without any prior warning and disturbing all the peace of a Shabbat afternoon walk was the all too familiar sound of the sirens. So, what would you do?
Well, here's what happened to us.
I was holding my 2 year old son's hand and in the other hand I was holding his sippy cup and a snack. I immediately dropped both things on the floor and picked him up. I grabbed the hand of my nearly 6 year old daughter and instinctively looked around for the safest place to go. My wife was a few feet away from me also switching into high alert mode trying to work out where we should put ourselves. Our 'new anti-terror attack training' which started a few days ago tells us to go into the nearest home or failing that to go next to a wall or car and crouch down holding your hands over your head whilst smothering your children underneath you in order to shield them as much as you can.
So far, we're up to about 5 seconds into the situation.
We see across the road a religious man calling us and others, ushering us with his hands towards his house. I've never seen this man before, a stranger but my brother. This is Israel, we're all brothers and sisters here after all is said and done. I run across the road holding my boy in my right arm and my daughter in my left hand, my wife right next to us. I catch a glimpse of my daughter's face as we are all running. Panic defines her expression and she lets out what can only be described as a desperate cry of innocent fear. It was very painful as a father to see that.
We reach the staircase leading up to the man's home. It's now maybe 15-20 seconds since the sirens went off. In Southern Israel the rockets would have already landed and exploded by now. In Jerusalem we have a little longer but believe me you're not aware of the time when it's happening, you just run, you focus and deal with your situation. Remember all this is happening on a quiet suburban street.
Concerned for my daughter getting up the 15 or 20 steps not quick enough I decide instinctively to pick her up in my left arm. Holding both of them now in my arms I ascend the steps. My wife is nearby next to us. As we climb the stairs (now 25-30 seconds in) I see lots more people going up the stairs in front of us - kids and adults from this man's family and maybe other families presumably - all aiming to get to 'safety' inside the house. A lady at the entrance door ushers us in and points to me to 'go down there'. Now inside the house, 'down there' was a stairwell of darkness, no lights on. I assumed it led to the bomb shelter. It did. I reach the bomb shelter which was pitch black and couldn't see how many people were inside but I could hear many voices, mainly children speaking hebrew. I honestly don't know how many people were in there but it was many and the space was narrow and small. Not the first time Jews have been in confined dark spaces huddled together in fear. Yes, images of cattle cars came to my mind. Nothing has changed, the holocaust and hatred of the Jews continues but the perpetrators now are darker skinned and speak a different language.
My son is not crying but just keeps talking about 'the sirens daddy, the sirens. I don't like that noise'. He does not understand what's going on but knows that it's not good. He's as brave as a 2 year old could be under the circumstances. For the past few days he regularly comes out with things about 'the sirens, the scary noise'. My daughter was standing next to me, holding on to me with all her life, quiet in her innocent confusion. My wife was next to her, we were all together standing with numerous strangers listening out for explosions. We're now at the 45-50 second mark since the sirens went off. One lady next to my wife says quietly in hebrew "Hashem ya'azor", "May Hashem help us". Amens are heard. The sirens stop.... A pause..... Silence...... then BOOM! A few seconds pause..... BOOM! Nobody screams or really makes a sound. Then a pause. The children chatter away in the darkness of the bomb shelter, trying to distract themselves, some even laughing at the fun of this situation. The door of the shelter was never closed because there were too many people.
Maybe 5-6 minutes later we decide it's safe to leave even though the suggested time is 10 minutes. But it's ok, we're all getting a bit too used to this now and we 're beginning to know the drill.
As we emerge from the darkness to leave the house, we exchange "Shabbat shaloms" and "Toda raba's" (thank you's) with our kind 'hosts' and then exit the house, go down the stairs to the main street and walk home. We're all ok thank G-d. The booms were most likely the miraculous Iron Dome system intercepting the missiles of evil as no apparent damage can be seen where we were at least. We're keen obviously to get the kids home to their familiar environment knowing full well that another attack could occur at any moment. As we reach the top of our road a few seconds from our home I split off, with my wife's agreement, from my family to go and daven Mincha (the afternoon service) in a nearby shul. The time now is about 7.10pm.
That was what happened to us in fifteen minutes today. I davened very well at Mincha. Never more is it clearer that Hashem's might and commitment to us is our only hope without taking anything away from our amazing soldiers, IDF and advanced Iron Dome technology that Hashem has blessed us alone with the intelligence and skill to create, develop and produce..... and it works! In hebrew the Iron Dome is called 'Kippat Barzel' - in English that means 'the metal kippa' as in the kippa that a Jew wears on their head as a sign of awe of Hashem who is above him at all times.
You are not here experiencing this physically with us but please, please, please read this email and imagine it happened to you and your family. I know many of the Jews in the Diaspora are doing all they can to help us but just in case any of you are not as tuned in please take on board that as Jews living outside the Land of Israel you are not exempt from joining us in this extremely dangerous and harrowing experience. This kind of thing is happening to hundreds of thousands of families and people across Israel ALL THE TIME at this very moment in some form or another. If you were here it would most likely be happening to you. Kids on their summer holidays are traumatised, people are anxious and terrified despite the great wave of unity and faith in Hashem that envelopes our holy people here. Life carries on but with a constant feeling of anticipation for the next siren G-d forbid.
Please switch off your TVs, your Smart Phones, your life for just a moment and reach into your Jewish heart, your Jewish soul and force yourself to really think about this war for a few minutes and what it truly means to you. This is not a 'religious' demand on you, this is a Jewish demand on you regardless of your religious standing - and there are a very broad mix of religious levels on this email list. But, if you wish to count yourself amongst the great Jewish nation then you need to take my request into your hearts and choose to live through this war with us for as long as it continues, every step of the way. You need to passionately support Israel, your brothers and sisters in the only Land that can be called the Home of the Jews. You need to pray to Hashem, our Father, our King, for our safety for He is the only One who can help and save us. Are your eyes open to the miracles that are happening to us here every day? I hope so. Stop taking seriously what the anti semitic news channels report or international bodies like the UN or the EU - they are vile, sickening and evil institutions who distort the truth. What they lack in journalistic integrity or humanity they make up for in hatred of Jews. Jewish life is cheap to the world, Palestinian Jew hating terrorist life is not.
As the Torah informed us over 3200 years ago it's clear as day that we are despised by the nations with a tiny handful of truly exceptional and wonderful righteous gentiles who see our plight and know the truth.
But one thing that I have to deeply thank Hamas and their cohorts for is helping to create unprecedented Jewish unity across Israel and the world. The teenagers they kidnapped and killed, these barbaric rocket attacks on us only cause us to come closer together and strengthen our collective, national faith in Hashem. In the end, every moment of evil that they engage in will ultimately backfire and lead to their downfall. Hashem has a long, never fading memory and all deeds will be accounted for.
Sent with love, blessings and faith in our Creator from the Holy City of Jerusalem, shavua tov, have a good week. Take care wherever you are. We're davening for you too.
David Goodwin
First published on 16 July 2014, on Jewish P.O.S.T. - the Jewish Voice for the People Of South Tottenham (now defunct).
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