On the ground in Eretz Yisrael and currently unable to return to Queens due to the circumstances, Yaakov Serle, on behalf of his wife Atara, shared their story with Rabbi Peretz Eichler on his weekly radio show. The following is a transcription.
Rabbi Peretz Baruch Eichler: Where are you right now?
Yaakov Serle: Right now, I am in Beitar Illit, which is not too far from Kever Rachel and Efrat, and just 20 minutes from Yerushalayim. It is situated between two Arab villages which have been quiet for close to 15 years since my daughter has been living here. There has hardly ever been an incident and it has been pretty safe. But this week has been very trying for everybody across Israel. It is commonly said that this is the biggest war that Israel has ever faced through very, very savage terrorists who are doing the unconscionable.
PE: As it is now being called unequivocally a war now, who is believed to be Israel’s enemy: Hamas or its Iranian affiliates?
YS: Hamas began its terror originally in the South, and now there are reports of fighting by Lebanon up north. Terrorists broke through fences, came by sea, using all different avenues to violently beat up and murder people in yeshuvim, and in cities like Ashdod, and Ashkelon, taking many hostages as they took the lives of over 1,000 Israelis and injured well over 2,200.
PE: Do you have any family on the frontlines?
YS: Right now, I have two nephews and a cousin that are fighters, and my niece does not know where precisely her son is. It’s very trying. We’ve been doing a lot of davening.
PE: What is your path to return to Queens?
YS: The airline that I was flying, Poland’s LOT, was cancelled, and they are trying to get a new flight, but it is suspected that it may also get cancelled. I feel very much a part of Eretz Yisrael and the Jewish people. Being here feels like a special z’chus, even with the danger.
PE: Does that mean that everybody else who traveled for Yom Tov is now without a means of return to the states? Are all flights cancelled?
YS: No. ELAL, is flying and there have been flights to Cyprus from other airlines. People flying my airline learned of the cancellation right after Yom Tov, and we were placed temporarily on a flight for this upcoming Thursday morning on Turkish Airlines. There were many people trying to get out of Israel, and that has resulted in over 1,000 Jewish people seeking flights from the airport in Cyprus where they found an available flight out of Israel. These people are essentially stranded there without a means to get into America. I’d rather be stuck in Israel than there.
PE: If one has to be stuck anywhere in the world, Eretz Yisrael feels like the best place one would want to find themselves.
YS: Exactly. Yet, there were sirens followed by a big boom, which meant that a missile had hit. This occurred a block and a half from us. Thank G-d we are okay, but there were four injured, and an 11-year-old boy is recovering with worse wounds. This boy ran and hid behind a car. As it happened, that car was hit directly by the missile and was burned to smithereens. (As of this writing, the boy is expected to recover.)
PE: I wish the boy a speedy recovery. I received a report from a friend in Tzfas, where a missile was intercepted by the Iron Dome. This means that the attack is not only on the southern front and is now across the country.
YS: We were in shul in the center of Beitar and we were hearing sirens all morning long, so we knew something was going on, but we did not miss a beat and we continued with the regular Simchas Torah rituals on Shabbos, the only day of the chag in Israel.
PE: How do we understand Iran’s involvement, and will Israel hold them accountable?
YS: There is an overall belief that Iran is the culprit. I don’t think Hamas could have orchestrated an operation like this without planning and the financial assistance of Iran, a very evil nation intent on destroying the Jewish homeland. It’s not like this has not happened before, going back to Amalek. The Jewish people are strong and will survive. On Shabbos morning, every single reserve and army soldier was called. Buses went city to city picking up the young men who were energized to do their calling.
PE: Da’as Torah has explained that every one of us is in danger and that we must increase our tachnunim, i.e., our davening, and learning, as we rely on the shomer Yisrael, Hashem. As it was Simchas Torah, we have our greatest joy when we are learning its depth. The singing and dancing was so effusive and powerful, magnified by every Jewish soul immersed in its gift. This is why we turn to Hashem in these times knowing that the yeshuah, redemption, only comes from Him.
YS: It is interesting. my nephew was called to the army and in Israel a link is set up for someone to learn for the success of an individual soldier. Immediately as my niece put her son’s name on the list, there was a response. As it turns out, upon looking at the last name, it was none other than that of my son-in-law. She quickly texts us, asking, “Do you know Yitzy Chaitovsky?” As none of my grandsons are named Yitzy, my son-in-law recalls a 50-year-old cousin in Ashdod who has an 11-year-old son Yitzy who heard that there was a soldier in need of someone to learn for him and right away volunteered. The miracle is that little Yitzy lives just two houses from the scene of where the missile struck.
PE: Wow, kein yirbu.
