As this article is being written, in Eretz Yisrael it is already Monday afternoon. We already had two full days of work and all the kids went to school and came home - twice! It is now 1:30 p.m. and we need to thank Hashem that the kids all arrived home safely. They are expecting a fresh, hot fleishig lunch, because Israelis eat their main meal in the middle of the day.
What is it like for a veteran Queens girl to try to raise children in an all-Israeli society? What a z’chus it is to be able to live here in the holy land, with all the holy people! Life here can be fun, exciting, uplifting, intense, challenging, and especially normal all at the same time. We are truly lucky to be here!
Me: “Hi, kids. How was school today?”
Children: “Great, Ma, we all had targilim today!”
Me: “Do you mean you had an air raid siren drill? Did you practice lining up quietly in a single-file line behind your teacher so you can get to the bomb shelter without panicking? That is how we had fire drills when I was a young girl in BYQ.”
Children: “We did need to be quiet, but line up in a single file line? Huh? (All children laugh.) By the time all 35 girls in our class would line up, the 90 seconds would be finished and we would all be dead? We needed to run quietly to the bomb shelter and all be there before the rocket falls.”
Over the years we have lived in Israel, we learned that Israelis don’t know what it means to line up. Have you ever seen an Egged bus pull up to a bus stop full of people and how they board the bus? First, the bus pulls up, and the driver opens all the doors at once. Men and boys get on the front of the bus, women, girls, children, strollers, and babies board from the back door - all at once. Once the bus is filled to capacity and everyone who can fit onto the bus is on, the doors are closed and the bus pulls away. Sometimes I miss living in New York, where most people own cars. (I recently feel like I am back in Queens with all the war planes constantly flying overhead.)
The phone is ringing; it’s the mayor of the city, Meir Rubenstein (his first name is “Meir” but he is the Rosh Hair to all Hebrew speakers), leaving a message for the citizens. He said the reason the busses are so few and far in between is because there are currently no Arab drivers allowed into the city. “Ish Lereihu Yaazoru,” he says. Help your friend, give rides if you own a car. He also said that there is a lack of garbage collectors and street cleaners, who were also Arabs, so everyone should pitch in and take a broom outside to sweep. Make sure all garbage bags make it into the tzefardeah (the green garbage dumpster). His last message was that everyone should be mekazek in their Tefilla and Torah, which has protected our city until now! Since this war has started, we have been zoche to see many miracles, right here in Beitar Illit! Some examples are: The time three weeks ago when a missile landed on a main street, bursting a water main under the road. It did not do nearly as much damage as it could have. Additionally, several times terrorists have planted bombs on the outskirts of the city, and they have not done any damage.
Me: “Welcome home (to the boys who just arrived home from cheder). What do you have to say? What did the you do this afternoon during the Boom Boom?” (This is what we call the noise of the rocket landing. This rocket is close enough to hear, but far enough that there is no siren and we do not have to go into our sealed room).
8th Grader: At the sound of the first boom, all the boys stood up. The second boom, they started going toward the window. By the third boom, they were all on top of each other trying to look out the window, and by the fourth boom, the rebbe told the boys to sit back down and continue learning Gemara. He told us learning Torah is our strongest weapon that will protect us and help win the war.
Now you can understand what they mean when they say: “All Israelis have a special bond with each other.” All activities here in Eretz Yisrael are done with achdus, and done shoulder to shoulder - literally!
The unity between Am Yisrael is what will bring the shoulders, I mean soldiers, home safely, with the coming of Moshiach!
Besurot Tovot
By Chana Miriam Chaitovsky (Serle), Beitar Illit
