This past week was fairly typical of life here in Israel. It feels almost normal, even though only 3 months have passed since the start of the Gazan War. Looking in from the outside it must resemble an episode from the The Twilight Zone.
Early morning prayers, words that once were routine, have taken on deeper meaning and more urgency. As I leave the beit knesset (synagogue), kids are off to school, others are off to work. I let the news in twice a day usually, morning and evening, with a couple of updates a day that come in on Whatsapp. There is dread as I open the morning news, how many fallen soldiers will be named today, how many injured. There are days when there are no names and I feel a weight lifted from my shoulders and my stomach unknots.
My son is in Gaza. His wife and kids came for Shabbat. And, well, surprise, so did he! He got out last minute. We never know what to expect really but are very thankful that he was with his wife and kids and we were all together.
My eldest daughter joined us, as well. Her husband is on-duty in the reserves in Samaria. He did not get out. Maybe this coming Shabbat.
My other son is back in training after time on the northern front. This Shabbat he was not with us but rather spent it with his unit, hold up in a 4 star hotel in Eilat. Food and lodgings donated by the hotel, families and private donors. They even had a day on a yacht. On the one hand, they beat them up during training and on the other hand know how to pamper them when they can. At the sametime, units like his are deep in Khan Yunis. Hopefully, we will see him this Shabbat.
Gatherings once taken for granted (or perhaps not taken for granted but under-appreciated) have become truly big blessings.
In the meantime, the war continues in Gaza and across the country. On the northern front sit hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The Lebanon border is subject to daily attacks. Roads are closed to civilians. Some 80,000 residents are still under evacuation orders. There are makeshift classrooms and activities to accommodate the kids. My daughter volunteers with them once a week. She is but one of thousands trying to help them through this period.
In the Golan, there are Iranian backed militias moving near the border. Rockets and suicide drones can be heard in our region and the retaliatory volleys of Israeli artillery shake the houses as they fire into Syria. The roar of jet engines has become a normal part of our background noise as Israeli fighters fly overhead.
At the sametime, dinner needs to be made, the laundry needs to get done, there is ballet class and basketball practice to go to. The dog needs to be walked. One must keep up with Wordle!
It is a bit like an episode out of the Twilight Zone. Depending on when and from where you are looking, things can look fine but they are not fine. And then, of course, there are the hostages and that is not “fine” no matter how you look at it.
For all those who feel the need to cry out about the dead and displaced in Gaza, please remember that they were not in this situation on October 6th. If Hamas and the other Gazans holding Israeli hostages released them and then lay down their weapons and turned themselves in the war would end. I suppose until that happens we will continue to live in the Twilight Zone.
Meir