Tzipiyah.com

In last week’s parsha, Shemot, we read how Pharaoh ordered for all the Jewish males to be killed upon their birth. Later, he demanded that all males born, including Egyptian males, were to be killed. According to Rashi, this was because he knew Israel’s saviour was going to be born (Moshe, who would later bring them out of slavery) but he didn’t know if he’d be born to the Israelites or the Egyptians. Pharaoh was willing to kill the children of his own nation just so he could continue the enslavement of the Jews. This just doesn’t make sense; surely you put your own people first, and surely all the kids that were killed would have grown up to be excellent workers anyway. Therefore it is obvious to me that the fact that the Jews are working and building storage houses etc isn’t his main priority. The enslavement keeps them out of the Land of Israel and keeps them under his control, with the hope that they’ll perish. Thankfully, as always, Hashem made Israel even more numerous instead.

This story sent alarm bells ringing in my head. What’s happening today in Eretz Yisrael is no different.Hamas are hiding in schools, houses and hospitals amongst their own people, using human shields, when they know they are being targeted. Hundreds of civilians have died as a result (although I must point out that as tragic this number is, it is extremely low considering the scale of this war and the extremely condensed population in Gaza. The IDF have gone all out to minimise civilian causalities). Do Hamas really care about their people and their welfare? Do they really want the Palestinians to live in their own state? It is obvious they don’t for the above reason, and the fact that they’ve had two years in Gaza to develop it but have instead used this time and money on rockets to fire into Israel. Therefore, this war isn’t about land and it’s not about the Palestinians’ own state. It’s about keeping the Jews out of the Land of Israel and it’s about destroying us, chas v’shalom. Why? For the same reason as in Purim, Chanukah, the Holocaust, etc etc! I don’t have a definition of this reason and I don’t think there is one.

The whole situation is so unbelievable. The world is sleeping. Israel is portrayed as the monster, but Israel is defending itself against 7 years of rocket fire. And if it didn’t it wouldn’t exist. I don’t know how England would react if Ireland fired rockets into Wales everyday. I don’t know how America would react if Canada fired rockets into New York everyday. I’m sure they’d also react “disproportionately.” And I doubt these countries would react with such restraint like the IDF has. And because it’s so unbelievable and so unfair makes it all the more strengthening. I look at the world and we don’t have any friends. We don’t even have America to speak up for us.

From jpost.com

It’s TINY Israel versus the rest of the world. Yet we still survive. Every single time. And this time is NO different. The world doesn’t realise we have an omnipotent Commander in our army.

“Mi C’amcha Yisrael” – “Who is like you Israel?” Sometimes it takes war to bring unity to our people and I think it’s important to see how Jews all over Israel are reacting to the war. From across the spectrum Jews are doing all they can to increase our merit and help out. There’s letters being sent to soldiers, toys being sent to bomb shelters, rabbis on the frontline giving blessings and courage (there was a story where a few soldiers wanted a blessing, and eventually more and more wanted so in the end a massive tallit was held over all the soldiers for one big blessing), the Golani brigade requested tzitzit to wear even if they’re not all religious – hundreds of tzitzit were sent, yeshivot and seminaries are learning more, davening more, completely tehillim several times.

Israel is a land of miracles, with a people of miracles.