An Individual's Response to Rocket Fire

The past few days have been trying times for millions of people living in Southern and Central Israel. The barrage of rockets that have been unleashed from the terror infrastructure in Gaza has caused many anxious residents to scurry for the nearest shelter. It would be unthinkable to think of any sovereign nation that would have to tolerate such an attack in its civilian population. It would be a near certainty for the country to go to war with the mission of destroying the enemy, and there would be international understanding if not outright support. Yet, this is Israel, which is facing the attacks, and besides a couple of notable exceptions, there has been a lot of indifference and even outright condemnation towards Israel from other countries. Consider the reaction of Jordan, which has a peace treaty with Israel, who had this response to the Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip that killed a top Islamic Jihad commander. It released a statement blaming Israel for the ensuing escalation in violence. And this is coming from a country that has a peace treaty with Israel! It’s rather easy to get demoralized when thinking about the constant threats that Israel faces from multiple different borders and not to mention the existential threat that it faces from bad actors in the region. In light of the situation, it’s vital that one does not feel helpless but rather practically think of something to do. I want to suggest a couple of things:

Prayer. It’s important not to become desensitized and believe that this situation has been going on for a long time, and the status quo will be here indefinitely. Our Rabbis have taught that in times of need, we should pour hearts out to our Father in Heaven and ask for heavenly protection for our brothers and sisters in harm’s way. The Chief Rabbi of Israel, David Lau, visited the residents of Southern Israel and said the following. “We’ve merited to live in the land about which the Torah testifies: ‘The land which the eyes of Hashem your G-d are on it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.’ The eyes of G-d are on it, and we see and hear sounds of explosions slightly south and east from here. They’re firing at us without regard to men, women, and children, but they’re firing at those protected by the Iron Dome of the Creator of the Word.” Let us spend a few moments during our prayer to focus on those in harm’s way as the power of prayer is compelling and significant.

2 Advocacy. The majority of the rockets did not cause injury or harm despite the barrage of nearly 400 rockets being fired in a couple of days. A good part of the reason for that is the Iron Dome that is deployed throughout Israel. The Iron Dome is an air defense system used by Israel to intercept and destroy short-range rockets, artillery shells and mortars fired from distances of up to 45 miles. Each Iron Dome battery costs about $100 million; Israel currently has nine batteries. And each Iron Dome Tamir missile that Israel fires — and usually two are sent up to intercept each descending rocket — costs at least $50,000. The United States has provided financial assistance to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars for the development of the Iron Dome. This did not happen in a vacuum. This was the result of an ongoing advocacy effort by individuals and organizations that communicated the importance of Israel’s security to members of Congress. The leading organization involved in this effort is AIPAC. It’s important for us to recognize this and join their efforts so we can do our part in ensuring peace and security in the Jewish State. 

Have a Great Shabbos,
Rabbi Yaakov Fisch