Clearly Protected

We are living through a time when the Yad Hashem is being revealed in a very obvious way. Thousands of missiles have been fired toward Eretz Yisrael. Missiles designed to destroy, to devastate, and רחמנא ליצלן cause unimaginable loss of life. And yet, the numbers tell a story that defies all logic. We are witnessing open miracles. Missiles landing in areas that should have been crowded, and somehow they were left completely empty. Buildings taking direct hits with people inside who walk away unscathed. Sirens going off seconds before impact, giving people just enough time to reach safety. A rabbi from Bnei Brak told me that on Pesach, he felt like he was experiencing miracles similar to those of Yetziat Mitzrayim. He felt the ground shaking all around his neighborhood from explosions, and not one of them caused even a single injury. Part of a cluster bomb landed directly on top of a yeshiva, but it never exploded. A man from Bnei Brak said that on one Shabbat, he was sitting in his home, peacefully immersed in the study of Torah. His son's family was staying with them, and the atmosphere was perfectly suited for a calm, beautiful Shabbat afternoon. But at 4:30, suddenly, he was startled by a tremendous explosion. He immediately realized it was not just a distant interception, but rather a direct impact somewhere very close. He opened the door to his room, and to his horror, black smoke immediately rushed in, accompanied by the smell of fire. He was stunned. The missile had hit his home. He managed to reach the hallway near the living room, and there he saw his son, completely white from head to toe, covered in thick dust. Around them was devastation. In a matter of seconds, the entire house had become a pile of ruins. A fear of Hashem overtook them, and in the midst of it, he stood alive next to his son, who was also alive—and then his grandson joined them as well. They looked around and saw that what was once a home had turned into nothing, and they were unable to comprehend the open miracle of how, in the midst of destruction, their lives were spared. They felt the hashgachah peratit crying out from every shard of glass, every piece of concrete, and every fragment of metal. The missile had landed in the very room where his son and grandson had been learning. He discovered afterward that his other children were alive on the balcony. His son-in-law lived in the apartment above, and all ten windows in both of their living rooms had shattered completely, flying apart with tremendous force. The concrete ceiling had broken apart, and huge, terrifying, heavy chunks of concrete hung in the air, supported only by iron rods that managed to hold them. They felt the words of a pasuk in Tehillim: יִפֹּל מִצִּדֶּךָ אֶלֶף וּרְבָבָה מִימִינֶךָ אֵלֶיךָ לֹא יִגָּשׁ -"A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right, but it will not come near you" Everyone survived—including a one-and-a-half-year-old baby who had been sleeping, his daughter-in-law and her newborn, as well as her son and two daughters who were staying with them. Not only did they survive, not even one drop of blood was drawn from them. There were also twenty people caught in the stairwell trying to get to a safe room, and none of them were harmed. It was so clear that Hashem was protecting them. The hashgachah that Hashem has upon His children is truly amazing. A rabbi from Eretz Yisrael told me that this past year there was an avrech who learns full-time in a kollel standing at the checkout line in a grocery store, and the cashier told him he owed 1,500 shekels. The man on line behind him said he wanted to pay it. The avrech thanked him and said he was okay paying himself. The man insisted, and then explained that he works with the Iron Dome. Other countries have asked Israel to help them set up the same system in their countries, and he is very involved in this. However, those countries—such as Azerbaijan—have only about a 50 percent success rate, while in Israel it is over 90 percent. It is the exact same system. There is no rational explanation. He said, "It must be in the zechut of people like you, who are protecting us with your Torah learning. That is why I want to pay your bill." The Yad Hashem is so clear and so obvious. Let us appreciate how much He is always protecting us.