Part II

Day 25 of Operation Iron Swords. There was a loud azaka (alarm) in Yerushalayim yesterday, which left people unnerved. As the city had been quiet for close to two weeks, the sudden boom took them by surprise and jolted them greatly. However, as we have seen so many times in the past, the people of Israel are resilient and able to resume relatively normal lives even after the most horrific of events. The traffic in Yerushalayim has returned almost completely to its usual density and most of the businesses and malls are open. Life goes on despite the absence of so many from their homes who are defending the country on the battlefield.

I would like to share just a few more of the acts of chesed of which we have taken note during the past weeks. There are no doubt hundreds more to report, of which we will become aware as time goes on.

On the notorious Shabbat, October 7, when soldiers and reservists were called to duty, they jumped into their family cars and drove to designated pickup spots. They left their cars where parked and went off to bases around the country on buses and other official vehicles. The parked cars lined the highways like abandoned vehicles. It was clear that they were no longer accessible to the thousands of wives and mothers who relied upon them for their daily activities.

Immediately, a WhatsApp group was formed to list the location of vehicles left behind and their needed destination. A call was issued to those willing to drive the vehicles from their abandoned locations to homes in communities around the country. Within a short time, hundreds volunteered to drive. After being vetted online, they were given instructions and began their journeys. Upon returning the vehicles, the drivers were treated to “coffee and cake” and more importantly “hugs and kisses” for returning a lifeline to a family missing and worrying about their beloved soldier.

Many of the communities adjoining Gaza are agricultural hubs, producing fruits and vegetables distributed throughout the country. Obviously their activities were interrupted by the horrific events surrounding them. When the opportunity opened for transporting this produce, communities around the country volunteered to sell the produce locally and give 100% of the proceeds to the farmers. Here in Talmon, crates of luscious cherry tomatoes flew off the front porch of a local resident. Over the past two weeks, pineapples, oranges, lemons and flowers have been sold locally. In Yerushalayim, we even saw baby watermelons from southern farms flying out of the boxes. What a nation!

These same southern farmers lost their workers to IDF service. Foreign workers were also removed from the fields. This left the produce to rot on the trees. Once again a call went out through a WhatsApp group, this time through an organization called Hashomer Hachadash, for volunteers to come down south and help pick the produce. In some cases, the volunteers were engaged in planting new crops of fruits and vegetables. As I write this article, one of our granddaughters is on a farm in the South helping plant a new crop of strawberries together with young people 18 and over from across the country.

Be’eri is one of the kibbutzim near Gaza that was tragically attacked on October 7 and suffered horrendous losses. One of its major industries is a well-known printing establishment, which employs many locals. As of this week, the printing is back in place and requests are coming in from all over the country for their services which are being provided virtually.

Stories are being told of young people waiting for their IDF assignments volunteering to stock the shelves at supermarkets and even serving as cashiers. We are hearing that professional barbers are traveling to bases across the country to provide needed haircuts to the chayalim, which no doubt helps their physical and emotional well-being. Expensive tzimerim, vacation cottages, up North are opening their doors to soldiers in the area to shower and rest. Preschools and elementary schools that have opened in cities and small communities are inviting the children of the evacuees to attend and are integrating them into the classroom and surroundings.

Popular singing stars including Yishai Ribo and Chanan Ben Ari have been traveling the country to provide uplifting entertainment to the heroes defending our people. And the list of chasadim goes on and on!

On a personal note, Moish and I just celebrated one of the greatest milestones of our lives by participating in the marriage of our oldest grandson, Chaim Yehoshua Rosenfield, to Hadas Chaya Chayat. The wedding took place in the Psagot winery where over 300 people gathered to joyously celebrate the establishment of yet another bayit ne’eman b’Yisrael. The joy and meaning of the evening was indescribable. The arrival of Hadas’ three brothers serving on the front lines just in time for the chuppah to begin was no less than a nes galui, open miracle, as was the determination of hundreds of couples throughout Israel to fulfill their dreams of marriage despite the attempts of our enemies to deter us.

Ein k’amcha Yisrael!

Pearl Markovitz is the senior staff writer at The Jewish Link and was spending time with family in Eretz Yisrael when the war broke out. We appreciate her efforts to keep us updated and, most importantly, we pray for her and her family’s safety, along with all of Israel.