Nadene Goldfoot
Amazing things have happened in Israel.During the War of Independence in 1948, Jews were outnumbered in Safed 10 to 1. The Jews were also outgunned and out-positioned. Somehow they were able to route the Arabs which some ascribed to Davidka, a homemade mortar which caused more noise than damage and less accurate than any gun. Others thought the miracle was the off- season rain that fell during the siege. The Arabs were sure the Jews had an atom bomb and the rain was the fallout. Some thought the Arabs saw the rain as a sign from G-d that his hand was against them.
They left expecting to return victorious because their leaders promised this would happen. Most of them walked the road of the Wadi Amud and passed the water pumping station built by the British. They didn't touch it. Had they blown it up, being victorious would have meant little as the summer was beginning and the populous would have had no water. They thought they were leaving it for themselves minus the Jews This pump was still serving the city of 16,000 in 1983.
Safed is in the Galilee close to the Lebanon border. It's where I lived for 4 plus years teaching English in the junior high on David Elezar Street.
Miracles are listed in the Torah, but I am awed by all the miracles that have happened in our day from Israel. The very fact of the Six Day War of 1967 (June 5-11, 1967) is a miracle in itself. Moshe Feiglin wrote about it yesterday. He calls this war The War of Miracles. The reason is that suddenly Israel was attacked by all the Arab nations. With insurmountable odds, Israel came out of it a winner in Six Days, gaining land they used to own a few thousand years ago. Jerusalem, the center of our religion, had been divided since 1948. Part of it still was in Jordan's hands. Israel's Labor Party and the national Religious Party wasn't even thinking of liberating it at that time. Moshe Dayan saw no reason.
It was General Avihu Ben Nun, a friend of Moshe Feiglin, who was a young pilot in 67. He told him an awesome story. He, with the IAF were flying low and reached Egypt's airports without being detected which was a miracle in itself. While they were bombing the Egyptian airfield, a heavy Egyptian bomber about to land surprised him as it came in his sight. What should he do? Hit the bomber or stay on target. He stayed with the mission. Some other jets chased the bomber but he escaped them.
Much later Ben Nun met a Jordanian who had been the Egyptian air controller at the airport. As it turned out, Hussein had been told by Israel that if he stayed out of the group action of attacking Israel, all would be well between the two countries and he was going to stay out of it except something strange happened. When the Israeli pilots were bombing Egypt, The Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, called King Hussein of Jordan and told him that the Egyptian planes were bombing Tel Aviv and Haifa and asked him if he wanted to lose Jerusalem? Hussein, checking facts, called the air controller who told him he couldn't see anything and while talking suddenly saw his screen fill up with hundreds of Egyptian planes on their way to Tel Aviv. He reported this to the king. What he really saw was Ben Nun and his comrades on their return flight to Israel after destroying the Egyptian air force on the ground. They now were flying at normal altitude instead of flying low like before. This phone conversation caused Hussein to enter the war which resulted in the liberation of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.
That's not all. Ben Nun had made the decision to not go after the tempting Egyptian bomber. Who had been in it? Only the Egyptian chief of Staff and the entire army command. That mistake turned out to be the best thing ever. The pilot had to evade the chasing Israeli jets in so many skillful evasion techniques that it shook the poor Egyptian chief of Staff up and from the plane he ordered his army to evacuate the entire Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli jets refueled, and then attacked the retreating Egyptian armored forces. The Egyptians were hastily in retreat mode.
The moral of this story is that Jerusalem was liberated in spite of the Jews and the Arabs.
There are many other examples of miracles. I remember one about an enemy plane overhead and the Israeli gunner 's gun froze. While he was trying to fix it, another enemy plane ran into the one he had spotted and they both blew up.
The people of Safed felt a protection for their holy city. The Lebanese border is only 14 kilometers or 8.6 miles away as a Russian katusha rocket flies. Terrorists loved to fire them at Safed but usually always fell short and exploded in the wadi. Once there was a direct hit on an abandoned warehouse and another time one hit the telephone pole.
During the Yom Kippur War from October 6-25, 1973. a direct hit was on the fuel pumps in the central bus station on the 2nd day of the war. There was no fire or explosion and the pumps remained workable. The rocket that entered the air shaft in the only unoccupied apartment building in the block of 10 new buildings caused damage to 2 apartments but no injuries.
What protected the people is thought to be the 7 sons of Hannah of ancient days. They were killed by the Greeks when the Maccabees started to revolt and are buried with their other on the side of the hill over which the katushas pass. What they were doing was slowing down the rockets so they fell harmlessly in the wadi.
Dov Silverman told of when he was walking on guard duty on the outskirts of Safed. His partner was a Hasid (very religious group) of the Breslau sect of Hasidim. The Hasid pointed at the hill at the left of the Safed cemetery and told him to look at the hill where are buried 10,000 tzaddikim (holy Jews). The belief is that when the Messiah comes from Meron to Safed, they will all rise and go with him to Jerusalem.
Silverman asked when this would take place. The Hasid answered that it would happen when his Rabbi moved to Safed and lives opposite Mt. Meron where the famous Rabbi Bar Yokhai and his son were buried. Building was already in progress to house the Rabbi and his followers in Safed, located opposite Mt. Meron. Thus they await another miracle.
On Yom Kippur 1973 the people of Safed stood as one. The Syrians were attacking and had reached within 12 miles of the city. Elicu Pearl and Silverman had been driving for 3 days Casualties were coming in a steady stream. They saw some little kids on the side of the road throwing dirt clods under cars on their way to the hospital. Elicu later told Silverman that they had been keeping the road holes level so the hurt soldiers wouldn't bounce and feel the pain. Silverman later wrote that on Yom Kippur 1973 the souls of the people of Safed appeared before the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be judged. They stood as one before G-d, as they stood as one against their enemies. Both times they proclaimed, "Hear Oh Israel, The Lord Our G-d Is One."
Israel has had to fight for its life after being attacked in at least 14 different occasions from November 1947 to today; on the defensive for its 65 years. From 1947 on, the Palestinian Arabs have been offered a state of their own and they have refused each time. Instead, Israel keeps on getting attacked. Is it any wonder that Israel is all for the Palestinians to have their own state when they can bring themselves to recognize Israel as the Jewish state and decide to live in peace with her? Maybe a miracle will happen and they will finally come around to living in peace with Israel.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_war. .
Legends of Safed by Dov Silverman
The Source by James Michener-chapter about the Miracle of Safed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_Israel
Moshe Feiglin website: May 8, 2013 http://www.jewishisrael.org/eng_contents/articles/73/article7340.html
http://www.jewishisrael.org/
http://www.mflikud.com/
Amazing things have happened in Israel.During the War of Independence in 1948, Jews were outnumbered in Safed 10 to 1. The Jews were also outgunned and out-positioned. Somehow they were able to route the Arabs which some ascribed to Davidka, a homemade mortar which caused more noise than damage and less accurate than any gun. Others thought the miracle was the off- season rain that fell during the siege. The Arabs were sure the Jews had an atom bomb and the rain was the fallout. Some thought the Arabs saw the rain as a sign from G-d that his hand was against them.
They left expecting to return victorious because their leaders promised this would happen. Most of them walked the road of the Wadi Amud and passed the water pumping station built by the British. They didn't touch it. Had they blown it up, being victorious would have meant little as the summer was beginning and the populous would have had no water. They thought they were leaving it for themselves minus the Jews This pump was still serving the city of 16,000 in 1983.
Safed is in the Galilee close to the Lebanon border. It's where I lived for 4 plus years teaching English in the junior high on David Elezar Street.
Miracles are listed in the Torah, but I am awed by all the miracles that have happened in our day from Israel. The very fact of the Six Day War of 1967 (June 5-11, 1967) is a miracle in itself. Moshe Feiglin wrote about it yesterday. He calls this war The War of Miracles. The reason is that suddenly Israel was attacked by all the Arab nations. With insurmountable odds, Israel came out of it a winner in Six Days, gaining land they used to own a few thousand years ago. Jerusalem, the center of our religion, had been divided since 1948. Part of it still was in Jordan's hands. Israel's Labor Party and the national Religious Party wasn't even thinking of liberating it at that time. Moshe Dayan saw no reason.
It was General Avihu Ben Nun, a friend of Moshe Feiglin, who was a young pilot in 67. He told him an awesome story. He, with the IAF were flying low and reached Egypt's airports without being detected which was a miracle in itself. While they were bombing the Egyptian airfield, a heavy Egyptian bomber about to land surprised him as it came in his sight. What should he do? Hit the bomber or stay on target. He stayed with the mission. Some other jets chased the bomber but he escaped them.
Much later Ben Nun met a Jordanian who had been the Egyptian air controller at the airport. As it turned out, Hussein had been told by Israel that if he stayed out of the group action of attacking Israel, all would be well between the two countries and he was going to stay out of it except something strange happened. When the Israeli pilots were bombing Egypt, The Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, called King Hussein of Jordan and told him that the Egyptian planes were bombing Tel Aviv and Haifa and asked him if he wanted to lose Jerusalem? Hussein, checking facts, called the air controller who told him he couldn't see anything and while talking suddenly saw his screen fill up with hundreds of Egyptian planes on their way to Tel Aviv. He reported this to the king. What he really saw was Ben Nun and his comrades on their return flight to Israel after destroying the Egyptian air force on the ground. They now were flying at normal altitude instead of flying low like before. This phone conversation caused Hussein to enter the war which resulted in the liberation of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.
That's not all. Ben Nun had made the decision to not go after the tempting Egyptian bomber. Who had been in it? Only the Egyptian chief of Staff and the entire army command. That mistake turned out to be the best thing ever. The pilot had to evade the chasing Israeli jets in so many skillful evasion techniques that it shook the poor Egyptian chief of Staff up and from the plane he ordered his army to evacuate the entire Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli jets refueled, and then attacked the retreating Egyptian armored forces. The Egyptians were hastily in retreat mode.
The moral of this story is that Jerusalem was liberated in spite of the Jews and the Arabs.
There are many other examples of miracles. I remember one about an enemy plane overhead and the Israeli gunner 's gun froze. While he was trying to fix it, another enemy plane ran into the one he had spotted and they both blew up.
The people of Safed felt a protection for their holy city. The Lebanese border is only 14 kilometers or 8.6 miles away as a Russian katusha rocket flies. Terrorists loved to fire them at Safed but usually always fell short and exploded in the wadi. Once there was a direct hit on an abandoned warehouse and another time one hit the telephone pole.
During the Yom Kippur War from October 6-25, 1973. a direct hit was on the fuel pumps in the central bus station on the 2nd day of the war. There was no fire or explosion and the pumps remained workable. The rocket that entered the air shaft in the only unoccupied apartment building in the block of 10 new buildings caused damage to 2 apartments but no injuries.
What protected the people is thought to be the 7 sons of Hannah of ancient days. They were killed by the Greeks when the Maccabees started to revolt and are buried with their other on the side of the hill over which the katushas pass. What they were doing was slowing down the rockets so they fell harmlessly in the wadi.
Dov Silverman told of when he was walking on guard duty on the outskirts of Safed. His partner was a Hasid (very religious group) of the Breslau sect of Hasidim. The Hasid pointed at the hill at the left of the Safed cemetery and told him to look at the hill where are buried 10,000 tzaddikim (holy Jews). The belief is that when the Messiah comes from Meron to Safed, they will all rise and go with him to Jerusalem.
Silverman asked when this would take place. The Hasid answered that it would happen when his Rabbi moved to Safed and lives opposite Mt. Meron where the famous Rabbi Bar Yokhai and his son were buried. Building was already in progress to house the Rabbi and his followers in Safed, located opposite Mt. Meron. Thus they await another miracle.
On Yom Kippur 1973 the people of Safed stood as one. The Syrians were attacking and had reached within 12 miles of the city. Elicu Pearl and Silverman had been driving for 3 days Casualties were coming in a steady stream. They saw some little kids on the side of the road throwing dirt clods under cars on their way to the hospital. Elicu later told Silverman that they had been keeping the road holes level so the hurt soldiers wouldn't bounce and feel the pain. Silverman later wrote that on Yom Kippur 1973 the souls of the people of Safed appeared before the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be judged. They stood as one before G-d, as they stood as one against their enemies. Both times they proclaimed, "Hear Oh Israel, The Lord Our G-d Is One."
Israel has had to fight for its life after being attacked in at least 14 different occasions from November 1947 to today; on the defensive for its 65 years. From 1947 on, the Palestinian Arabs have been offered a state of their own and they have refused each time. Instead, Israel keeps on getting attacked. Is it any wonder that Israel is all for the Palestinians to have their own state when they can bring themselves to recognize Israel as the Jewish state and decide to live in peace with her? Maybe a miracle will happen and they will finally come around to living in peace with Israel.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_war. .
Legends of Safed by Dov Silverman
The Source by James Michener-chapter about the Miracle of Safed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_Israel
Moshe Feiglin website: May 8, 2013 http://www.jewishisrael.org/eng_contents/articles/73/article7340.html
http://www.jewishisrael.org/
http://www.mflikud.com/
1 comment:
There will never be peace in the world as Long as these beliefs are held.
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