Aliyah 104: Concerned about us?

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Now for something different

What follows is a letter from my wife after a cartoon from AI that “I” created, inspired by her letter. I’m in awe of how far AI images have come in just the past few months – and an awe of how my wife has made my life so great, much of that for dragging me to Israel.

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From my wife, “To my friends in America”

To my friends in America who have reached out expressing concern and asking what everyday life is like in Israel during the war, thanks for reaching out. I will try to give a brief synopsis about what it is like living in Israel on a day-to-day basis.

– Although schools and beaches are closed, all stores and malls are open as usual. In fact, they are packed because Passover is coming whether we are at war with Iran or not.

– The Iron dome, also known as Hashem’s hand or the modern day ananei hakavod (clouds of glory) is nothing short of miraculous. Have you seen recent pictures of Iran? Without the Iron dome, Israel could very well (c”v) be suffering the same fate.

– No, we are not homebound. We go out when we have to or want to. Supermarkets, restaurants, clothing stores, craft stores and of course, Ikea are all great places to hang out.

– Sirens are dealt with in a very calm and underwhelming manner. First, you get a notification on your phone 5 minutes beforehand that a siren may be coming your way. Then, if a missile threatens your area, 90 seconds before it’s scheduled to hit the ground, a siren goes off. So we have 90 seconds to seek shelter. This is usually fine unless you are boiling pasta, taking a shower, reproducing, or on the toilet.

– If you are driving, you either pull over or drive faster, depending on what you feel like doing or what the majority of cars around you are doing at the time.

– Sometimes, the iron dome making contact with missles, or shrapnel falling to the ground, is extremely loud. Sometimes our windows and doors shake and the booms can be felt inside our bodies.

– Siren time has actually become a fascinating time here. If we are home, we sing karaoke, work on a puzzle or catch up with each other. If we are outside when a siren sounds, we have just been given an amazing opportunity to meet new neighbors or catch up with old ones. I’ve met some really lovely people lately while jogging.

– More recently, we have all become a bit war weary and instead of going into the bomb shelter we just hang out in the basement most of the time and call it a compromise.

– Being here for a year and a half has taught me a thing or two about Israelis. When there’s a siren, everyone does what they need to do. But as soon as it’s over, nobody really talks about it and everyone immediately goes back to business as usual. It’s literally become background noise. Israeli’s are so resilient. We do what we have to do to keep ourselves safe, and then move on with our day.

– It’s been about 5 weeks now with no real structure, and my kids are rock stars. They are truly making the best out of a really difficult situation. They volunteer on farms, the library and the local clothing gemach. They go out with friends, catch up on schoolwork, and babysit and clean for Passover for other families who need help.

– Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it’s disorienting. Yes, it’s frustrating. Still, as a family we all agree we don’t want to be anywhere else. Wishing everyone no matter where you are a chag kasher v’sameach!

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