Kiryat Shmona, the road to recovery
Yesterday, we drove “up North” for a family celebration. In these difficult days for Am Yisrael, when once again terror struck at our local shopping center, terrorists murdering a local youth, it is so important to appreciate the good, while we continue to mourn yet another loss for Am Yisrael.
And so, almost our entire family headed to our Northern border, to celebrate the birth of a new Grandaughter.
We needed a place to spend the night, so we rented an apartment for the night in Kiryat Shmona, the “capital city’ of the north. The owner seemed lovely on the phone, and we set out on our way. As many family members were coming from various locations after long days at work we thought we would meet in a local coffee shop for dinner. However, while Kiryat Shmona is no longer officially evacuated, the city has not come back to itself. We drove past tens of destroyed homes, hit by missles over the last year and half of this current war, alongside notices of ‘Azkarot’, memorial services for local soldiers killed in battle. After phoning several eating establishments, we learnt that most have not yet reopened, and those that have, close by 400 PM. There is no “night life” in Kiryat Shmona.
Asking locals, who responded in surprise to our seemingly simple question, they confirmed that most businesses have not returned to function, and those that have, have done so only partially
Yet today, we will return to our son’s kibbutz, to celebrate new life.
This Shabbat we will read Parshat Balak, containing the words which were the inspiration for the latest “war within the war”
הן עם כלביא יקום וכארי יתנשא לא ישכב עד יאכל טרף ודם חללים ישתה
The Jewish people, compared to a lion, will continue to rise up against our enemies. With God’s help, we will prevail.
As we stood together with our family, celebrating the birth of our newest grandaugter, surrounded by our children and families, many of whom have spent the last year serving in the IDF, and those who served on the Kitat konenut to defend the very border kibbutz in which we celebrated today, we saw the embodiment of just that.
Am Yisrael Chai
