Shabbat just ended, Jerusalem was shaking

I just finished saying the whole book of Tehilim, Psalms. Someone recently asked, what do you do to regulate yourself, to stay calm when life gets hard. I had to think about it, and prayer is the answer. Not necessarily the holy books, it could be your own conversation with God or a song. Right before Shabbat, I posted a video of the miracles of a strong Israel, with precise targets and safety of soldiers and civilians. I felt so proud, and even though I had experienced my first “extreme alert,” as always, I knew it was God’s plan.

The streets were very quiet in Jerusalem last night, and right after we finished our Shabbat Friday night meal, the first siren sounded. We gathered in our building, heard booms outside and when there was quiet, we all decided to go back to our homes and wait. Before the next siren we saw the missiles from our window, they were burning orange in the sky, like shooting stars. Maybe their targets were to other cities, so we waited and watched, we saw at least 10. Once we heard the siren again, we joined our neighbors again. Some people have shelters they can sleep in, some have a special place to gather in their building. We decided to sleep in our beds, and slept quite well before a very long siren at one in the morning, that is when I felt our building shake. After that it was quiet.

For me, it was magic that it was Shabbat. I did not want to know every detail, I just needed to keep myself and my family calm. The day was also quiet, we did not leave the house. Very few people in the streets, and a mysterious plume of smoke rising not too far from us.

Jewish people live by their own calendar, and no matter what is happening in the world, that is my priority. As I am writing this, I have not checked my phone, and still do not know what is the status.

This was last night before Shabbat, and it is the first time the whole state of Israel was highlighted, usually it is certain points where the missile is headed. Everyone is on alert and ready to go to shelter yesterday and now. Thank God it was a peaceful Shabbat day, and I said the whole book of Tehilim, and am grateful that my husband waited to do Havdalla so I could finish. Baruch Hashem, Am Yisroel Chai!