The Ring of Steel

IT’S TIME TO COME HOME, FOR ALL OF US…

There is not one person living in Israel who does not need a break from the devastating events of October 7, 2023, and of every day thereafter : the opportunity to quiet our minds, our souls, at least temporarily, the chance to distance ourselves from the day-to-day brutality which we have personally or vicariously experienced and endured- be it attendance at funerals ,shivas, preparing meals for the displaced, for soldiers, or merely to stop staring endlessly at the beautiful faces of our brave men and women no longer among us.

Not everyone has been as fortunate as myself to have had that reprieve. But, in the relative quiet of a Chicago suburb, the sounds of Israel remain ever present in my mind. There is the constant double take as I hear the roar of jet planes overhead on their way to O’Hare.” OK, they must be on their way to Lebanon, and with Hashem’s help, successful on their mission, or maybe,… they are on their way south, and with the same prayer “. Then I have to stop myself “, … No, you are just hearing the planes on their flight path to O’Hare … Ah, yes…” Then, there were the fireworks of July 4, where I was crouched, hidden in my bed waiting for the constant blasts of brightly colored fireworks to be over. It was too reminiscent of the barrage of missiles sent over to Israel by our ever present enemies. The fear was real but misplaced. I live in Netanya, so far an oasis.

Yet, I did experience quietude. Three blissful days on Camano Island, located 65 miles northwest of Seattle Washington. Surrounded by salt water on all sides, the island is covered with an emerald green primeval forest. The trees are so tall they almost touch the sky. The only sound to be heard is the soothing hushed swish of water lapping up against the multitude of gray, black, and speckled rocks that form the shoreline. Even the seagulls overhead fly silently in their constant quest for sustenance. Fawns meander unabashed across forest paths lined thickly with blackberry bushes slung low, their fruit bursting with purple blackish berries. The days are silent, peaceful, reassuringly relaxed. Days that may have been the same for millenia. One could get lost forever in the quiet.

Even here my thoughts bring me back to our beleaguered State of Israel. Why have we not been granted such tranquility? This thought ruminated in my mind as I breathed in the sweet pine air.

But, on our last night in this paradise, I heard the shofar blast. It was not the call of the ram’s horn, but the call was the same. It was the roar, the blast, of 18 G- Growlers and the Poseidons doing practice runs from the Naval Aviation Station at Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, across the channel from our idyllic sojourn.

This “shofar” reminded me that peacefulness and tranquility are fragile, and that they rely upon something beyond their seemingly “natural” existence. Walter Russell Mead in his August 12, 2024 WSJ column responded to my question, the context- the success of the Paris Olympic Games:

“ The Paris Games were a triumph for French and western soft power, broadcasting an inspiring vision of the best humanity can achieve. But the Games succeeded only because they were protected by a ring of steel. Hard power was the necessary foundation of all the joy, all the excellence and all the competitive drama that made the Games so great.”

I had my answer. I am ready once more for the roar of our planes and helicopters overhead. I am ready to return to Israel, and to assist in any way possible on the path to victory. It may not be to the quiet of Camano Island, but, I will remember that it is those navy planes that make Camano so quiet, and that we are blessed to have our own “ring of steel”. Eventually, it will bring us tranquility. It is time for me to come home. Time for you too. Don’t wait “till it quietens down”. It may take a long time for that to happen. But, we are protected by our very own “Ring of Steel “, and Hashem’s blessings. We all need to remember that.