Gaza War Miracles

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Maran Rav Shteinman: We Are Witnessing ‘Nissim V’Niflaos’

23July2014 http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/249670/maran-rav-shteinman-we-are-witnessing-nissim-vniflaos.html
Maran HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita commented on events regarding Operation Protective Edge, the IDF counter-terrorism offensive in Gaza. The gadol hador is quoted in Yated Neeman saying “Our entire lives are run by miracles and in recent days, we see Nissim V’Niflaos surpassing nature”.

“כל החיים שלנו הם בדרך נס, בימים האחרונים אנו רואים ניסים ונפלאות מעל לדרך הטבע”

Rav Shteinman explains that there is not a single person among Am Yisrael that has not witnessed the miracles taking place around Israel during the military operation and we must be genuinely aware of HKBH’s intervention.

The rav quotes the Ramban from the end of Parshas Bo that the world is run by miracles, and we have become accustomed to these miracles, referring to the day-to-day as ‘natural’ (derech hateva). However, the rav explains, the so-called natural is in itself a miracle, citing the manna that fell daily. Am Yisrael knew it was HKBH’s hand but they became accustomed to the daily occurrence and viewed it as such.

The rav continues;

“אחרי אלפי שנים וכי יש לנו הנהגה כזו שיורד מן – לחם מן השמים, אין הנהגה ניסית כזו, בכל זאת כל החיים שלנו הם בדרך נס. ומה שאנשים לא מבחינים בזה, לפי שהתרגלו לזה, וזה מה שאנו אומרים בתפילה ג’ פעמים ביום, ועל ניסיך שבכל יום עמנו, שכל הנהגת העולם היא נס”.

He adds during the time of Yirmiyahu HaNavi people lacked bitachon in Hashem and when asked why the masses are not engaged in Torah, they explained they had to earn a livelihood. Today explains the rav, HKBH once again is showing us miracles to remind us and compel us to remember that even if we do not see it with our own eyes, it is all miracles.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

One thing that has not been focused upon so much is how the secular public in Israel is reacting. The answer to that question is illustrated by the photo of Gal Gadot, an Israeli model and actress, lighting Shabbos candles.

Gal Gadot - גל גדות I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens. Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children...We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom! #weareright #freegazafromhamas #stopterror #coexistance #loveidf 25July2014

Gal Gadot – גל גדות I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens. Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children…We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom! #weareright #freegazafromhamas #stopterror #coexistance #loveidf 25July2014

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/v/t1.0-9/10525766_10152522016708926_794080535950181873_n.jpg?oh=aabd900fec10a71c20bdcd6588cc6c34&oe=545637E6

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Soldiers Wearing Tzitzis Escape Upper Body Injuries

04August2014 http://matzav.com/soldiers-wearing-tzitzis-escape-upper-body-injuries

During this difficult period of Operation Protective Edge, Ezer Mizion has provided for many of the needs of both the soldiers and the civilians ranging from refreshment stands at army bases to meals for families keeping vigil at hospitals, from therapy for the traumatized to getaways for families in the South. And so Rabbi Moshe Yisraeli, director of the Ezer Mizion Petach Tikvah branch, was not surprised to receive a request from three soldiers for tzitzis. Of course, they were provided right away.

Rabbi Yisraeli went on to the many other needs of the soldiers, the tzitzis no longer on his mind.

Until four days later.

Five wounded soldiers were hospitalized. Three were wearing the tzitzis he had sent and were being treated for non-life-threatening wounds in the leg. The other two were wounded in the upper body.

You do the math.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}

Preventing exploitation of Jewish Girls in Israel through intervention and Empowerment http://www.learnandlive.org.il/

Preventing exploitation of Jewish Girls in Israel through intervention and Empowerment http://www.learnandlive.org.il/

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Saying Shema in Gaza

Aug 13, 2014 https://www.aish.com/jw/id/Saying-Shema-in-Gaza.html

The Jewish prayer may have stopped a would-be suicide bomber who was Jewish.
by Rabbi Nechemia Coopersmith

I am rather skeptical when it comes to “miracle stories” – especially ones that emerge from war. So I did not believe the story about the female suicide bomber in Gaza who flinched upon hearing the Israeli soldier cry out “Shema Yisrael”, allowing them to apprehend her. Turns out the terrorists’ mother was an Israeli Jew who married an Arab, and the would-be suicide bomber was in fact a Jew whose soul was rattled upon hearing Shema.

Well, apparently the story might be true. An unnamed Israeli military source spoke to Breitbart News, revealing details about the attack that killed Lt. Goldin and two other soldiers, and he also mentioned the incident with the Jewish suicide bomber. The article reports:

The officer explained how, after the suicide bombing that killed Lt. Goldin, a second kidnapping team of Hamas terrorists… ran back into the tunnel from which the terrorists emerged. The tunnel led back into a mosque. From the mosque, they escaped in a clearly marked UNRWA ambulance. The terrorists then made contact with high-ranking Hamas officials hiding in the Islamic University.

Israeli intelligence intercepted a conversation between the kidnappers and the Hamas officials at the Islamic University and thus got all the particulars regarding the hiding place of the kidnappers. Within minutes, the IAF attacked both the kidnappers’ location and the Islamic University.

In the midst of this attack, a second force of IDF soldiers–which had gone into a mosque [Editor: via tunnels into the Mosque]  looking for weapons, explosives, and rockets– encountered a female suicide bomber who was about to detonate the belt she wore, which would have resulted in the deaths of the soldiers. One of the soldiers instinctively recited the opening words of the holiest Jewish prayer “Shema Yisrael”. The female suicide bomber hesitated and began trembling, giving the soldiers a chance to grab her and disable the device.

The soldiers then took her prisoner and turned her over to a counter-intelligence unit. Their investigation uncovered that the female suicide bomber’s mother was a Jew who had married a Palestinian in Israel and, after the wedding, was smuggled against her will into Gaza. There she lived a life filled with abuse and humiliation, and was basically a captive. In addition to the female suicide bomber, there were two smaller children as well. An armored force went in and rescued the two small children.

 

Rescued Jewish Girls

Rescued Jewish Girls

The story is reminiscent of Rabbi Eliezer Silver who rescued Jewish children in Europe who had been hidden during the Holocaust in Christian orphanages and monasteries. The children themselves, raised as Christians for years, no longer knew they were Jewish. And there were times the local priest denied harboring any Jewish children. So how did Rabbi Silver discover the Jewish children? Dressed as a high ranking U.S. army officer, he would visit the children during bedtime and loudly proclaim “Shema Yisrael” – “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One!”

During World War II, countless Jewish parents gave their children to Christian neighbors, orphanages and convents in the hopes of saving them. The parents expected that they, or their relatives, would claim them if they survived the war, but when rabbis or relatives finally tracked down the children, the priests and nuns who had been their caretakers insisted that no children from Jewish homes were in their institutions. Thus, they were not only stripped of their entire families, they were also stripped of their souls. Many remain hidden to this day.

During World War II, countless Jewish parents gave their children to Christian neighbors, orphanages and convents in the hopes of saving them. The parents expected that they, or their relatives, would claim them if they survived the war, but when rabbis or relatives finally tracked down the children, the priests and nuns who had been their caretakers insisted that no children from Jewish homes were in their institutions. Thus, they were not only stripped of their entire families, they were also stripped of their souls. Many remain hidden to this day.

Many children burst into tears and cried out “mommy” in the various languages they spoke. The Shema which their mothers had said to them each night was so deeply ingrained in their minds they had not forgotten it. And that is how the chaplains were able to identify the Jewish children.

The Shema saved those Israeli soldiers and rescued three Jewish souls – the suicide bomber and her two children — from the bowels of Gaza. Something she heard startled her. Her Jewish soul, buried by years of indoctrination, hate and abuse, was stirred.

My teacher, Rabbi Noah Weinberg, of blessed memory, would tell the story of Rabbi Silver as a lesson that the Jewish soul always has a pulse. It is our responsibility to find the words that will penetrate. If this story is true, then through his tragic death Lt. Goldin enabled three bewildered Jewish souls to be brought back to their people.

With thanks to Rabbi Stephen Baars

Arutz Sheva http://www.israelnationalnews.com/

Tefillin, Tehilim, Tilim – A ‘Protective Edge’ Miracle

Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich16August2014 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15524#.U_LH0Luvgjg
How the first two (Tefillin and Tehillim, phylacteries and Psalms) guarded a soldier from the Hamas tilim (missiles). A must read.

This is the story of a miracle which happened during Operation Protective Edge

In 1980, Russia was still under tyrannical Soviet rule. In spite of all the persecution, a religious awakening began among the Jews of the Soviet Union.

A special envoy of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher (Chabad) Rebbe, arrived in the Soviet Union. He was surprised by the extreme devotion of the younger generation, which, despite the persecutions, had ignited the ember of Judaism, and at the end of his visit he told Dr. Yitzhak Kogan, one of the Chabad underground activists, that he would report back to the Rebbe what he had witnessed and ask him to especially bless Rabbi Yitzhak Kogan.

He was surprised to hear Rabbi Yitzhak ask that, instead of this, Rabbi Menachem Mendel should bless Yosef Mendelevich., a Prisoner of Zion who had been in prison already for ten years. Yosef had been arrested in the Leningrad Airport together with his friends for attempting to hijack a Soviet plan and flee to Israel.

“He has currently been on a hunger strike for 55 days, demanding to give him back the Humash (Bible) and Siddur (prayerbook) they confiscated from him,” said Yitzhak Kogan – “his physical condition is very bad. The Rebbe must pray for his immediate release from the prison.”

And in fact the Rebbe’s prayer was answered, and within a few months Yosef was flown straight from the prison to Israel. On a stopover in Vienna they brought the redeemed prisoner to the Israel Embassy in Austria.

“What is your first request,” the ambassador asked him.

“I need a set of Tefillin to put on before sunset.”

The Ambassador looked at his embassy staff members – Which of them would still have Tefillin?

Suddenly there stepped forward Rabbi Israel Singer, the then Director of the World Jewish Congress.

“Very interesting,” said Singer. “After hearing about the release of Mendelevich I was supposed to fly out to welcome him.”

Before that, I contacted Rabbi Menacehm Mendel and asked him, what I should take for the freed Yosef?”

“Take him Tefillin,” said the Rebbe.

“And here are the Tefillin I have brought you on the orders of the Rebbe.” And so, for the first time in his life, Yosef put on the Tefillin.

After he arrived in Israel, the Tefillin disappeared. Yosef was heartbroken.

Avraham Yitzchak Rahamim Mendelevich – one of Yosef’s sons, a student at the Carmiel Hesder Yeshiva, had been called up to serve in the IDF a year and eight months previously in an Armored Corps battalion.. The commanders thought that he was ideal officer material, and pressed him to continue to serve. But Avraham Yitzchak – (named after Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, Israel’s first Chief Rabbi) refused.

“I am going back to the yeshiva.”

On the day he was due to be released from the IDF, Operation Protective Edge began, and he was sent from the Golan Heights to fight in Gaza. His battalion was stationed on the outskirts of the Zaitoun neighborhood, not far from the settlement of Netzarim.

Avraham Yitzchak very much regretted that he would not be able this year to go to the grave of his grandfather, Moshe Mendelevich, an Aliya activist in Riga in the 1970’s, on his Yahrzeit, 16 Tammuz, the eve of the Three Weeks.,

He did not know that, precisely on that day, the Tefillin which Rabbi Menachem Mendel had ordered to be given to his father Yosef, were found.

It turned out that the Tefillin were with a nephew, Ronen Lisitzin

The moment Yosef Mendelevich received the Tefillin back, he began to think how to get them to Avraham Yitzhak and give him special protection. However, it turned out that it was not possible to send the Tefillin to the battle area. But, as it is known, Hashem turns good intentions into deeds, and Yosef hoped that, thanks to all these things, the Tefillin would begin to perform their mission.

Contact with Avrhaam Yitzchak was very difficult. With the entry into the battle zone the phones were taken from the combatants. In brief sallies to the rear for equipping the tank with ammunition and for repairs, Avraham Yitzchak would contact his parents on the unit commander’s phone. Every such conversation was a gift from Heaven and caused great excitement in the family.

His mother asked her son to observe all the safety regulations and his father asked him to read Psalms from the Book of Tehilim every day.

In the neighborhood where Battalion No. 7 was located, fierce battles were taking place. The terrorists were using anti-tank missiles as well as snipers and attacks from the tunnels. All of Am Israel (the Jewish People) prayed for the success of the soldiers and their safe return.

It happened on Rosh Hodesh Av, the first day of the month of Av…….There was a powerful flash of light in the tank, followed by the sound of a huge explosion. The tank filled with smoke.

Over the intercom they announced “Tank No. 3 has been destroyed.” Avraham Yitzhak relates that his ears were deafened by the explosion. He didn’t know whether he had been wounded and what had happened to his companions. A minute later he heard the commander shouting: “Are you all alive?”

They were all alive. At that moment they received the order to return fire and they scored a direct hit on the one who had fired the missile.

And this is how Avraham described the miracle that had occurred. “There was a ceasefire, and we retreated to a safe position to rest. The commander gave us permission to leave the tank. We had spent 48 hours inside it, it was very hot, we were exhausted. But I decided to remain in the tank.

I had promised Father that I would read Tehilim every day and I had to read the Tehilim of Monday, Psalm 30… “1. A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House; of David. 2. I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast raised me up, And hast not suffered mine enemies to rejoice over me.” And because I didn’t go out, my fellow crew members also remained with me inside the tank.

Even though we were hidden inside an olive grove, the Hamas lookouts spotted us. They shot at us, apparently with a Sager guided anti-tank missile. In fact, there was no chance of escaping from this missile. But the missile struck exactly the rear of the tank. So, at first, they thought that we had all been hit.”

When the tank crew emerged from the tank, Avraham looked at the place in the tank turret where he was supposed to have stood had he gone out during the rest period. All the equipment was burnt. The missile had passed one meter from that spot.

At the thanksgiving meal (seudat hodaya) which took place in his parents’ home in Jerusalem, Avraham Yitzhak told about the miracle that had happened to him thanks to the Guardian of Israel, and thanks to the Tehilim of King David.

Then his father, Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich, stood up and told everyone about the Tefillin which the Rebbe had sent him 33 years previously, and which had turned up exactly during the current fighting.

The Jewish Leadership Blog

Miracles in Gaza

 

Newspaper Headlines Gaza War miracles

Newspaper Headlines Gaza War miracles

By Moshe Feiglin 27July2014 http://jewishleadership.blogspot.co.il/2014/07/miracles-in-gaza.html
The wounded soldiers are talking about the miracles that they witnessed. “G-d is watching over us,” said one. I thought he was just repeating clichés. But he was referring to concrete facts. I visited a wounded soldier with an entry and exit hole in his helmet – and all he had was a small scratch on his head. A second soldier does not understand how they managed to destroy an ambush that completely surprised them.

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