Back to School

Yay! The kids are back to school today! The boys are going on a trip to Jerusalem to have a "sports day" at a school there. Leah has regular classes, but is being dismissed at 12:50. There will be a drill during the first period of the day, and somehow, the kids will be dismissed sporadically so that they are not all outside at the same time. In Beer Sheva, only the 11th and 12th graders are scheduled to go back this morning, since they have to study for their government-mandated matriculation exams. They will be studying in the bomb shelters, I read. On their way to school this morning, though, there were 2 rockets launched into Beersheva. Photos on the ynet site show children crouching next to a fence. I hope the Home Front Command is in their school this morning, as in mine, to show the kids to lie down on the ground. Since the rocket explodes in a mushroom shape, that would minimize damage.

Over the past few days, I have had much time to reflect on our situation here in Yad Binyamin and the blogs I have been posting. My original goal was twofold: for me, it was to be a cathartic experience (which it is), and for you, to help you feel more connected to what's going on here in our Land, which sometimes seems so far away from the US. At the time I began to write again about a week ago, I was terrified, as you all read. However, my attitude has completely changed. After all, I am living in Yad Binyamin, not in Sderot or Ashkelon. How could I be scared? They are faced with this many times a day. The mayor of Ashkelon was on the radio last Thursday, and he said that he hadn't slept well the night before, since there were sirens at 11, 2, 4, and 7. My deepest thanks goes out to the residents of the areas immediately surrounding the Gaza Strip. Thank you for protecting our Land just by living there. I cannot imagine the daily terror they live with. Okay, I can try, and it's pretty darn scary. Thank you. Thank you to the Nachshoni family, whose son Adiel is somewhere inside, fighting for our right to live without that terror. Thank you to the son of Rafi and Etti Shtern, a mentor of my husbands that I just met last night, who is sitting in an army camp right outside the Strip, waiting to see if his engineering unit is going in. Thank you to their parents, who raised their children to see that there is something greater than themselves in this world, and that some things are worth fighting for.

On a happier note, I am thrilled to welcome into this world my newest niece (and the first from my side), Avigayil Shaindel Rosen. May God continue to bring new life into the world and guide us to raise our children to be committed to bringing His Light to all the nations.
Shavua tov.