Page 64 - issue
P. 64
THE 28TH OF IYAR anything is possible. In the back of my
mind – and I keep it to myself – is the
AN EXCERPT terrible, lurking fear of Egyptian mis-
siles. There is no defense against mis-
by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman Good. They have a fine shelter at siles directed against civilian centers.
school. Odd how grateful one can be But all we hear are the brief, curt, quiet
Editor’s Note: Rabbi Emanuel for a simple thing like a fine shelter at announcements that “we are engaging
Feldman, on sabbatical from his school. Nice project for the next PTA the enemy on all fronts.” And martial
Atlanta pulpit in 1967, was living in meeting. Furnish the fine shelter at music….
Bnei Brak and teaching at Bar Ilan school. Wall-to-wall carpeting, wall-to-
University. Rabbi Feldman’s daily jour- wall everything…. Oh, how lovely how Finally, at two o’clock – we are back
nal of the tense weeks before the Six sweet how nice how pleasant how com- in the shelter – as if it had been
Day War and during the war itself was forting to know that they have a fine uncorked from a full bottle, we get a
published soon after. The dramatic shelter at school and the air battles are flood of hard news. At 1:20, Kfar Saba
story of an American family living going on above us and tank battles and was shelled by Jordanian artillery; since
through the frantic and historical days infantry and poom poom poom as the this morning, Jordanian artillery has
of June 1967, the book has been ground trembles…. been pounding Jerusalem, and at 1:35,
republished by Feldheim in advance of twelve civilians were wounded in the
the 50th anniversary of the war. Good Lord, our Father, our King center of Jerusalem….Lachish in the
save us for Your sake Hashem is my north was shelled by artillery, as was the
26 Iyar: Monday, June 5 shepherd I shall not want the dead can- Mei Ami settlement; Syrian planes have
Air-raid sirens begin to plead again. not praise Hashem some trust in char- penetrated Israeli air space and bombed
We grab our packages of feel and iots and some in horses but we call up Netanya (10 miles north of us) and
water – and the transistor radio – and the name of Hashem our G-d blessed Megiddo in the Galilee; Egyptian artillery
run down to the shelter…. are You O G-d redeemer of Israel has attacked Nahal Oz in the Negev.
Creator of fine shelters at school.
We hear thudding noises in the dis- The news is over. And now that we
tance. Bombs? Cannons? Artillery? The all-clear sounds. I dash out of have heard it we wish we hadn’t. There
Shells? No one knows. A new sound the shelter and run the two blacks to is an ominous ring to it. And Jordan –
now – staccato – the sound of anti-air- the school to pick up the boys. By the sly, treacherous Jordan – is in it too, up
craft guns. No wonder they are called time I get there, all the children are out to her neck. A voice from the far corner
ack-ack guns. Exactly. Ack-ack- ack, in the school yard. Ilan and Jonathan of the shelter: “What are our troops
ack- ack- ack- ack. There are other and their classmates are gathered doing? Why no news about what we are
sounds: poom – poom poom poom around their teacher, a man of sixty. He doing? Surely we’re not just sitting still
poom, stopping suddenly like interrupt- is gently telling them not to be afraid, are we?”
ed sentences. The ground trembles for G-d will not permit His holy land to
beneath us. Are they bombing Tel Aviv? be destroyed. I take the boys and we “From all sides, from all sides,” Mrs.
Everyone is silent, listening intently. If run back to the shelter. Herman says with a nod of her heard.
the children are frightened, they hide it
well. But they are frightened. Amram’s It is excruciating. The radio gives us “Yayardeinim – the Jordanians.
eyes are huge black marbles, and absolutely no news. It is now almost They’re in it, too. This is worse than
Chavah is staring at me. noon. We have been in and out of the Suez. Then we had only to worry about
shelter all morning. The booming echo the Egyptians.”
The children! It hits us suddenly that of artillery and/or shelling is heard.
Ilan and Jonathan are still in school. Do There is a war on, but where are we “Yihyeh tov – It will be good.”
they have a shelter at school? fighting? In the desert? In the North? But we are worried and apprehen-
And how are we doing? Maybe the sive. And the sirens wail us in and out
“Yes, yes,” say the neighbors, “don’t enemy is advancing on us. Unlikely, but of the shelter regularly. We run down
worry, a fine shelter.” dutifully, we trudge back up. Gradually,
the shelter fills up with people and with
furniture: mattresses, cribs, pillows, jugs
of water, buckets of sand. Some fami-
lies make plans to spend the night.
Chavah begs permission of us to spend
the night in the shelter with her
friends….
◆◆◆
Today the greetings to me have
changed. No one asks, Why are we
staying? This is a moot question now,
since all airports and harbors are
56 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
mind – and I keep it to myself – is the
AN EXCERPT terrible, lurking fear of Egyptian mis-
siles. There is no defense against mis-
by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman Good. They have a fine shelter at siles directed against civilian centers.
school. Odd how grateful one can be But all we hear are the brief, curt, quiet
Editor’s Note: Rabbi Emanuel for a simple thing like a fine shelter at announcements that “we are engaging
Feldman, on sabbatical from his school. Nice project for the next PTA the enemy on all fronts.” And martial
Atlanta pulpit in 1967, was living in meeting. Furnish the fine shelter at music….
Bnei Brak and teaching at Bar Ilan school. Wall-to-wall carpeting, wall-to-
University. Rabbi Feldman’s daily jour- wall everything…. Oh, how lovely how Finally, at two o’clock – we are back
nal of the tense weeks before the Six sweet how nice how pleasant how com- in the shelter – as if it had been
Day War and during the war itself was forting to know that they have a fine uncorked from a full bottle, we get a
published soon after. The dramatic shelter at school and the air battles are flood of hard news. At 1:20, Kfar Saba
story of an American family living going on above us and tank battles and was shelled by Jordanian artillery; since
through the frantic and historical days infantry and poom poom poom as the this morning, Jordanian artillery has
of June 1967, the book has been ground trembles…. been pounding Jerusalem, and at 1:35,
republished by Feldheim in advance of twelve civilians were wounded in the
the 50th anniversary of the war. Good Lord, our Father, our King center of Jerusalem….Lachish in the
save us for Your sake Hashem is my north was shelled by artillery, as was the
26 Iyar: Monday, June 5 shepherd I shall not want the dead can- Mei Ami settlement; Syrian planes have
Air-raid sirens begin to plead again. not praise Hashem some trust in char- penetrated Israeli air space and bombed
We grab our packages of feel and iots and some in horses but we call up Netanya (10 miles north of us) and
water – and the transistor radio – and the name of Hashem our G-d blessed Megiddo in the Galilee; Egyptian artillery
run down to the shelter…. are You O G-d redeemer of Israel has attacked Nahal Oz in the Negev.
Creator of fine shelters at school.
We hear thudding noises in the dis- The news is over. And now that we
tance. Bombs? Cannons? Artillery? The all-clear sounds. I dash out of have heard it we wish we hadn’t. There
Shells? No one knows. A new sound the shelter and run the two blacks to is an ominous ring to it. And Jordan –
now – staccato – the sound of anti-air- the school to pick up the boys. By the sly, treacherous Jordan – is in it too, up
craft guns. No wonder they are called time I get there, all the children are out to her neck. A voice from the far corner
ack-ack guns. Exactly. Ack-ack- ack, in the school yard. Ilan and Jonathan of the shelter: “What are our troops
ack- ack- ack- ack. There are other and their classmates are gathered doing? Why no news about what we are
sounds: poom – poom poom poom around their teacher, a man of sixty. He doing? Surely we’re not just sitting still
poom, stopping suddenly like interrupt- is gently telling them not to be afraid, are we?”
ed sentences. The ground trembles for G-d will not permit His holy land to
beneath us. Are they bombing Tel Aviv? be destroyed. I take the boys and we “From all sides, from all sides,” Mrs.
Everyone is silent, listening intently. If run back to the shelter. Herman says with a nod of her heard.
the children are frightened, they hide it
well. But they are frightened. Amram’s It is excruciating. The radio gives us “Yayardeinim – the Jordanians.
eyes are huge black marbles, and absolutely no news. It is now almost They’re in it, too. This is worse than
Chavah is staring at me. noon. We have been in and out of the Suez. Then we had only to worry about
shelter all morning. The booming echo the Egyptians.”
The children! It hits us suddenly that of artillery and/or shelling is heard.
Ilan and Jonathan are still in school. Do There is a war on, but where are we “Yihyeh tov – It will be good.”
they have a shelter at school? fighting? In the desert? In the North? But we are worried and apprehen-
And how are we doing? Maybe the sive. And the sirens wail us in and out
“Yes, yes,” say the neighbors, “don’t enemy is advancing on us. Unlikely, but of the shelter regularly. We run down
worry, a fine shelter.” dutifully, we trudge back up. Gradually,
the shelter fills up with people and with
furniture: mattresses, cribs, pillows, jugs
of water, buckets of sand. Some fami-
lies make plans to spend the night.
Chavah begs permission of us to spend
the night in the shelter with her
friends….
◆◆◆
Today the greetings to me have
changed. No one asks, Why are we
staying? This is a moot question now,
since all airports and harbors are
56 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
