War: Day 8 and 9

Thankfully, we had a beautifully quiet Shabbat with no sirens and not a lot of "booms". Our neighbors across the street were celebrating their oldest son's bar mitzvah. Shalom Shachne and I got invited to the "50 person minyan" at the big shul in the neighborhood (there were probably 150 people there, but honestly, I couldn't quite figure out why the Homefront Command was limiting indoor events to 50 people anyway [less casualties in case a rocket didn't get intercepted by the Iron Dome, I suppose], and at the end of Shabbat, Homefront Command upped it to 300 people anyway). The bar mitzvah boy did a lovely job ;) and his family did a beautiful job "going with the flow" and hosting a kiddish for 80 people in their yard, rather than 200 at the shul, as they had planned. It was kind of shocking to me to see so many people from the neighborhood and realize that many more people than I had thought I knew have sons who are serving.....

Chana has a direct ticket back to NY hopefully leaving Thursday afternoon. Having her here an extra week has been a silver lining, but time for her to go back to her real life now. I'm SO GLAD she's going back on a direct flight. The US government has started offering flights for citizens back to the States. The details are....startling, to say the least. Here are the details: 

1) you have to sign an agreement to pay back the government but they'll figure out the price later 

2) you have to show up at the airport here with no guarantee you'll get on a flight 

3) they'll send you to Greece or Germany (which is some crazy kind of karma, IMO), and you can't choose which. From there, you make your own way back to the US. So, basically, the US government will get you out of Israel, but they're not really getting you back to the US 

And, finally, the weirdest term of the agreement: 

4) they can actually decide to send you BY BOAT to Cyprus (which, if Lebanon heats up any more, seems like not a particularly smart thing to do. Here's a map: 

Our city has become a popular destination for people fleeing from the south (I hope that means that we're in a safe zone and please Gd it should stay that way). Many of these families left with nothing or almost-nothing with them, and there are email- and WhatsApp messages all day asking for food, clothing, appliances, games, you name it, for these families. Chana, Penina and Ilana spent part of the afternoon sorting a large shipment of clothes sent from the US that arrived to one of our favorite organization's for their low-cost clothing gemach. Rather than reselling the clothes at very low prices, though, the store is having displaced families come and shop for free. (Did I mention I love that organization?!).

Lastly, here is a list of men, women and children being held hostage by Hamas. If it's too heartbreaking (and it is) to read each name and pray for their safe return, I'd say just hold it to your heart and ask for each of them to come back SOON, and as whole as possible--physically, mentally and spiritually.