Posted on 03/01/26
Jerusaelm, Israel - Mar. 1, 2026 - We are now in the second day of the latest war we are going through here in Israel.
We spent Shabbos Parshas Zachor in RBS with our children and einekelach. As we entered the shul, we were greeted by the first siren, signaling the beginning of the war against modern-day פרס and the המן of our era.
Shabbos was spent with a mix of seudos Shabbos, davening, learning, and very little sleep, as we repeatedly went to the mamad whenever the sirens sounded.
The Miklat's "Beis Medrash"
Motzei Shabbos, after Havdalah, we heard news of the possibility”of Khamenei being killed by the Israeli Air Force, with the help of Donald Trump and the American armed forces. After returning to Yerushalayim, we have been in and out of our Har Nof building’s bomb shelter, which is our hishtadlus in this surreal existence we live in.
Ballistic missiles are being fired upon us from thousands of miles away by a regime that is finally being brought down because of its שנאת ישראל and its hatred for America.
We have already been through this experience before, and now this is the drill: we get text messages that missiles have been fired from Iran—be prepared to go downstairs to the bomb shelter. By now, we don’t wait for the sirens; rather, we preemptively head downstairs in our pajamas and coats, with sefarim and hot drinks, as the weather and the mamad are really cold without heat.
The nights are a mix of running downstairs, sirens wailing, and the heavy thuds of Patriots intercepting incoming ballistic missiles.
While in the bomb shelter, the sounds of Tehillim, learning, and singing ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר fill the space. The children sing together, the girls talk and laugh, and the women say Tehillim intensely.
We decided to daven Shacharis, Mincha, and Maariv today in the miklat. Schools are closed, most people are off from work, so we learn and work from home, and in between, more warnings and sirens. We try to keep up with our own families in different parts of the country, checking how they are holding up.
Then reports of tragic news from Beit Shemesh come in—initially only a few seriously injured, then the numbers multiply. We are shocked when we hear about the number of korbanos and injured, bringing home the reality that this is war, not a Purim shpiel.
In between Mincha and Maariv, I say a few words to the oilam about simcha and bitachon in times of tzar, quoting Rabbeinu Yonah and the Chazon Ish—how Hashem is with us, and ואפילו בתוך הצרה אנו בשליטתו הגמורה והוא מכוון הכל.
Davening in the Miklat
We just experienced another night of sirens. We wished each other a hopeful tefillah and beracha that we should greet each other again only in the morning, as we enter into Ta’anis Esther.
We are living the story of the Megillah in our days.
May we be zocheh to ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר כן תהיה לנו ולכל ישראל.