War in the South - Injuries and Miracles in Ashdod

My beloved city of Ashdod has been under siege this morning.

The first Red Alert siren was at 5:45 AM - we could here two muffled explosions from about a mile outside of town in an open area.

The second Red Alert was at 7:45 AM; I was praying Shacharit with the Melitzer Rebbe's minyan. Again, we heard another muffled explosion from about a mile outside of town, once more in an open area.

The third Red Alert was at 8:14 AM; this time we heard two strong explosions and a third which made the floor shudder. The second explosion was a GRAD missile that landed about 800 meters from my home in the courtyard of the "Lev Simcha" Gerrer Yeshiva. At this time, we know of two very seriously injured and 8 more with light shrapnel wounds. The third was a miracle - a GRAD rocket that went through the roof of a Gerrer Synagogue and crashed through the floor in the middle of morning prayers, but didn't explode! The magnitude of this miracle is mind-boggling - one shudders to think what would have happened if it had exploded.

Daily life is changing immediately. Our gorgeous beach has been closed for lack of a proper bomb shelter or take-cover area. Vacationers are leaving our beautiful coastal city.

Israel's Charedi Kol B'Rama radio station will be a "quiet station" on Shabbat - Several rabbis have said that it's pikuach nefesh to leave the radio on during Shabbat, and if G-d forbid there should be vital civil defense information, it will be transmitted via the "quiet station". This is similar to what we did during the Gulf War of 1991. So for those who are asking, it's permissible to leave your radio on - preferably in a closet, out of sight, but keep it tuned to Kol B'Rama's quiet station. In the South of Israel, this is 104.3 FM.

My heart tells me that things won't go back to normal. We all are being called upon to change. More love of our fellow human. More modesty and holiness. More Torah and less aimless waste of time. Those who fail to wake up now - I shudder to think of what coming wake-up calls will be.

Yes, here in Ashdod, the Katyushas are falling. But in the USA, the stock market is falling through the floor. Hashem speaks to each of us in the language we best understand. I repeat what I've been saying every day now - there's no more business as usual. We must prepare ourselves for the dazzling bright lights of a much more spiritual world that's fast on the way. But don't forget - the same light that heals the worthy, burns the unworthy. We all have to get to work and make ourselves worthy vessels for that light. Hashem has patience, but it's high time we get our act together. "Dati" or "Haredi" doesn't mean a thing if your heart is far from Hashem. The way to maintain a healthy heart is to give that heart to Hashem.