Slice of Life

As much as the IDF tries to prevent the occurrence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), many soldiers suffer from their experiences on the battlefield. Some have flashbacks. Others are unable to sleep at night. Some are numb. Everyone in Israel cares about the physical and psychological welfare of our chayalim. Many try to help them deal with their trauma.

Back in the ICU, Karen met the family of Tzvika, a father of three who had lost both of his legs and an arm in the war. His entire family brought in Shabbos by singing Kabbalas Shabbos together. She had never seen anything like it. While she waited for Aryeh to come out of surgery, a woman in pants and cowboy boots approached her and introduced herself as the head of the urology department. She told Karen that she, too, has a 24-year-old son serving in the army and she treated Aryeh like her son when he was on the operating table. She asked Karen to tell her about Aryeh. She explained that, as they operated on him, the doctors felt a ruach chazak, a strong spirit, emanating from Aryeh. She wanted to hear about him.

Karen made aliyah with her family 27 years ago, filled with excitement and idealism. Like most people living in Israel, she never imagined we’d be in the state of war we now find ourselves in. Additionally, as a member of the chareidi community, she didn’t expect that she would one day have a son serving as a combat soldier in the army. But life is full of surprises. With humor combined with authenticity, Karen inspired a standing-room-only crowd of women in Ramat Beit Shemesh as she shared her experience of discovery and growth.

We have a lot to be grateful for. We have been witnessing many miracles of late. Police and military sappers neutralized a car bomb near Ateret in the Binyamin region on Monday morning. It is believed that the car bomb, containing 49 kilos (over 108 pounds) of explosive material, was intended to be used against a school bus filled with children heading to school. Baruch Hashem, police and military sappers detonated the vehicle in time, and tragedy was averted.

At 6:30 a.m., Dudi and his wife woke up to explosions they had never heard before. With seven seconds to race to their safe room, they grabbed their kids and ran to where their guests were sleeping. Dudi’s wife ran without her head covering. Who could even think about such things at that time?

Dudi Rabi was studying in Yeshivat Shavei Chevron during the summer of 2005 as the country battled out the looming disengagement from Gush Katif when the IDF removed the 8,600 Israeli residents from their homes as part of Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza. As tensions swelled and tempers flared, Dudi felt himself pulled in two directions.