amazing!

U.N. condemns Israel, U.S. for not sharing Iron Dome with Hamas

  -- The Washington Times

this actually made me laugh. I double and triple checked to make sure it was not satire.

CNN asks if the American investment in Iron Dome was worth it...


it seems like  the answer to the question is obvious... unless the premise of the question is that now that we have seen how many Jewish lives it has saved, is it worth it

fascinating talk. In light of the increased hail of rockets, including possibly in the Bet Shemesh area (the reports were conflicting about whether they were false alarms or not).. this is particularly timely..

The IDF released this video from the test of the new defense system "David's Sling". David's Sling is a larger version of the Iron Dome system..

A Guest Post by Rabbi Scott Kahn

here is a good shot of Iron Dome in action, from an Al Jazeera reporter in Ashqelon...

There are various possibilities of what is protecting Israel from harm, despite the onslaught of rockets being shot out of Gaza by Hamas. Obviously we know Hashem protects us, and we do our physical hishtadlus to effect that protection. The physical hishtadlus consists of having an army and mobilizing it as necessary, defense systems similar to Iron Dome, and others. But sometimes one wonders what, of all the various actions we take, has more of a direct affect on matters.

Let's go through the options (in no particular order):

1. Iron Dome. Iron Dome has done a tremendous job knocking rockets out of the air. It is not perfect, it has missed some, but it has done a tremendous job with a very high percentage of success. To that end, we'd have to include Amir Peretz (as Ynet has started a campaign to thank him, probably reviving a possible political comeback) for being the man behind the original creation and promoting it into reality. As well, RAFAEL, the defense contractor who actually created it. Of course add to the list the army, the politicians and the people of the USA who largely fund it.

2. Prayer. Prayer is, perhaps, a spiritual version of the Iron Dome. We have so many people around the country davening, whether personally saying tehillim, or shuls saying tehillim, or special prayer sessions like the mass prayer yesterday at the Kotel.

3. Kabbalistic activity. Perhaps this should be categorized as part of prayer, but it is not prayer that the average person bombards the heavens with. It is a unique form of prayer and activity, thus qualifying for its own category. A group of Kabbalists went to Meron to say special prayers, then on to Kever Rachel, Hebron and the conclusion of the series of special prayers for a time of war that were said in Beer Sheva.

According to Ladaat, the special tefillot that were said in Beer Sheva were said by Rav Kaduri at the time of the Gulf War, and prior to that they had been said by mekubalim as the Germans were preparing to invade the Holy Land.

4. Torah learning. Torah learning can be such a strong protective force that Rav Chaim Kanievsky said the safest place to be is in Bnei Braq due to the high amount of Torah learning done there. Rav Kanievsky said that the Chazon Ish had promised that Bnei Braq would not have explosions, and the Chazon Ish is great enough that we can rely on him and his promise today as well. (source: Kikar)

While Rav Kanievsky recently said that residents (yeshiva students) from the south should go to Bnei Braq for safety, perhaps Bnei Braq should prepare to receive residents from the south until as north as Tel Aviv and Gush Dan and provide them with safe harbor..

Rav Shteinman is also being flooded with questions from people concerned and looking for answers as to what they should do. According to Bechadrei, Rav Shteinman, though considering each question anew is generally telling people that learning Torah is the best form of protection. Rav Shteinman said that if there should be a siren during davening, during shmoneh esrei, or during learning, they should run for cover. On the issue of Bnei Braq, it doesn't seem, to me, that Rav Shteinman is quite as definitive as Rav Kanievsky is. Rav Shteinman said there is no chazaka that rockets will not fall there, as there is no chazaka on the future. Chazaka only defines the past. Bnei Braq has a chazaka that rockets have not fallen there, but there is no such chazaka that rockets will not fall there in the future.

5. Tzaddikim. A few months ago Rav Chaim Pinto, the rav of Kiryat Malachi, according to Mynet, said that Kiryat Malachi is protected by the special graves of tzadikkim that are buried there.

Rav Pinto has been saying that special, very powerful, tzadikkim are buried in Kiryat Malachi. Some of them (or maybe all of them) are buried in his office (below his office? I am not sure what exactly his claim is, but that is what he said). These tzadikkim provide protection to the city to the point that there is no need to even take cover, if one is in the middle of davening, when the sirens blare announcing an incoming rocket. In other places like Ashdod, one should interrupt his tefilla and take cover, even though we have the protection of Iron Dome (making a direct hit unlikely), but in Kiryat Malachi one should not interrupt his prayers.

Rav Pinto has not revealed the identity of of the tzadikkim buried there, but he hinted that Rav Chaim Vital is buried there, among others including the grave of Rav Chaim Pinto (presumably his own ancestor).

Rav Chaim Vital was buried in Syria, though rumors have persisted for a long time that Rav Pinto secretly moved Rav Chaim Vital's grave to Kiryat Malachi many years ago. The same rumor also claims other graves of ancient tzadikkim were moved as well. The only other name I have ever heard in reference to this rumor was that of Rebbe Nachman of Breslav.

At the time Rav Pinto pointed to the fact that despite a series of escalations no rocket had falled in kiryat Malachi to indicate that he was correct that the tzadikkim buried there provide protection. If he was correct at the time, one must wonder what changed, considering the recent rockets that fell in Kiryat Malachi, including one that killed three people (and they were not mechalelei shabbos, as is explained in Bnei Braq when explaining how a rocket did fall in Bnei Braq despite the promises that no rockets fall there).

So, I don't know which of the above do a better or worse job. Maybe it is a combination of all five, and only together does the protection work most effectively.

There are so many great pictures to choose the potd from, it is very difficult to pick any specific one over the others...

Iron Dome in action, shooting down a rocket

explosion in Gaza

Iron Dome taking down two incoming rockets

The Iron Dome has done a phenomenal job..

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Picture Of The Day

that is Geraldo Rivera visiting an Iron Dome battery...

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Rav Yosef Sheinin, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Ashdod, was asked if one is in the middle of davening, Shomneh Esrei specifically, and hears a siren go off announcing an incoming Kassam rocket from Gaza, should one interrupt his prayers and run for the bomb shelter.

Rav Sheinen paskened that it depends. If one is davening but is not in Shmoneh Esrei, then one should definitely run for the nearest bomb shelter. If, however, one is in the middle of Shmoneh Esrei, then one should not run for the bomb shelter.

Why not run for the bomb shelter? is it because the prayer is more important, or the importance of faith in prayer and not disturbing or interrupting the Shmoneh Esrei, similar to the story in the gemara of the fellow who did not interrupt his prayer despite having a snake wrapping itself around his ankle?

Rav Sheinin explains that it is because the Iron Dome missile defense system has proven itself to be successful, it is reliable enough that while in prayer one can rely on iron Dome and not interrupt to run for the bomb shelter. Rav Sheinen compares it to the gemara with the snake, and explains that if one has a snake around his ankle he should not interrupt, but a scorpion at his heel is cause to interrupt. The difference being that the snake will not attack unless he is threatened. So as long as the person makes no threatening moves, he can continue his prayer and all will be well. The scorpion, however, will sting regardless of the person acting threatening, and therefore such a person should interrupt his prayer and take action.

Rav Sheinin says that the success of the Iron Dome missile defense system has taken the threat level down from the level of a scorpion to the level of a snake, and therefore one should not interrupt his prayers.  (source: Ynet, with audio from radio interview)

Obviously this only applies in areas protected by the Iron Dome systems. If missile warnings should, God forbid, be sounded in places with no Iron Dome (or alternate) protection system, one should run for cover!


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Picture Of The Day

Iron Dome, in action

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