Another Night of Watching

The Israeli warfront continues to develop. It appears that Hezbollah has indeed been hollowed and decimated. Numerous towns and tunnels have been captured, along with various arms. There was almost no resistance. The decades of intelligence followed by the intense and relentless strikes against the organization appear to have neutered it. The collapse has been so complete that Iran's credibility and the credibility of its proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen is at risk. Local suppression is often supplied by Arabic-speaking militiamen brought in from Iraq and Lebanon. If those movements collapse in their home countries, where does that leave the Ayatollahs?

Into this fray, Netanyahu launched the most impactful strike yet. He claimed that the regime's days were numbered; that the great Persian civilization will once again emerge, prosperous, wonderous, and as the allies of Israel and the Jewish people that they have been since the days of Cyrus the Great.

Iran had to respond. If their attack tonight fails, as the last one did, Israel will respond. We may not have been expecting much from Gaza, but Iran and Lebanon have been in our sights for a generation. I don't know what form it will take, but I expect that Israel will seek to bring down the Ayatollahs. Not through mass strikes - we lack the capability - but through targeted hits that undermine the Ayatollah's security regime and can enable that great nation's people to rise up.

I suspect (or perhaps hope) that the expected strike is all part of the Israeli plan. Our fuel tankers are in the air. They aren't there to run or because it is safer in flight. They are there to support long-range strikes. Strikes that will come as soon as Iran fires (or perhaps even before).

As hopeful as the bigger picture is, from far away and looking at the pieces as if they were maneuvering on a board, the reality is more challenging. Of course, there are the challenges faced by Lebanese who have nothing to do with Hezbollah. We are trying not to harm them. But our home front - as was brought home today when a man was injured on one of our major highways - is not perfectly sealed. In my family's case, our shelter has been ready for months. We topped up our water. We have wood to cook Rosh Hashana dinner with (in case the electricity is knocked out). We are ready. But we will sleep fitfully, if at all, and we have no idea what the night will bring.

The fact is, no matter how ready we and our country can be, we know the outcome is ultimately up to G-d.

Thankfully, He has been with us so far.

95% interception means 5% get through. Last time the penetration rate was shockingly less than 0.5%. No strategic targets were hit and one little girl was injured.

That isn't normal.

In the present conflict with Hezbollah, many missiles have been fired at the North. Since the day of the pager, nobody has been killed. Most houses in the North don't have shelters - but every house that has been hit has.

That isn't normal.

We need another night of G-d's blessings. Another night where our enemies' plans are swept aside. Another night in which the Holy One Blessed Be He stands guard over our houses and leaves our enemies ashamed and weak.

We need another night that isn't normal.

I want to give thanks for American support, for Jordanian support, and for Saudi support. To paraphrase a well-known American politician, "It takes a village to knock down 300 drones and cruise missiles."

Sure, it takes a village to knock them down. But actually succeeding? That takes more than a few blessings.

So thank you for your prayers and may we all be blessed with a sweet year - a year in which our enemies flee from battle and all of humankind can find itself one step closer to peace.

-Joseph