There is a war going on in our country.
Fathers, brothers, sons, cousins and friends are leaving their families to go fight this war. Â The people left behind remain worried, nervous and on edge. Â They brace for the worst and pray for the best.
Wars are different when your life is touched by it – Â when you know the soldiers fighting. Â In Jerusalem, our lives are not affected physically by what’s going on, at least not yet. Â But emotionally, it is on our minds and spoken about constantly.
It is a harrowing to see and hear the goings on of the war, yet I am grateful I’m here. I want to be affected by what’s affecting my people.  Recently, I went to Sderot and Kiryat Malachi. I spoke with children who live there, and they told me a story about a prank one of their friends pulled.
Here’s the backstory:  Whenever a rocket is on route to a town, an alarm sounds so the people have ten – fifteen seconds to get to shelter.  This alarm was downloaded to someone’s cell phone and as a prank set off.  Everyone ran in different directions while the prankster yelled, “Bedicha, bedicha!” (It’s a joke, it’s a joke!)
I look at their reality, and think about why I am in Israel.  I think about the people living in the cities that are being attacked.  It boggles the mind how small we are as a people and yet how our religion and country seem to be larger than life.  I yearn for a day when our struggles end and our faith proves the truth.  Until then, I live here and help where there is opportunity.  I hope and pray that’s enough. Otherwise, I might need to join the army.
