BEERSHEVA, Israel—Simchat Torah celebrations were in full swing on Friday night at Chabad of Ofakim, a town alongside the Gaza border. The community danced with the Torah well past midnight, full of joy. They went home, planning to return in the morning for round two.
Instead, Ofakim’s 34,000 residents were woken up abruptly at 6:30 a.m by blaring air-raid sirens and the sounds of rockets exploding around them. “It’s been an indescribably painful time” Rabbi Shneur Kenig told Chabad.org, his voice choking up. “It started at six-thirty in the morning on Saturday. It’s Sunday night and it’s not over yet.”
Kenig manages the central Chabad House of Ofakim, founded and directed by Rabbi Menachem Hershkovitz. His first instinct when he heard the sirens was to unlock the Chabad House, which also serves as a community bomb shelter.
“People often gather in the Chabad House for safety when there are air-raids,” Kenig recalled. “But something held me back. I don’t know what.”
The sirens continued along with with unrelenting rocket fire, until a short break between sirens at 10 a.m, when Kenig again thought of unlocking the Chabad House. “I was about to head outside, but I saw that my phone was ringing nonstop. It could have been a matter of life and death so I answered the call, as Jewish law requires.”
It was from a friend who updated Kenig with the horrific news. Bands of armed terrorists from Gaza were roaming the streets of Ofakim, and murdering anyone in sight. A group of them stood only a few feet away from the locked Chabad House.
“We lost many friends, several who attend our Chabad House and danced with us last night.” Kenig related. His voice expressed emotions being felt across Israel. He said he was on verge of tears, but in too much shock and pain to let them flow.
Kenig operates a soup kitchen in cooperation with the municipality. The Home Front Command and municipality coordinated security for him and his volunteers to bring food door-to-door on Sunday to those in need.
“One of our volunteers had terrorists shooting at his house, and a grenade thrown in. Another lost his son, a policeman, who was protecting the streets. It’s not something fathomable.”
“We have too much work to do. People need to leave, but they cannot leave their homes safely—both from rockets and from terrorist fire. And this is only the basic needs, before comprehending how many friends are no longer with us.”
On Sunday night, Ofakim was still under lockdown. Security forces were unsure if there were still terrorists in hiding.
Food, Shelter and Hakafot for IDF Troops in Sderot
Rabbi Asher and Chaya Muska Pizam have been co-directors since 2015 at Chabad of Sderot, where he was born. Sadly, the rabbi has had lifelong experience with rockets from Gaza, which Hamas began firing at Sderot in 2001. But they never experienced the devastation and the opportunities to help that has beeen taking place there over the past two days.
Sderot was one of the first targets of the incursion from Gaza, and throughout the day Saturday terrorists drove through the streets of the city, randomly shooting and killing residents. They occupied a local police station, killing a number of officers and fought battles with Israel security forces through the day.
The Chabad House of Sderot has a very large bomb shelter, and so when the soldiers arrived in Sderot on Shabbat, Pizam opened it for them, helped them get organized inside, and gave them food as they went out to fight in pitched gun battles through the day and night.
On Sunday, the terrorists in the police station were killed by IDF troops, who leveled the station in case any terrorists remained inside.
“Of course we didn’t have prayer services Shabbat morning,” says Pizam. “But later in the evening we held quick hakafot with a small group who gathered in the Chabad House for shelter.”
“There are rockets all the time—now I’m sitting in my home bomb shelter with my wife and children,” Pizam explained. “But in between rockets, we are running to people who are at home and in need. People are hungry, they need food and medicine, and other essential supplies. They are tired and scared, everyone lost friends or family.
“Dozens of people who I personally know were killed. It’s extremely difficult for people to handle. We are doing our best to stay strong and be a support for our community as they need us.”
“I don’t know how we will do it, but the Rebbe sent us here, so we must have the strength to withstand this. The Holy One Blessed be He should give us the strength, the faith, the ability to withstand this and do our mission here as best as possible.”
Later on Sunday night, a new call was issued for all Sderot residents to again remain in their home with doors locked amid reports of possible new attacks.
Aid for Adults and Programs for Kids at Ashkelon Shelters
In Ashkelon, Simchat Torah day celebrations were non-existent in the coastal city. Instead, residents were trapped in home safety rooms and public bomb shelters, unable to leave for a moment, due to the nonstop barrage of fire.
“We didn’t even have electricity for most of the day,” said Rabbi Menachem Lieberman. “It was very overwhelming.”
Lieberman directs Chabad-Lubavitch of Ashkelon, and has developed an organized response system for his community during times of heavy rocket fire. The moment Shabbat ended, his phone was flooded with messages and photos of his community members’ homes and cars which had been hit by rockets.
As Lieberman set to work organizing and assisting his community from inside his bomb shelter, his own house took a hit. Thankfully he and his family were safe.
Rabbis and volunteers from Chabad of Ashkelon have been visiting people whose homes who were hit by rockets, or are missing relatives. They also opened their Chabad Houses that are in bomb shelters and are hosting children’s activities designed to keep them calm and safe.
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