After Iran’s missile barrage earlier this month against Israel, many people who endured the explosions and sirens during the night were both relieved and stunned to learn that 99 percent of the more than 300 drones and missiles fired at them were shot down, and most did not even make it to Israeli airspace.
Many people are touting the country’s military prowess and the nation’s advances in defensive technology; others are grateful for the alliance with the U.S., the U.K., and even Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Yet, the prevailing sense – even in a country that is largely secular – is that Israel was blessed with a Divine intervention.
Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein from the Simon Wiesenthal Center put it best when he said, “We were all witness to nothing short of a miracle of biblical proportions.”
CBN News spoke with the rabbi to get his perspective on what took place.
Source: www.cbnnews.com
SCRIPT:
Chris Mitchell: Rabbi Yitzhok Adlerstein. Great to be with you again
Rabbi Adlerstein: Great to be back.
Chris Mitchell: Tell us. April 13th into the 14th. What do you believe happened?
Rabbi Adlerstein: I believe that we were all witness to nothing short of a miracle of biblical proportions. I think it’s going to take a little while for the full effect of it, for the facts to set in. But it wasn’t, “Hey, the IDF was really successful with the aid of our allies, and Israel survived, even though there was stuff coming in from all over the country, literally.” 99% of the projectiles coming in – drone and missiles – were were shot down. There was minimal property damage and only one serious injury in a Bedouin village. Now, how do you account for that? You know, when the Jews left Egypt. Passover, which we’re on the verge of.You had the really great Cecil B de Mille moments, the ten plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea. But you know what happened after that? What happened in the aftermath? There were two countries both that experienced the same thing. They had witnessed the same thing. But the Israelites went on to Sinai to accept the Torah and make a new covenant with God. Egyptians went right back to where they were before. This is always what happens with miracles.
The believer understands that this is the hand of God and the nonbeliever finds some way of accounting for it. I don’t know. We’ll figure it out. We’ll kick it down the road a couple of centuries. Somebody will explain it. There’s no way to make a believer out of miracles. But for those of us who believe in God’s hand in history, how could you not see that this was the hand of God protecting his land in any kind of conflict?
Give credit to the IDF, but there’s always human error. There are always things that get through. You know, the friendly fire casualties in Gaza have been some of the highest in recorded armed conflict because we’re fighting in urban territory. 20%, they feel. But it’s not just restricted to Gaza. When you’re out there shooting down those things, it’s just so easy for one, two, three to get through, but not a single one.
How do you account for that? And that enemies of Israel joined the fight? Yes, they had their political interests. It’s true. The Iranians have been trying to unseat the king of Jordan and install a Shiite presence in their country. But still, to have the active assistance of the United States, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia now yesterday conceded that, yes, they were actively helping..and Jordan. That’s a small miracle. The bigger miracle is that the the the degree to which Israel was spared, we were all at 2:00 in the morning sitting there waiting for the for the onslaught. And we went down to the bomb shelters. “Hey, what are we doing here? Nothing’s happening.” And a few minutes later, it was all clear.
We come out and we watch this fireworks show like no 4th of July that I’ve ever experienced. Just watching those incoming lights take down the the missiles that were aimed at us. So this is my passion right now to to Jew to non-Jew, to anyone who believes in God and believes that he may load your envelope, your son someday.
Rabbi Adlerstein:
Israel, the God of Israel, does not slumber or sleep; that this is what we saw. And it doesn’t mean the end of the war. It doesn’t mean that God isn’t somehow still who knows what He has in store for us. But, you know, even in the midst of tragedy, God has a habit of sending these little notes. “No, you can’t figure out the bigger picture and what’s going on. But I just want to reassure you, I haven’t gone anyplace. I’m still with you.” That’s what we lived through.
Chris Mitchell: That’s such a great message. Rabbi, thanks for joining as and giving us a real spiritual perspective on
Rabbi Adlerstein: Things and giving me the opportunity. God bless you
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