Generations of Resilience: A Family’s Shabbat After Operation Rising Lion
The shofar’s blast can serve as both a battle cry and the clarion call for a messianic age—when the lion lays down with the lamb. After Operation Rising Lion, our home in Jerusalem filled with the energy of a family Shabbat gathering. Our teenage grandchildren, arriving from across the country, brought with them stories of recent near-misses and unsettling encounters.
The conversation turned to the terrifying moments when a ground-to-ground ballistic missile struck so near that a group of teens in Rehovot felt the entire building shake—from the ground floor to the eighth. Despite having a shelter in the building, those on the top floors had little time to reach refuge and instead took cover in the stairwell. Likewise, the teens mentioned how the window displays of their favorite mall were shattered in a sudden explosion, leaving many to wonder if the missile that hit had also attacked renowned scientific institutions nearby.
Meanwhile, the teens from Binyamina recalled that their uncle in Tel Aviv had his apartment windows blown out by the impact. In a quick bid to cover the damage, he wrapped the empty frames in plastic. Soon after, the family relocated to his parents’ house—a home equipped with a reinforced safe room not far from Gaza.
One of our sons, who has completed hundreds of days of military duty in the past year and nine months, has been tasked with investigating affected sites. Even our grandchildren, some of whom serve actively in the IDF, share their experiences around the table. Clearly, many details of this 12-day conflict remain unspoken, yet the scars left by the missile strikes are all too real.
Among the conversations at dinner, our teens compared how their final year of high school was disrupted—graduation ceremonies canceled or hastily rearranged and matriculation exams either postponed or restructured. They debated whether to accept their current grades or to risk re-studying for a retake of their exams.
Who Among Their Peers in the Diaspora Could Have Such a Conversation?
Between our immense pride in our resilient Sabra grandchildren and the heavy burden this generation bears, there is a bittersweet undertone. I am profoundly thankful to both divine Providence and the IDF that we have all emerged physically unscathed. I can’t help but remember my own high school days in Connecticut, filled with prom dresses, beach parties, and the sounds of legendary bands like The Beatles and Bob Dylan—worlds apart from the courageous discussions our teens engage in today.
Even as I reminisce, I recall the seeds that were planted in my own youth. I still remember sneaking a transistor radio into the quiet school library during the turmoil of the Six Day War to keep up with the news. That experience was the catalyst for my eventual decision to make aliyah—a decision that transformed my life and the future of my family.
Here in Jerusalem, our family unites for a modest and hastily arranged Shabbat to mark the golden anniversary of my marriage to my husband, Gerald Schroeder. Back when we were American-born new immigrants, a mutual friend once nudged us toward one another by suggesting that even if a romantic spark didn’t immediately ignite, Gerald should still join the Shabbat dinners I used to host for fellow newcomers.
Our wedding story is filled with moments that now seem almost poetic. I remember the day we were traveling together in a car I had just purchased as a new immigrant. When we encountered a flat tire near a sculpture symbolizing a roaring lion, Gerald’s calm expertise in handling the situation convinced me that he was the one. Since then, he has patched up many “punctures” in life while I have taken charge of countless dinners and family gatherings.
Over the years, military conflicts have punctuated our lives in ways we could never have predicted—from Gerald’s early days, which included participating in nuclear bomb tests and his transformative studies at a Jerusalem yeshiva, to the present where our grandchildren share their own shelter stories during our 50th anniversary celebration. Amid alerts that compel us to rush down a dozen shelter steps and the last-minute checks on air conditioners and hot plates before a Shabbat meal, our resilience shines through.
At our table in Jerusalem, amid Torah discussions, reflections, and shared songs, we remember that jubilee years are heralded by the blowing of the shofar. On this Shabbat, while no ram’s horn sounds, its symbolism endures—a reminder that our prayers today are for the day when peace will prevail and the lion will lie with the lamb.
On our golden wedding anniversary, we deepen our hopes and prayers for that long-awaited golden age.
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