Ceasefire + 25 hours
August 16, 2006
Dov is safe b"h and hopefully with the ceasefire in place he will stay safe, although we do not yet have a date for his discharge.Is the ceasefire good for the Jews? Long-term, I truly don't know.
Is it good for the parents, wives and young children of our soldiers? Absolutely.
Is it good for the immediate well-being of the displaced or bombarded residents of our northern cities, towns, moshavim and kibbutzim? Most definitely. [They are already heading back to their homes.]
Is the Israeli public supportive of the ceasefire? Probably not, unless you happen to be a parent, wife or child of a soldier. So we're divided on that one.
Did we win this war? Probably not.
Could we have won this war? Having totally underestimated the strength of the enemy, not without additional very heavy, and potentially impossible to cope with casualties, thereby irreparably destroying even more families.
Should we have gone to war? Categorically yes.
Will the ceasefire last? Only Hashem knows that.
Will we ever get back the kidnapped soldiers? Only Hashem knows that.
Will the northern part of the country again be subjected to missile attacks in the future? Only Hashem knows that.
All I can tell you - from a very limited subjective viewpoint - is that I think I have understood a few things more clearly as a result of these last few terrifying weeks.
Nothing, but absolutely nothing can be taken for granted.
Family and friends are to be cherished and nurtured - no exceptions.
The power of prayer must not be underestimated.
We must count our blessings - daily - while thinking about those who have suffered unimaginable sorrow.
It is possible to survive on a lot less sleep than usual.
Finally, as I finish this email, i'm hopeful that it will be the last of the "dov update" messages, although I will [b"n] inform you all when Dov is back home and reunited with his loving family (and not just for 24 hours!)
So let me take this opportunity, on behalf of Judith, myself and of course Dov, to thank you all for your amazing support. If I haven't been able to respond individually, I hope to rectify that as things get back to normal.
With a prayer that ALL our soldiers return home safe and well very soon,
Kol tuv ubesorot tovot,
Chaim
