Me with the missile part that fell on us

This past week has been a few surreal occurrences, hard to write about, but I will try.

On Shabbat March 14th an Iranian missile hit our house…a fragment…a big heavy metal thing shaped like a belt-that-fits-around-a-rocket. It hit our roof after a siren, after the booms we hear in the sky.

We heard the warning, then upon the siren went to the hallway downstairs, which is our safest part of the house. Then after the siren ended, we heard the “boom – boom – boom” in the sky like we always do. Then, one or two minutes later, Jordan went upstairs to read in his office, Tzachi went to the salon to look out the window, (he normally goes outside) and AB and I stayed with Packer (the dog) in the hallway. We were sipping cola and had no reason to leave. It was Shabbat, after all. Nobody really had anywhere to go…

“BOOM!!!!” the house shook.

“Jordan!!!” I called…and it was quiet…then I heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. Jordan was quiet, breathing heavy, and said “it’s in the house, it hit the house” and he got down on the floor. I hugged him and said “it’s ok, we are here together, it will be ok” and Tzachi came running to the hallway, and said “did it hit us?” and I said one of you get your phone and call Asa Sheffield, head of security and the kids of course said “what’s the number?” and I said “go look on the fridge” and I realized that I was shaking all over.

Turns out the missile piece landed on the corner of our roof, bounced off and then landed on the top of our pergola. The kids in the b’nei akiva area saw it, they had also left the shelter after the first “booms” and had headed outside. Others saw it as well, because people are impatient and can only stay inside, huddled, for so long.

We are Israel, after all. Not ones to hide and cower. Unlike the Jews the world wishes us to be.

There is some damage, but we are physically fine. The shaking subsided. The entire yishuv was in our yard marveling over the miracle. And we held a kiddush on Shabbat where I recited the blessing “ha’gomel” for all to hear. This time I was shaking a little, but it was just stage nerves. A much better feeling!

My daughter entered the army on Thursday morning. She was accepted into a fighting unit. My bright, responsible, little girl, now an adult deployed to protect the land.

There’s not much for a mother to do, except pray and stay strong. I try to put it out of my mind…now I have two children in the army. People sometimes ask me if I’m scared. It’s best for me to not think about it.

That same Thursday we learned that our neighbor’s son, was killed in the Sinai. A car accident. He was on his way to the airport, to fly to Uman for Rabbi Nachman’s birthday. He leaves behind a wife and three young children. The government had some logistical issues bringing back the body for burial, but they managed within 24 hours and the entire yishuv gathered at the Susya cemetery on Friday at 2pm before Shabbat. The wife had asked friends to bring shofars and drums. The sounds were unreal. Such emotion. Singing up to the heavens. This family has a van with speakers on top, and the father and son drive around playing chassidic music regularly, determined to always be joyful. They did this after our missile miracle. It was the last time.

And on Shabbat, the family that lives under them celebrated a son’s Bar Mitzvah.

One family experienced a Miracle.

And an induction.

Another experienced a Loss.

And another, a Mitzvah.
And somehow, all of it exists at once.
The miracle and the fear.
The pride and the worry.
The grief and the joy.
In one small yishuv, in one single week, life stretched beyond what the heart feels capable of holding – and yet, we held it. Together.
This is what it means to live here. Not just to endure, but to continue: to bless, to bury, to celebrate, to send our children forward, to gather when it matters most. To stand in the face of what is larger than life, and still choose life.
We do not get to choose the moments that find us. But we choose how we carry them.
And here, we carry them together.

Natalie Sopinsky, a Delaware native, was raised in an all-American Conservative Jewish family. Today she is a pistol-wearing hitch-hiking settler living in the Hebron Hills with her husband and children. A lawyer & lifeguard, Natalie represents the 150 communities in Judea and Samaria as Director of Development for Hatzalah Yehuda and Shomron, the main US charity for emergency medical needs in the Jewish heartland. www.hatzalah.org.il; Natalie also hosts the weekly radio program “Returning Home” on Israel NewsTalk Radio https://israelnewstalkradio.com/returning-home/.

Since Oct. 7th War – Natalie has two sons serving in the IDF, both in fighting units. There are thousands of families with children fighting…and husbands…and brothers. Natalie’s third son will enter the IDF in March.