...i wouldnt aske unless i felt it was needed, but please read this...

[mental invalid]

...im sure you all heard about the suicide bomb in israel the other day...well my boy just sent this to me, hes jewish and recently went over to israel this summer through a program called Isralight...its a private funed program that allows young jewish people the chance to go to see israel...this gentleman was the contact for the company over there and led them on their two week tour....my boy raved to me how incredible of an individual this man was and how much he impacted his life in only 2 weeks...after reading it, i wanted to share it with you guys...i dunno why...it just seemed like something that needs to be heard...its not a whose you right or wrong, its just about life and how fragile it is....

 

thanks for reading, and pass it on...mE

 

 

Subject: Night & day; tears ...

 

Friday; Erev Shabbat.

 

Her eyes, I think, will stay with me forever. Imploring, beseeching,

full of so much sadness. I think the shock of where and how she was, was sinking in. I can't begin to describe all that was in those eyes.

 

Yesterday; Thursday, August 9th the 20th of Av, on my way to work, I

found myself walking down Yaffo street. Hungry, I decided to stop and grab a

quick bite... at Sbarro's Pizza.

 

In the past 5 years I have frequented this establishment exactly

twice.

 

Walking into Sbarro's there is a larger area for sitting in the

front, but the back looked a bit cooler and quieter, so I decided to grab a seat

in the back. That decision saved my life.

 

Waiting on line, when they brought me the baked Zitti I asked for, it

was cold. So I asked the woman behind the counter if she'd mind warming it

up. "Ein Ba'ayah", no problem, she said with a smile. I will always wonder

if that was her last smile on earth...

>

A couple of moments later, a fellow from behind the counter came to

the back with my baked Zitti. Then he started to speak to someone at one

of the tables... That baked Zitti saved his life.

>

At about 2PM, I both felt & heard a tremendous explosion, and day

turned into night.And then the screaming began. An awful, heartrending sound; the sound of people coming to terms with a whole new reality, of people not wanting

to comprehend that life has changed forever.

 

Those of us sitting in the back were spared, but I was afraid of panic, so I started yelling at everyone to quieten down; not to panic. The ceiling looked like it might cave in, but there is always the danger of a

second explosion, detonated on purpose shortly after the first...

 

But then I smelled smoke, and was suddenly afraid the restaurant might be

on foire. So we started climbing our way through the wreckage to the

front.

 

Would there be another explosion? Would the roof collapse? Were we making

the wrong decision, climbing through? There are momenmts that last a lifetime...

 

There are no words to describe what the front of Sbarro's Pizza looked

like in the immediate aftermath of that explosion.

 

A woman was lying near the steps to the back. Her eyes were staring

straight at me, following me. So full of pain and longing, sadness and

despair. I dropped down becide her trying to ellicit a respoonse to see if she could speak. And then I watched the life just drain out of her. I

tried to get a pulse, to no avail. She died there, on the steps in front of

me.

 

She was lying by the table I had decided not to sit at...

 

There were bodies everywhere, and those images are in my mind; they

won't let go. A child's body under the wreckage; a baby-carriage; limbs and

a torso; A woman holding a motor-cycle helmet and screaming next to a

person on the floor who had obviously been someone she was with...

 

And then the mad rush to help the ambulance and emergency crews get

the wounded out. They were obviously afraid of a second bomb, so there was

no medical effort inside beyond getting the wounded on to stretchers and

out.

 

A religious Jew missing at least two limbs in tears and shock; what do

you say? "yehiyeh Be'Seder" it'll be all right? Will it?

 

I happened to sit a bit to the left as you walk towards the back, and so

the wall behind me shielded me from the blast. Another fellow whom we

went back in to get wasn't so lucky. Sitting only 5 or 6 feet to my left,

he caught the full force of the blast and was thrown in the air. When we

got him on the stretcher he was bleeding profusely and was missing a

leg...

 

There are no words to describe what that man's hand, clenched around

my arm, felt like. He just kept looking from me to his leg and back

again. I started saying Tehillim (psalms)...

 

So many mixed emotions fill my head today. I came home last night and gave

each of my children a very long hug... But there are so many families today who are waking up to the reality that life will never be the same. 17 funerals with friends and families saying goodbye to those they loved so, whose only crime was a desire for a slice of Pizza on a beautiful

Jerusalem afternoon...

 

I recall once, reading a story of a boy who was saved from a near-drowning

by a stranger. As the fellow carried him ashore, the boy looked up and

said "thanks for saving my life, mister".

To which the man responded: "Just make sure it was worth saving...".

 

Tonight we celebrate Shabbat. All over Israel, in 8 hours, parents will

bless their children at the Shabbat table. I imagine we will all hug them a little tighter this week.

 

May Hashem, who in His infinite Wisdom saw fit to allow me the privilege of

celebrating one more Shabbat with my family, in the hills of Jerusalem, see fit to put an end to all of this pain, and all of this suffering.

 

Wherever you are, and whomever you are, be with us here, in Yerushalyim, and offer up a prayer for all those who lost loved ones in yesterday's terrible tragedy.

 

Yehi Ratzon, May it be G-d's will, that soon, we will find the road to

the peace we have longed for for so long.

 

Shabbat Shalom,

 

Rav Binny

[Guest Remy Martin]

thats a tragedy. its a even harsher tragedy that the reason suicide bombings occur in that region is due to the goverments genocide on the indiginous people of the land.

[Guest beardo]

thanks for posting that

[mental invalid]

....i know remi, but i dont want this to turn into a political debate, just leave it as it is...someones desciption of hell on earth, the loss of life, and the chances we get...

[pacman]

Originally posted by mental invalid:

...

 

I recall once, reading a story of a boy who was saved from a near-drowning

by a stranger. As the fellow carried him ashore, the boy looked up and

said "thanks for saving my life, mister".

To which the man responded: "Just make sure it was worth saving...".

 

 

That's awesome. I hope that kid listened to that. It's probably the best advise he will ever get. Stuff like this story helps me remember what's important....thanks for posting it.

[Fox Mulder]

no offense but why would anyone want to go to isreal? religous reasons or not.

[alkaline]

Thank you, mental invalid.

[Devilush]

roe....thank you very much for posting that. my aunt is in israel working as a nurse and you wouldn't beleive the horror stories that she has told me. i always end up crying. it was very noble of you to post this. its sad how we take things for granted.

[Zack Morris]

normally I talk alot of shit about how much I hate people...but at this moment what I just read has me thinking abut the true value of human life and if wht ever political gain is worth a tragedy of this magnitude. I feel so sorry for the families that are grieving over lost loved ones at this very moment. and I feel even more sorry for people who can go through with destroying this many lies and this many families...humanity is sickening and beautiful at the same time. and sometimes it takes something sickening like this to also show how helpful and compasionate some of us can be to one another.

[Klypse]

Its pure bull shit what Israel's government is doing to the palestinians. I have family there.

[mental invalid]

.....klypse, im sure there is tragedy on both ends...i didnt post this to take a side...i hope your family is safe...and dev. thanks for the kind words, but the nobility will lie with the people whose somehow put their lives back together....r

[brown twinkie]

.......thanks for posting man.

[dik.n.ur.ear]

http://us.a1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/a/iy/image/picturerose.jpg'>

[Kr430n5_666]

http://www.wfu.edu/users/bergrl02/animals/images/walker.jpg'>

sucks

 

------------------

$$$666MAKROS666$$$

[Guest dukeofyork]

will there ever actually be peace out there?

it seems like theyve been fighting since day one..

some little incident always seems to spark a riot or bombing out there...

thank god most of us will never have to go through something like that.

i can only imagine what people in the middle east have to go through every day let alone in a situation like this....

[Guest JSUN]

. . . . .

[*ZEMONEDOE$]

the holy land is so full of turmoil.i would love to see this place before i die.just to soak up all that is there,life death.religion

spirituality.

god bless.

rest in peace to all fallen angels

[Guest dBUSH]

It is really unfortunate that people still have such hatred and intolerancein their hearts.

[mental invalid]

.....bump.....in hopes that it will be read by perhaps a few more...disillusioned...r.

[dr. frink one]

I think it is worth getting into a debate. It would be interesting to see if any kids on here have important things to say. On such a sad note, I won't go and piss everybody off...but the time draws near