Tales of a Siren Virgin
Where were you when you lost your virginity? I remember it well. Then again, it was only yesterday. Yes, a fifty year-old virgin. And I feel like I have not missed much. Don't cringe or feel sorry for me.
Yes, until yesterday, I was a virgin....a virgin to the infamous whaling siren - which goes off when an incoming missile is detected by the IDF.
Though I have lived in Israel for almost 20 years (this August!), yesterday's siren was the first I heard (excluding those on Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel's Memorial Day).
For years, there have been sirens North of us, South of us, and West as well. But never where I was at THAT moment. Til yesterday.
Where did my thoughts go during this first siren experience?
**Flashing in my mind were the movies/documentaries of Israel being attacked in '48, '67, and '73.
**The sound penetrated my soul no less than my body; I knew I was experiencing simultaneously a very real yet, spiritual moment.
**The tune of HaTikva kept ringing in my head. L'Hyot Am Chofshi B'Arzeinu....to be a free Nation in our Land
**Psalms 20- verses 8-9 came to life! 'Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright'.
**And finally, I reflected how this inconvenience is a small price to pay for the honor of having our own army and Land; a fulfillment of a 2,000 year-old Dream. Seventy years ago, we could have only dreamt.
Ironically, these sirens do the exact opposite of what our enemies wish. These sirens strengthen us as individuals, they strengthen us as a People, and they strengthen each Jew's connection to The State of Israel.
Ron Allswang is the Director of PR and Marketing at Lema'an Achai Ron.allswang@gmail.com
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SPEAK OUT. CALL OUT. RAISE YOUR FLAG.
