No matter how long it has been it is still so painful and brings nightmares to me- to all of us- yes I realize that I suffer from PTSD from this and other experiences that I lived through in the military operations, and terror attacks. But Yom Kippur 1973 is something that all of us who went through this can not forget or be relieved of the pain and trauma. I am sending this to be printed however, not because of my own personal trauma but also in order to remind our Nation of the price our soldiers and our families paid then and pay now in order to protect our Torah, our Land and our Nation.
May we have leadership that allows us to prevent the violence and terror and attacks against us and not to merely “respond”.
Gmar Hatima Tova to all of Am Yisrael.
These poems were written during the time during the Yom Kippur War and after when I struggled between despair and hope and prayer following the IDF reporting to me that my husband was MIA.
Oh Israel
Land of hopes
Land of war
Dreams we hold
Of our children growing tall.
From all corners
We have come
To build a home
For everyone.
Oh Land of beauty
Of prayers and work
Endless problems, and duties
Behind all which our future lurks.
A hundred cultures interchange
Between thousand minds
Searching for common plaine.
Million faces
Search on high
Each independent yet all try
To reach and build this dream of peace
A Land of one – of unity and happiness.
I was alone with a new baby when Ami left on Yom Kippur and was informed of his being MIA a week and a half before what was to be our first anniversary – trying to be a Mommy to our new daughter I kept holding her and promising – praying that she would see her Daddy again.
The Thing Most Beautiful
The thing most
Beautiful to me
Is not just the things I see
But tranquil moods
And warm sunshine
The feeling of inner peace
Which glows inside.
The smells of grass freshly cut
Or coffee steaming in a cup.
Baby’s skin after a bath
Or flowers growing
On a dirt path.
I only recently told my husband and family about the book and what I wrote and I dedicate these words and prayers to our MIA’s and their families. I who lived through this nightmare can never forget and daily pray for each of our missing and their families. And for our brother Yonatan Pollard to finally be released and brought home.
B’ahavat Zion