(Editor’s Note: The famous allegoric stories of Rabba Bar Bar Chana and other of our Gedolim are enveloped in clouds of figurative speech. Undoubtedly, the great and eminent Rabba was trying to picture Israel’s trials during the long and bitter exile. The ship of Israel had sailed many a time over terribly stormy oceans and in many instances suffered shipwreck. On the other hand, Bnei Yisrael enjoyed the light of freedom in many countries. But that proved still more disastrous to them because the nation was either almost swallowed up by the fish (nations) wherein it made its abode, or at the end it drank the bitter cup of inquisition, significant in the overturn of the fish mentioned in Rabba’s proverbs.

In the following parables, Rabba pictures Bnei Yisrael’s exiled life. He could not have dared to speak openly on account of the strict censorship of the Roman government. He therefore chose the figurative manner in order to give vent to his pent-up feelings, escaping, at the same time, the shrewd eyes of the government.

The allegoric contents of these stories are ingenious. Many of our gaonim, such as the Maharsha, offer various interpretations. Take the story of when he was on a boat and saw an island. He settled on the island and lit a fire. The island turned out to be a fish, which reacted very fiercely to the fire. Had the ship not been so near, he would have drowned.

The Maharsha explains that Bnei Yisrael’s ship, traveling in the ocean of exile, reached a new land and the people thought they had finally reached salvation. They intermixed with the natives and then, lo and behold, the country (the fish) throws them over and they are driven out. Were it not for their heritage, their Torah, they would have become extinct. The reader is invited to test his intelligence and to fathom the deeper and hidden meaning of these stories, which appear in the Talmud in Baba Basra 73.)

The Tremendous Waves

Rabba Bar Bar Chana related the following, “Sailors told me that once they were threatened with gigantic waves that could have sunk their ships. These waves appeared with a ray of whitish light at their crest and when they struck it with clubs engraved with the words ‘I will be what I will be, L-rd G-d, King of Hosts, Amen, Amen, Selah,’ the waves subsided.”

Rabba Bar Bar Chana continued, “The sailors related to me that the distance between one wave and the other was 300 parasangs (a Persian mile, about 4,000 yards) and the height of each wave lifted them so high that they saw the resting place of the smallest star. There was a flash as it shot 40 arrows of iron. If it had lifted them any higher they would have been burned by its heat.

“They also heard the following conversation between two waves, ‘My friend,’ one wave called to the other, ‘have you left anything in the world that you didn’t wash away and flood? I will go and destroy it.’ The other replied, ‘Go and see the power of the Master by whose command I must not pass the sand of the shore even as much as the breadth of a thread. It is this sand line that separates the sea from the land and yet I could not step over it.’

Rabba Bar Bar Chana went on, “I saw an antelope, one-day-old, that was as big as Mount Rabor, which measures four parasangs. The length of its neck was three parasangs and the resting place of its head was one parasang and a half.

“I saw a frog the size of the Fort of Hagronia (a fortified town in Babylon) that contained 60 houses. A snake came along and swallowed the frog and then a large raven came and swallowed the snake. The raven then ascended the tree and perched on one of its limbs. Imagine the strength of that tree.”

Rabbi Papa ben Samuel said, “Had I not been there I would not have believed it,” and added, “Once, while we were traveling on board a ship I saw a gigantic fish in whose gills I saw a parasite, the mudeater worm. It entered and killed the fish. Thereupon the sea cast up the fish and threw it upon the shore. Sixty towns were destroyed thereby and 60 coast towns consumed its flesh and 60 other coast towns salted the flesh that was left for future use. From one of its eyeballs 300 kegs of oil were filled. On returning there after 12 months, I saw its bones being sawed into boards as to restore the streets that were destroyed by it.”

Gotta’ love the following Ma’an Palestinian news agency report:

One Citizen Dies and 3 wounded by Gunfire Celebrating the Victory of the Resistance

Gaza – Ma’an – A citizen died and 3 others were wounded in shooting in the air to celebrate the victory of the resistance.

A government spokesman for the Ministry of Health Ma’an about the death of a citizen and the wounding of 3 others in Dar Al Shifa, by Gunfire celebrating the victory of the resistance.

The ministry appealed to citizens not to fire in the air.

And I say – go ahead, fire in the air, you’ve earned it.

PM Netanyahu’s Statement at November 21 Press Conference with Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense – Operation Pillar of Defense – Cease-Fire

“Citizens of Israel,

Eight days ago, Israel embarked on operation Pillar of Defense. The Government decided to launch the operation after the frequency of the terror attacks originating from Gaza increased over the last few months. I announced that we would respond forcibly to these attacks when we see fit. I said that we would exact a heavy price from the terror organizations.

The terror organizations assumed that we would avoid offensive action against them; they were wrong. We hit their senior commanders, we destroyed thousands of rockets which were aimed towards the South and most of those aimed towards central Israel, and we crushed Hamas’ control facilities. I must say that we did this with the strong support of the leading authorities of the international community.

In particular, I wish to thank President Obama for his resolute support for Israel’s actions, for this operation and for Israel’s right to defend itself. I also thank him for supporting the Iron Dome systems. I thank Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and express my gratitude to the Egyptians for their efforts in achieving this cease-fire.

In a phone call I had this evening with President Obama, I agreed with him that we should give the cease-fire a chance in order to enable a lull in the situation and allow for the citizens of Israel to return to routine. However, Israel obviously cannot sit idly while our enemy reinforces itself with weapons of terror. Therefore we decided, President Obama and myself, that the United States and Israel would work together to fight the smuggling of weapons to the terror organizations – weapons, virtually all of which come from Iran.

From the day the State of Israel was established, it has had to deal with complex challenges in the Middle East, and we can all see that these challenges have become even more complex in the last few years. Under these conditions we are required to navigate this ship, the State of Israel, wisely and responsibly while taking into account all considerations – military and political alike. This is what a responsible government does, and it is what we did here: we made use of our military might while applying political considerations.

Now, I realize that there are citizens who expect a harsher military action and we may very well need to do that. But at present, the right thing for the State of Israel is to exhaust this possibility of reaching a long-term cease-fire. As Prime Minister, I have the responsibility, and it is the highest responsibility, to make the right steps to ensure our security. That is what I have done and it is what I will continue to do. During the last week, Israel has lost several victims. On behalf of the entire population, I send condolences to the families, and wish the wounded a speedy recovery.

I would like to thank my colleagues, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman. We worked together as a team, in full agreement. I also thank the Nine-Member Ministerial Forum, the Cabinet and the Government, for working – each in its field of responsibility – for the citizens of Israel. I also appreciate the factions of the Opposition and the factions in Knesset for standing with us and proclaiming their support. I thank the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, the Chief of Shin Bet, Yoram Cohen, the Director of the Mossad, Tamir Pardo, and all of their people for their exceptional efforts in reaching our accomplishments in Pillar of Defense. On behalf of the people of Israel, I thank the IDF commanders and soldiers, the pilots, the Iron Dome operators and developers, the members of the intelligence services, all the members of the security services and to the reservists, who left their families and immediately signed up for duty.

I appreciate the mayors and heads of regional councils for displaying leadership and level-headedness at the Home Front, and above all – I salute you, the citizens of Israel. We have a strong army; we have a strong people. I am proud to by your Prime Minister.”

True to his word, President Obama has demonstrated that when it comes to Israel’s security, he does indeed have the country’s back. In the current confrontation with Hamas, he has from the start unequivocally laid the blame on Hamas and said Israel has the right to defend itself and that for the crisis to end Hamas must stop firing rockets at Israel.

Further, his robust support for Iron Dome has resulted in the saving of countless Jewish lives, and the military aid he has authorized over the past four years has enhanced Israel’s ability to strike back at Hamas. Moreover, his staunch, and very public, support of Israel has certainly hobbled the attempts by the usual suspects to press the charge of “disproportionality” against Israel.

So there is much for which to be grateful. But at the same time we have to wonder whether the president made any promises or commitments to those adversaries of Israel he enlisted in the effort to bring both sides to a cease-fire. And were any inducements dangled in front of Hamas?

Just consider the following exchange between State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland and reporters concerning the parade of foreign dignitaries visiting Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip:

Ms. Nuland: We appreciate the fact that [Egyptian] Prime Minister Kandil went personally to try to ameliorate the situation. And will continue to work with them on the efforts that we can all take to try to de-escalate.Question: Have they coordinated the visit with Washington or with the Israelis?

Ms. Nuland: Well, I think both we and the Israelis were aware that the prime minister would make this visit….

Question: …I don’t understand. Two weeks ago you said it would be a bad idea for [Turkey’s] Erdogan to go to Gaza. You were not particularly enthusiastic about the emir of Qatar going to cost. And now all of a sudden it’s a wonderful thing that the Egyptian prime minister went there?

Ms. Nuland: … [W]e have a different situation, obviously.

Question: Okay.

Ms. Nuland: We are in the process of trying to de-escalate a very, very dangerous situation between Gaza and Israel. So the purpose was completely different in this case, and can be helpful, we think.

Question: It can be helpful because they’re talking to Hamas.

Ms. Nuland: Because they’re talking to Hamas, they’re talking about the danger of this kind of situation.

Question: So the way that Hamas gets a stamp of U.S. legitimacy in terms of being an interlocutor is to fire lots of rockets into southern Israel, and then you’re okay with people going to talk to them?

Ms. Nuland: We have a – we have an extremely dangerous and volatile situation. We have a dangerous situation inside Gaza, we have a dangerous situation inside Israel. It is not a matter of legitimating violence. This is a matter of supporting diplomacy to get this to end, which is a different thing than what the visits were intended to do before this.

Question: Okay. Through the mediation with your good friends the Qataris, the Egyptians, and the Turks, Hamas moderates tremendously and gives up on rockets and so on. Will that be, like, an opening with direct contact with Hamas, with the United States?

Ms. Nuland: With our direct contact with Hamas?

Question: Yes, ma’am.

Ms. Nuland: You know what our conditions for contact with Hamas have been. They have not changed; they will not change in this circumstance. They need to recognize Israel’s right to exist. They need to renounce violence and take those other measures that we’ve always called for.

Prudence requires vigilance.

The Palestinians are creative, I’ll give you that. Take a look at what was fired at Israel yesterday. Nothing really unusual – another kassem rocket…oh wait…

Those are charity boxes – commonly attached to poles in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and other cities. The Palestinians actually stole a street pole (charity boxes included) to fire at Israel. They are a creative bunch. My guess is that charity within did its job and protected Israel’s residents from harm.

Visit A Soldier’s Mother.

A security guard, was attacked by an ax wielding mentally unstable Jew from Bat Yam in front of the U.S. embassy on HaYarkon Street in Tel Aviv. Police is on its way.

Embassy guards returned fire at the attacker in response, hitting him and later arresting him.

A group of about 100 Arabs, calling itself the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, a radical group headed by Sheikh Raed Salah, was demonstrating in front of the embassy this morning.

Embassy spokesperson Luba Samri told reporters that ”a suspect came to the US embassy at 11:00 am (4 AM eastern) with a knife and an axe and attacked a security guard.” She said the guard was injured in the leg, and his fellow officers opened fire.

CORRECTION: The original report was that it was an Arab attacker, and that is not the case.

Israel’s Homefront Command has revised its instructions to citizens living within rocket fire of Gaza, and publicized a video with English translation to broadcast important directives.

For those within 40 kilometers of Gaza:

• If you hear the sound of air raid sirens, enter into a protected area immediately.
• School has been cancelled
• Do not convene or congregate in groups
• If your workplace does not have a bomb shelter, do not go to work.
• Shopping centers are to be closed

Israeli news website Walla published an image illustrating the amount of time residents of various parts of the country have to find shelter in the event of a siren.

According to the image, residents of Sderot have just 15 seconds to find shelter, residents of Ashkelon have 30 seconds, residents of Ashdod have 45 seconds, residents of Be’er Sheva have 60 seconds, resident of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and southern Samaria have a minute and a half, and residents of Netanya and Herzliya have 2 minutes.  If missiles are fired from Israel’s north, either from Hizbullah in Lebanon or Al-Qaida from Syria, residents of Tiberias, Haifa, and Gadera have 60 seconds to find cover, residents of Carmiel and Tzfat have 30 seconds, and residents of Nahriya and the Golan should find cover immediately. If at the time of a siren or emergency warning,  you are found in:

A building:

Go into a bomb shelter or safe room (if one is not available in your building, enter the innermost room of your house), closing the doors and windows.  Those living in the top floor of apartment buildings should quickly exit their apartments and enter the stairwell, descending to the middle floor of the building.

Outside:

Enter the nearest building immediately.  If there are no buildings close by, or you are in an open area, lie down on the ground and cover your head with your hands.

In the car:

Stop on the side of the road, exit the car, and enter a building or protected area immediately.  If there is no building, or you are in an open area, exit the car and lie down on the ground, covering your head with your hands.  If you cannot exit the vehicle, top on the side of the road and wait 10 minutes before continuing on your journey.

If no other instructions are given, you may leave the secure area after 10 minutes.

Homefront Command also issued specific instructions for workers in a variety of situations and job types, including government and essential workers.

11:35 AM IDF Paratrooper Brigade Coammander, Colonel Amir Baram says to his soldiers in pre-incursion briefing minutes ago: “We are already 48 hours into this operation which we knew would finally happen. We discussed it in exercises and in our training. There  is no doubt we must act, and that is why we are here and what we have prepared for, what we trained for…”

11:28 AM Air Raid Sirens in area adjacent to South Gaza Strip area, and now center area as well.

11:24 AM  IDF combat troop commanders being briefing officers on operational details of [future/upcoming?] ground incursion into Gaza.

11:11 AM Reports of explosion near Ofakim of Iron Dome taking out Gazan rocket.

11:10 AM Reports of Air Raid Sirens in Ofakim.

11:09 AM Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil’s visit to Gaza is ending…and he is returning to Egypt.  IDF:  Show Gaza some love!

11:04 AM Seems like Israel is sticking to its cease fire due to Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil’s visit.  Hamas on the other hand has fired dozens of rockets at Israel.

10:52 AM Air Raid Siren in community south of Ashkelon 10:51 AM The civilian jeep hit by a Hamas anti-tank rocket in Eshkol, near Beeri, was full of reporters and cameramen. 10:48 AM Video from 2 nights ago, of Iron Dome taking out 14 out of 15 Gazan rockets over Beer Sheva.

10:47 AM Hamas takes responsibility for hitting civilian jeep in Eshkol region — they used an anti-tank rocket. As reported, no injuries.     10:45 AM A person was serious wounded this morning in Beer Sheva when he was running to shelter due to the Air Raid siren, and he was hit by a car.

10:43 AM Rocket from Gaza hits civilian jeep in Eshkol region.    Car went up in flames, yet driver and passengers escaped unharmed. Currently waiting for rescue…

10:42 AM 4 rockets shot down by Iron Dome over Ashdod.

10:38 AM Reports that IDF attacks terrorists in Jabaliya/Northern Gaza — one dead and 3 injured.

10:34 AM Rocket fired at Ashkelon hit the yard of a Public Building, no injuries.

10:33 AM Air Raid Sirens in communities south of Ashkelon

10:32 AM IDF Radio reports Air Raid Sirens in Beit-El.  Then they corrected themselves to a different city, and in Israel’s South… 

10:31 AM Air Raid Sirens in Ashdod, Gederot area and Sederot.

10:27 AM Air Raid Sirens in communities south of Ashkelon.

10:11 AM NRG/Maariv reports that on Motzei Shabbat/Saturday Night, a fifth Iron Dome installation will go on-line for active defensives.

10:09 AM Analysis of Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil’s visit to Gaza and the temporary cease fire at the JewishPress.com  - click here.

10:08 AM  Air Raid Sirens in South Ashkelon area.

10:04 AM Air Raid Sirnes in communities of the Northern Gaza strip area

10:04 AM The Jerusalem light rail has resumed service after a terrorists planted fake bombs.

9:57 AM Air Raid sirens in Norhern Gaza Region and Ashkelon,

9:56 AM Hamas President Ismail hanieh walking around freely to meet Egyptian Prime Minister, Hisham Qandil

9:53 AM Air Raid Sirens in Ashkelon and Kiryat Melachi.– heard on IDF Radio.

9:52 AM AIR RAID SIRENS — during the “cease fire” — Thanks Hamas! (And Egypt)

9:50 AM 5000 chickens murdered by rocekt attack this moring in Eshkol region.

9:49 AM Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil’s visit to Gaza is scheduled for about 3 hours.  During this time, there is supposed to be a temporary cease fire.

9:42 AM YNET reports that the previous rockets before were shot towards Kiryat Gat. 

9:41 AM Live:  Egyptian Prime Minister, Hisham Qandil is in Gaza. 

9:41 AM In the previous rocket launches to the Eshkol region, 12 rockets were launched at the region.

9:39 AM Iron Dome malfunction results in rocket falling in Ashdod at 6:50 AM this morning. (Ashdod.net)  9:38 AM Running on Twitter now: Hamas will take advantage of Egyptian Prime Minister, Hisham Qandil’s visit to Gaza, to fire rockets at Israel, and Israel won’t retaliate. 

9:35 AM One rocket shot down by Iron Dome, one rocket landed in an open area.  9:33 AM Sirens going off in a region to the East of Ashkelon and North of Beer Sheva. 

9:30 AM Of the 30,000 IDF soldiers authorized by the government to be called up, the IDF has started calling up 16,000 including those from Combat and Engineering troops.