Ein Od Milvado (Part 2)

By Rav David Lhungdim

While I was at the Olive Tree Hotel, I heard another story between Minkha and Arvith told by Hertzl Saubi, a member of the Sderoth Municipality who had a narrow escape from the terrorist on his way to the synagogue, and came to share his miraculous escape with residents of the south who were staying at the Olive Tree Hotel.

During major holidays like Rosh Hashana and Pesach Shavuoth succoth, Saubi would provide food and money to the Bnei Torah (Avrekhim) and arrange for religious courses like Scribe and Shochatim. He was a man of kindness and charity.

With Rabbi Hertzl Saubi and his son Rabbi Avshalom Saubi at Olive tree Hotel Jerusalem

While on his way to synagogue on simchat torah he heard a gunshot which was not unusual, within a second he felt that he was hit by a bullet he began to run toward his synagogue he nearly collapsed when he reached his synagogue blood began to razzed from his chest and leg he was hit by two bullets.

He was desperate to get help from paramedics since his phone was not in his possession because it was the Simchat Torah holidays, after a minutes one of his community members Yigal came to daven.

When he saw Yigal, he told him that the terrorists had penetrated deep inside Sderoth and he had been hit by their bullets, causing him to feel drowsy with the loss of much blood. Yigal asked him what he should do, and to his surprise, he realized that he had parked his car near the synagogue because he had brought gifts and sweets to be distributed on Motzei Simchat Torah.

Yigal ran towards the car and assisted him in getting inside; he began to lose consciousness, and when they arrived at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, he was immediately taken to the emergency room; while the doctors were moving him inside the MRI, he saw Rabbi Israel Meir Kahan the Khafetz Khaim and his sons in his state of consciousness; they were discussing whether the decree should be annulled or not, and the Khafetz said it should be annulled.

When he recovered consciousness, the doctor showed him the MRI results and stated that the bullet was only a millimeter away from his heart, which was a miracle in and of itself.

Hertzl stated that he had seen the identical incident on Hoshana Rabba Night, in which he observed in his dream the Khafetz Khaim and his son debating whether or not to cancel the decree, and he heard Khafetz Khaim remark that the decree should be annulled.

Then he told the audience that he sacrificed his time an hour every day to teach his community a lesson on Shemirat HaLashon written by Khafetz Khaim and in that very place where he taught and performed charitable work he was miraculously saved and that must be the reason why Rabbi Meir Kahan said in his dream the decree should be annulled.

And the miracle wasn't just for him because his wife was a Balanit. A few years prior, after Yosef Mevorach, the Synagogue Yad Amitai's owner, passed away, the Mikveh was neglected and stopped working. Saubi's wife decided to work with Mesiruth Nefesh to restore the Mikveh. She started renovating it, and as a result, many women returned to fulfill the mitzvah of tevila.

Hertzl Saubi's wife was on her way to the synagogue that Simchat Torah morning when she was stopped by a neighbor right next to the mikveh. He warned her not to go any further because terrorists had infiltrated Sderoth; at first, she did not believe him, but she went back home when she heard the gunshot.

If she had persisted, she could have become a target of Hamas terrorists because she had to pass through a police station where the terrorists attacked, killing twenty police officers as martyrs. Later, tanks destroyed the police station because the terrorists were still at large.

On careful contemplation, one can see the word of our sages when a Jew is involved in a certain mitzvah he is guarded and given security from above, in the case of Saubi's wife she was stopped at the very spot where the mikveh was located, that was the very place where she sacrifices herself to restore the mikveh and pave a way for Sderot women to fulfill the mitzvah of Tevila.

G-d gives strength to his Nation and G-d will bless his Nation with peace.