A Walking Miracle: A Chilling Testimony from the Terror Attack in the Jerusalem Mountains
Lesson No. 169 | Tuesday, Parashas Vayeshev, the eve of the 20th of Kislev 5759 - Awakening Gathering in Be'er Sheva
A pulsating and moving personal testimony of a survivor from a brutal shooting attack at a spring in the Jerusalem mountains. A story about the power of crying out in one's final moments, mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), and the revealed miracle of healing beyond the laws of nature in the merit of the prayers of the Jewish people.
I saw that I could stand, and I crawled outside. Every single second, I prayed to Hashem to save me. I committed myself to teshuvah (repentance), because I was certain that I would not remain among the living. It was very difficult for me, because it is not simple to leave family, to leave friends, to leave everything and simply be buried under the earth.
The terrorists stole our clothes and left us with only socks and shoes. Using my socks, I tried to stop the bleeding from the gunshot wound I had sustained in my arm. Wonder of wonders, there was a miracle and at first the bleeding stopped, but afterward it continued to flow heavily. I accepted upon myself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven every second, I regretted my sins, and I prayed to Hashem to save me. I said, "Master of the Universe, I do not want to die, I want to live!" I had a passion for life; I did not want to depart so easily.
A month earlier, my mother had warned me: "Be careful, do not go down there lest they shoot you and kill you." I did not pay attention, because for years I had been running down there through the mountains, and it was never considered a dangerous place. The spring is located in the Jerusalem area, a desolate place between Moshav Ora and Aminadav.
Supernatural Strength in the Face of Death
At first, I lay outside for about ten minutes, and then I went back into the spring to drink from the source itself, because the waters of the spring were entirely filled with blood. It was a tremendous miracle that I did not faint and lose consciousness, because if that had happened, I would have drowned and passed away on the spot. May His Name be praised forever for performing a miracle for me.
I crawled outside, all with strength that was not my own. I did not feel my body; these were supernatural forces that Hashem gave me. I took the socks of my friend Itamar and continued trying to stop the bleeding. I waited for salvation. After about twenty minutes, an Arab approached and asked what happened. When I told him that we had been shot, he panicked, said he would call the police and an ambulance, and ran away.
It was a day of a sharav (severe heatwave). The blood continued to flow, and I remained conscious only through strength from Hashem, realizing "it is not my strength nor the might of my hand." I felt that these were my final breaths, that my soul was about to leave my body. I continued to pray, offering prayer after prayer. I said to myself, "At least I will leave this world as a baal teshuvah (returnee to the faith)." Because that is all that remains for a person—if he has done teshuvah, he has merited.
Some Acquire Their World in a Single Hour
After about half an hour in the field, a car arrived with two young men and a small boy. At first, they thought I was sunbathing; they did not notice all the blood around me. When I told them we had been shot, they panicked and called for help. I asked them to look for my friend Itamar, who had already been inside the spring for forty-five minutes.
The police and the ambulance had difficulty finding the location. Meanwhile, the security guard from our moshav arrived and spoke with me constantly so that I would not lose consciousness. When the ambulance arrived, I even helped them with the stretcher—I am certain this was not by my own strength, but rather Hashem, may He be blessed, helped me.
Before they loaded me into the ambulance, I saw them pulling my friend Itamar out of the water. He was no longer among the living. The last image I remember is his face—he was so radiant, truly shining like the sun. He had been a baal teshuvah for ten months, and he merited to do complete teshuvah. There are those who acquire their world in a single hour.
Healing Beyond the Laws of Nature
From there, I was rushed to the intensive care unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. I underwent a surgery that lasted about six hours, during which they had to remove a kidney and part of my pancreas. The doctors were in shock—they could not understand how a person who had absorbed three nine-millimeter bullets and lost so much blood over forty-five minutes in the field remained alive. I arrived at the hospital literally without blood.
The Jewish people tore the heavens with prayers on my behalf. May His Name be praised forever, every single prayer ascended to the firmament. It was a miracle within a miracle—the doctors estimated that I would be in intensive care for many long months, but to their surprise, within just nine days I was discharged from there.
When they transferred me to the surgical ward, they brought me an amulet from the Kabbalist Rabbi Mordechai Sharabi zt"l (of blessed memory). They passed the amulet over my body, over my neck, and over the site of the injury on my shoulder, and they recited prayers over me. Wonder of wonders, immediately afterward I felt alert and full of energy. I told the doctor that I felt excellent and wanted to be discharged home. He thought I was lying, but the truth is that I simply stopped feeling pain.
The Power of a Cry
Within just sixteen days, I was discharged from the hospital! Everything was in the merit of Hashem, may He be blessed, and the prayers of the Jewish people. This teaches us that anyone who is in distress should cry out to Hashem.
"If there is anxiety in a man's heart, let him speak of it" (Proverbs 12:25)
Anyone who has a worry should pour it out before Hashem in Hisbodedus (secluded prayer). He should articulate his thoughts and he will merit salvation in the blink of an eye. The Creator of the world is omnipotent, and whoever cries out to Hashem from the bottom of his heart is answered, because the gates of tears are never locked. As you see me today, I am simply a walking miracle.
Part 2 of 4 — Lesson No. 169