(Day 581) Swords of Iron – “Point of no return?”

Chaim begins by talking about the ballistic missile attacks on Israel by the Houthis in Yemen, including one just this afternoon, which caused millions of people in Gush Dan to run to bomb shelters.

At the same time, Israelis are also mourning two IDF soldiers who were killed in action in Gaza on Thursday, Sgt. Yishai Elyakim Urbach, 20, and Staff Sgt. Yam Frid, 21. They are the latest fatalities in this war but Chaim says that even people who have not been in Gaza are experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Chaim cites a study by Tel Aviv University which says that almost 12% of the reserve soldiers who have fought in Gaza are so emotionally traumatized that they are unfit to return to active duty.

Chaim also mentions the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionry Guards Corps who is threatening to “open the gates of hell” on Israel if it, and/or the US, launch a military strike on thier nuclear weapons program.

Meanwhile, Kanye West, a vocal artist with a history of extremely bizarre behavior, has a new song out simply called “Heil Hitler”. Chaim says that although several recording labels have already dropped Kanye West, there has not been enough outcry against this normalization of anti-Semitic hate speech.

Chaim says that in this time of increasing darkness, Believers need to shine even brighter. In this context, he quotes Psalms 149:7; To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; as well as Zechariah 10:6; “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; for I am the Lord their God, and I will hear them.