To the Editor:
I read the article on the Beis Yisroel miracle and I would
like to tell over a true story relating to the Dizengoff
bombing on erev Purim, 5756. I was working in Bank Mizrachi,
a number of yards away from where the bomb exploded.
Boruch Hashem, I survived the attack unscathed. If
you remember, the terrorist exploded [himself] in the
crosswalk of Dizengoff at the corner of King George, rather
than inside of Dizengoff Center [a shopping mall that was
full of people].
The media reported that the terrorist was likely scared off
by the presence of a guard at the entrance to the Center,
but I find that hypothesis weak for the following
reasons:
1. The guard was, at best, lightly armed. A mere push of the
guard, and the terrorist would have been inside the building
where he could have achieved a much more deadly effect
compared to the crosswalk.
2. Extensive intelligence is generally performed by the
terrorist organizations before an attack. It is therefore
highly unlikely that the terrorist was surprised by the
presence of a guard.
A more likely scenario was that a true miracle occurred,
which the media could not have possibly known.
Several seconds before the bomb exploded my bank's burglar
alarm, which is extremely loud, went off, for no apparent
reason. It is my opinion that the terrorist was approaching
the building at the moment the alarm went off. [Hearing the
alarm, he] believed he had been detected, panicked, and ran
into the street to detonate.
Later research revealed that a construction worker had been
drilling in the Center, hit a wire, and, through a short-
circuit, caused the alarm to go off at just the right
moment.
I am a firm believer in the power of Torah! It changed my
life and existence for the rest of eternity. But is it not
pretentious to declare as fact what motivated the Almighty
to perform the miracle at Beis Yisroel?
I can assure you that Dizengoff Center is not exactly a
bastion of Torah, yet Hakodosh Boruch Hu apparently
performed a miracle there as well. Maybe the Almighty is so
merciful that He performs miracles for secular Jews as
well?
Bechovod,
Kalman Davidson
The Editor Replies: Hashem is definitely merciful beyond
our imagination. Many people who appear secular are as full
of mitzvos as a pomegranate. When we see a clear miracle
such as you report, it is our clear and unequivocal duty to
thank and praise Hashem for his obvious acts of mercy.
