Baltimore, MD - Apr. 7, 2026 - Pesach is the holiday on which we renew our trust in HaShem. It was on this holiday when HaShem demonstrated to His people and to the Egyptians that He not only created the world, but that He continues guiding and pays close attention to every person. In this context I wish to share with you my most recent conversation with my nephew Reb Shlomo Bodenheimer. He shared with me what occurred to his son Yaakov this past Shabbos chol hamoed.
This past Shabbos chol hamoed, my great nephew, Yaakov Bodenheimer was staying with his in-laws who live AT 9 Rechov Abaye v’Rava, just below the Punivezh Yeshiva in Bnei Braq. Their apartment is on the second floor of that building.
At 12:30 Shabbos afternoon the siren went off indicating an incoming missile. Two minutes later they heard the Iron Dome successfully hitting the missile. However, this was a cluster bomb which split into multiple missiles when struck by an Iron Dome. One minute later a missile flew into the fourth floor directly above their apartment and exploded. The missile completely destroyed two apartments including their exterior walls. The family living in one of the destroyed apartments was in Yerushalayim for Shabbos. And the family living in the other apartment happened to be in a room that is on the fifth floor. (They have a staircase inside their apartment.) Naturally, the entire building shook. Yaakov anticipated the crumbling of the building. He and his wife took their infant and exited out through the right stairwell. In fact, all the residents exited through that stairwell. They could have chosen to exit through the left stairwell but nevertheless, nobody chose that stairwell. As it turned out, there were no casualties and the left stairwell suffered much damage from crumbling building material.
On this same day Bnei Braq suffered from four direct hits with no casualties. Two missiles actually exploded but nobody was home in those apartments, and the other two missiles did not explode.
May we soon see the outright expression of HaShem’s bringing us all home to Him, to His Home and may we see what our ancestors saw when they crossed through the Red Sea 3,300 years ago.
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 7, 2026 - Pesach is the holiday on which we renew our trust in HaShem. It was on this holiday when HaShem demonstrated to His people and to the Egyptians that He not only created the world, but that He continues guiding and pays close attention to every person. In this context I wish to share with you my most recent conversation with my nephew Reb Shlomo Bodenheimer. He shared with me what occurred to his son Yaakov this past Shabbos chol hamoed.
This past Shabbos chol hamoed, my great nephew, Yaakov Bodenheimer was staying with his in-laws who live AT 9 Rechov Abaye v’Rava, just below the Punivezh Yeshiva in Bnei Braq. Their apartment is on the second floor of that building.
At 12:30 Shabbos afternoon the siren went off indicating an incoming missile. Two minutes later they heard the Iron Dome successfully hitting the missile. However, this was a cluster bomb which split into multiple missiles when struck by an Iron Dome. One minute later a missile flew into the fourth floor directly above their apartment and exploded. The missile completely destroyed two apartments including their exterior walls. The family living in one of the destroyed apartments was in Yerushalayim for Shabbos. And the family living in the other apartment happened to be in a room that is on the fifth floor. (They have a staircase inside their apartment.) Naturally, the entire building shook. Yaakov anticipated the crumbling of the building. He and his wife took their infant and exited out through the right stairwell. In fact, all the residents exited through that stairwell. They could have chosen to exit through the left stairwell but nevertheless, nobody chose that stairwell. As it turned out, there were no casualties and the left stairwell suffered much damage from crumbling building material.
On this same day Bnei Braq suffered from four direct hits with no casualties. Two missiles actually exploded but nobody was home in those apartments, and the other two missiles did not explode.
May we soon see the outright expression of HaShem’s bringing us all home to Him, to His Home and may we see what our ancestors saw when they crossed through the Red Sea 3,300 years ago.
