Give Thanks to Hashem

Today is part of Thanksgiving weekend, which is a holiday that commemorates something or other involving the pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower. Apparently they were thankful to have made it all the way to the New World with most of their internal organs pretty much intact, which was quite a feat when you consider the fact that motion-sickness pills had not been invented yet.

Thanksgiving is not, technically speaking, a Jewish holiday, although that doesn't stop too many of us from eating turkey anyway. However, for those of us living in Yerushalayim - particularly in the Bais Yisroel neighborhood, this year is different: we have our own reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving weekend, to celebrate and thank Hashem for the wonderful miracle which occurred last night.

Last night, at 2:22 AM, there was a tremendous explosion on the fourth floor of 24 Rechov Zonnenfeld (which happens to be just two short blocks away from my dira). The huge fireball pretty much destroyed the entire fourth floor, hurling debris in every direction. The shockwaves of the explosion shattered dozens of windows of both cars and buildings in the area, including one in my dira. The sound of the explosion was heard as far as Sorotzkin and Ramat Eshkol.

No one knew what caused the explosion - whether it was an accident, or chas veshalom a terrorist attack. Initial reports speculated that several people were killed, and dozens more were wounded.

Within minutes, the sounds of sirens could be heard, as dozens of emergency vehicles came rushing to the scene. Police, firefighters, ambulances, Zaka motorcycles, army vehicles - everyone feared for the worst. Magen David Adom even called for an MCI - a Mass Casualty Incident - expecting an untold number of victims. Hundreds of curious spectators filled the streets - quite a few in their pajamas - trying to find out what happened. The police cordoned off the area around 24 Zonnenfeld while they investigated.

As time went on, the picture became clear: somehow, a propane tank (or perhaps several) in the fourth floor of the building had exploded. So Baruch Hashem, it was not a terrorist attack. Even more amazing was the casualty count: zero. That's right: not a single person was killed or even seriously injured by the blast. A few people were lightly injured - some cuts and bruises, but nothing major. As one Hatzalah member told me, "we didn't have to take anyone to the hospital".

Another amazing fact is that no one was hurt by the flying debris. I saw chunks of stone and cement the size of a sack of potatoes - but obviously way heavier - that had been hurled more than two hundred feet. It is an absolute miracle that they didn't hit anyone while airborne, since I doubt a person would've survived the impact. Okay, granted, it was after two o'clock in the morning and most people belong in bed, but it was Thursday night, and thus there were still people in the street even at that hour. Besides, the fact that the explosion did not occur in middle of the day when the streets are crowded is a miracle in itself.

Indeed, the whole story consists of one miracle on top of another, cleverly woven by the Guardian of Israel, the Master of Miracles. Hinei lo yanum v'lo yishan shomer yisrael!