Amazing stories of Jews miraculously saved by what was
supposed to be a murderous attack are being circulated in
Jerusalem's Beis Yisroel neighborhood. A few minutes after
the tremendous blast from the booby-trapped car, security
forces received reports of "an attack with many victims."
Anyone hearing the explosion, feeling the jolt and seeing
the explosion was certain that scores of people had been
killed or injured as a result. The car was parked in a place
generally teeming with people at that time. But amazingly,
no one was badly hurt.
When the extent of the miracle became known a short while
after the explosion, area residents broke out in spontaneous
dance, some brandishing pieces from the demolished car. One
person even danced with a piece of gnarled metal between his
teeth, like a badchan at a wedding. Everyone
acknowledged that without a doubt, the merit of the
thousands of Mirrer Yeshiva students, along with the merits
of other Torah and chesed institutions in the area
had protected the residents and the many passersby.
The car was parked near a vegetable store that is generally
packed with customers on Thursday afternoons when people
make their Shabbos purchases. Miraculously, the store was
closed during the moment in which the explosion took place.
The owner of the store had gone to daven mincha. His
wife, who had come replace him, suddenly remembered that she
had left a pot on the stove at home, and closed the store to
run home to turn off the gas. As she stepped out of her
house to return to the store, an explosion was heard and the
street was closed. The blast completely demolished the
contents of the store, which was void of customers.
A nearby building houses the well-known Lurie family
chesed organization that distributes food to needy
families. Every Thursday, a woman arrives to take food
baskets which she distributes to the poor. Her husband
always waits for her outside in his truck. That day, for
some reason, she asked her husband to accompany her inside.
He got out of the car and entered the building. Two minutes
later, the explosion was heard. From the window, the husband
saw his truck -- which he had parked right near the booby-
trapped car -- going up in flames.
Many others have similar tales to tell, such as the man who
works in a nearby business who was late to work that day
because someone who had borrowed his car hadn't returned it
on time.
The nearby ba'al teshuva yeshiva, Machane Yisroel,
held a special his'orerushodo'oh rally
after experiencing the miracle firsthand. The car was parked
just below the yeshiva's Shabbos Seminar building. At the
time of the explosion, students were busy preparing rooms
for the scores of guests who attend the seminar every
Shabbos. None were hurt by the tremendous blast.
Every year, approximately 6000 people visit the Shabbos
Seminar and are drawn closer to Yiddishkeit. "60,000 Jews
have visited the seminar over the past decade, and our
purpose is to show them the glory of Shabbos; to enable them
to experience at least one Shabbos in kedushoh
without Shabbos desecration. Many have drawn closer in one
way or another to a true Jewish way of life," says the rosh
yeshiva, HaRav Aharon Feinhandler.
After the extent of the miracle became known, HaRav
Mordechai Kagan, one of the yeshiva's rabbonim, suggested
that a large sign be hung on the building, saying, "Nes
Gadol Hoyo Poh, Bizchus HaShabbos Hakedoshoh."
Above the site of the explosion lives a ba'alas
chesed known as "Miriam the seamstress," who sews
clothes for ba'alos teshuva who have become
kallos as well as for secular women visiting chareidi
homes and requiring modest clothing during their stay. "By
chance," Miriam also had also gone out for a few minutes to
buy sewing materials. When she returned, she saw that her
workroom was a shambles, and realized that if she had been
there, she would have been severely injured, chas
vesholom.
