Here is a letter from Rabbi Nof dated August 13th:

Dear Friends,

I was so happy to hear the news about the ceasefire, that I didn’t read any of the 19 Resolution 1701 articles. After 33 days of war, we here in Haifa want to see the end.

In the media they discussed who is the winner, Lebanon, Hizballa or Israel? I think that in this war everyone lost. More than 100 soldiers were killed already, half of them were reserve duty soldiers, ages 21-41 (I was a reserve duty soldier for 20 years, it could have been me but since I am 45, I am too old to be sent to fight). The other half were young men, ages 18-21, who just finished high school and didn’t even have a chance to go to college. More than 50 civilians were killed from all denominations, Jews, Christians, Moslems and Druze. Many hundreds are wounded and are still in the hospitals. I heard a mother whose child is wounded, saying that she is happy that her son doesn’t have to go back to Lebanon and fight.

Friday was my son Ariel’s 9^th birthday. Since none of the children would come to the party, we canceled it. Instead we decided that the whole family will go to a restaurant. Unfortunately, there were so many sirens (four in one hour) that we decided to have the party in the bomb shelter at Or Hadash. Since the toy stores were closed, the grandparents decided to give money instead of a present, and made a promise which they wrote on paper, to take Ariel and buy toys after the war is over. It wasn’t the nicest birthday party I can remember.

On Shabbat two of the three Bar Mitzvah ceremonies were canceled and the Bar Mitzvah family who came did so without the grandparents (they were afraid to come and stayed in Rishon Letzion).

A few minutes before Kabalat Shabbat on Friday night, there were a couple of sirens but still there were a few dozen brave members who came to pray.

Just a few minutes ago I came back from the Shivah for the mother of Dr. Roxana Reichman. It is so unfair that she took such good care of her mother for two years, and as a consequence of the fear of sirens and the loud noise after bombs landed, she died from a heart attack. Dr. Tamara Luka was a sweet 84 year old Jewish woman. She was an M.D. who took great pride in her work all her life. She is another one of the victims of this cruel war.

Since we opened our shelter for children’s activities, 12 days ago, to everyone in our neighborhood, many mothers can now go to work.

Today 35 of these children were playing in our shelter, during the many sirens that bothered us this morning, once again. In this crazy reality there are U.N. resolutions on one hand, and bombs and sirens in our city on the other hand. The media reports that more than 3,700 katyushas and rockets landed in Israel, on average 130 katyushas each day.

Yesterday we were lucky, only 70 landed in Israel, it is probably because Israel decided to expand military efforts in Lebanon and destroyed part of the kayusha infrastructure .Our soldiers paid with their lives for us to have less bombs and sirens.

I am finishing by sending you pictures of our children playing in the bomb shelter and of my son Ariel’s 9^th birthday party.

Wishing you a good week, Shavua Tov!

Optimistic as always.

Rabbi Dr. Edgar Nof

Spiritual leader of congregation Or Hadash in Haifa