Flood brings out the best of Israel

For a second, I saw death before my eyes. My wife, Limor, and I immediately shook it away and began to worry about our three girls. Life is stronger, it turns out.

We have lived in the amazing and beautiful community of Bat Hefer for 15 years. We were among its founders. For me, this place is home. A good and warm home.

Two nights ago, in the span of 10 minutes, everything turned upside-down. Before our eyes, everything in our lives turned into mud. It is hard to describe this. It is something that I will never forget. I saw the water continuously rising. Limor and I took the girls to the second floor until the water stopped rising. Only at that point did I allow myself to breathe.

I saw a burgeoning lake on the other side of the road. Cars floated through my yard. This sounds unreal. On the ground level of our house and outside, the water stood four and a half meters (15 feet) high. It looked crazy.

We were stuck in the house all night. Leaving was impossible. In the middle of the night, rescuers and military personnel arrived. We preferred to stay on the second floor because it was warm there. It also would have hurt to leave our destroyed house behind.

Only the next morning did we leave for my mother-in-law's home in Netanya. We have nowhere to return to. Our house is caked in mud.

We already miss our home and the feeling of being refugees is discouraging. But there is some comfort. I look back warmly at the solidarity of Bat Hefer residents, how neighbors came to help, carrying pots of soup and bottles of water. They offered financial assistance and use of their vehicles.

It was "the beautiful and good land of Israel," as they say. Israel has much reason for pride. This is an important and educational message, both for my three girls and for us all.

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו