I’m writing this from my home in Modiin, central Israel, after spending most of the day in a bomb shelter with my wife and three kids.

Earlier today, the United States and Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Iran, a regime openly pursuing nuclear weapons and calling for the destruction of Israel and America. Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at us throughout the day. Sirens. Booms. The scramble to get the kids to safety. The waiting. The checking phones. The waiting again.

War has begun. And it began on Parshat Zachor.

For those unfamiliar, every year on the Shabbat before Purim, Jewish communities around the world read a special Torah portion commanding us to remember what Amalek did to the Jewish people. The commandment is singular and absolute: Zachor. Remember. Do not forget the enemy who sought to destroy you when you were at your most vulnerable.

This week, we celebrate Purim. The holiday tells the story of Haman, a Persian official who orchestrated a plan to annihilate every Jew in the empire. Persia. Modern-day Iran. The same regime that launched missiles at us today.

I have spent the last two and a half years writing about this war, serving as an IDF reservist with Alog 99, and running a nonprofit that supports soldiers and their families. I have seen what this conflict has done to us. I have felt what it does to stand on a base near Gaza while your family waits at home. I have watched young soldiers age years in months. Nothing about this war has been abstract to me.

But today was different.

Today, we did not need to remember. We lived it. Ballistic missiles fired from Persia at the Jewish people. The same land. The same hatred. The same stated goal of total annihilation. Thousands of years apart and the intent has not changed.

What has changed is that we are no longer powerless.

We have a state. We have a military. And we have an ally in the United States that refused to sit idle while a regime committed to our destruction races toward a nuclear weapon. That alliance was on full display today. Two nations, bound by shared values and a shared understanding that some threats cannot be negotiated with, only confronted.

I wrote months ago about the boom that shattered our sense of invincibility. Today was full of booms. And each one carried the weight of an ancient hatred meeting a modern reality. Haman sat in Shushan and plotted our destruction. The regime in Tehran picked up where he left off.

And just like then, we are still here.

We are scared. We are tired. We are running on adrenaline and prayer. But we are still here.

As I sit writing this, my kids are finally calm. The sirens have slowed, at least for now. Tonight, in homes and shelters across Israel, families will try to find sleep. Soldiers will gear up. Reservists will check their phones for the call. And the world will watch.

I am praying tonight. For peace and safety in Israel. For peace and safety in the United States. For peace and safety around the world. For our soldiers, our families, and for the innocent people everywhere caught in the path of those who choose destruction over life.

The Torah tells us to remember. Today, we did not need a commandment to do so. The missiles reminded us.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)