After much procrastination, I left my hometown of Omer and arrived in Tivon—a two-and-a-half-hour drive. I sent all my furniture, clothing, dishes, and more with the movers. My daughter, her husband, the movers, and the people at my protected living home did a fantastic job of getting everything ready. Of course, I took more than I need and am slowly getting rid of what I don’t need.

Fortunately, I arrived on Wednesday and integrated into the community quickly. On Shabbat, after the many sirens, I spent several hours, in the bomb shelter, with my new neighbors on the floor where I live. They asked me questions, and I reciprocated by learning about their backgrounds. By the end of our first midnight gathering in pajamas, I had made a friend!

Despite the constant sirens and planes flying overhead, I feel protected here. This sense of security is another, albeit unplanned, reason for my move to protected living. I tried to connect this week’s parsha to my experience. The closest I can come is to point out that the Israelites, faced with uncertainty, lashed out at their leaders. In contrast, I find comfort in knowing that, in this uncertain time, I am surrounded by people who care about me, in addition to my family living just 20-25 minutes away, depending on traffic.

In this week’s parsha, Ki Tissa, the Israelites face one of the most troubling crises in the Torah: the episode of the Golden Calf. Raised, like many Jewish children, on the midrash of Abraham smashing his father’s idols, I learned to identify with the iconoclast and to mock those who believed in substitutes for God. Yet, the........

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