Mount Carmel - the evergreen mountain, a source of life and beauty, a place of biblical miracles.
Hannukah – the holiday of light, a story of bravery and belief, the celebration of a miracle.
This year we watched in horror how our miraculous mountain is burning during our miraculous holiday. We watched how 43 people died while they were trying to save others from the fire. We watched how 50,000 dunams (more than 12,000 acres) of beautiful forest including 5 million trees burned. We sadly imagined what had happened to the lives of all the animals and creatures that used to live in this beautiful nature resort. We watched the brave workers of the Chai-Bar, a breeding and re-acclimation center for animals in danger of extinction, fight the fire to rescue the animals.
Over 17,000 people were evacuated and had to leave their homes - their safe place. Many settlements badly suffered from the fire such as Kibbutz Beyt Oren, the artists’ village of Eyn Hod, and the youth village Yemin Orde to name a few.
The rainless winter that left the trees and the ground dry combined with the strong winds made the attempts to extinguish the fire almost impossible. Israel needed help and the world was there for us. Many countries sent assistance to fight the fire such as fire-extinguisher aircrafts and helicopters, firefighter trucks, fire experts and firefighters. We are very thankful for the heroic help we received from: Azerbaijan, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Jordan, Palestinian National Authority, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and the USA. Beyond the physical help, you gave us a feeling of support and care that was so important in those four days of fire.
When so many nations work together to save lives of people, of trees, of animals – this is a miracle! The Jewish tradition says that one should not rely on miracles – we appreciate them when they happen.
We mourn for the families who lost their loved ones in the fire; we mourn for animals and the trees. It will take the mountain decades to revive. Like us, it needs time to mourn, it needs some time to be left alone so it can heal and recreate its beauty and vitality.
לְהִתְרָאוֹת,
Lehitra’ot,
See you,
שִׁירָה כֹּהֵן-רֶגֶב
Shira Cohen-Regev
The eTeacherHebrew Team
Hebrew Words
שְׂרֵפָה
Part of Speech: noun, feminine Transcription: Srefa Translation: Wildfire, brushfirefkkf
אֵשׁ
Part of Speech: noun, feminine Transcription: esh Translation: fire, light
חַיִּים
Part of Speech: noun, masculine, plural Transcription: xayim Translation: life
כַּבַּאי
Part of Speech: noun, masculine Transcription: kabay Translation: firefighter
מַיִם
Part of Speech: noun, masculine, plural Transcription: mayim Translation: water
עֶזְרָה
Part of Speech: noun, feminine Transcription: ezra Translation: help
Hebrew Song
One Thousand Firefighters
אֶלֶף כַּבָּאִים
Lyrics: Gidi Gov and Danny Senderson
מִלִּים: גִּידִי גוֹב וְדָנִי סֶנְדֶרְסוֹן
Music: Danny Senderson
לַחַן: דָּנִי סֶנְדֶרְסוֹן
Translation
Transliteration
One thousand firefighters
Won’t succeed to extinguish me.
One thousand firefighters
Won’t succeed to extinguish me.
From below the ladder climbs,
to approach me it tries,
Does it reach?
It doesn’t reach, doesn’t reach.
elef kaba’im
lo yatslixu lexabot oti
elef kaba’im
lo yatslixu lexabot oti
milemata hasulam ole
lehitkarev elay hu menase
magi’a?
lo magi’a, lo magia.
We devote the name sections of this newsletter to two dear people who lost their lives while trying to save others in the Carmel brush-fire.
Brigadier Inspector General Ahuva Tomer (תַּת-נִצָּב אֲהוּבָה תּוֹמֶר) was the first woman to command a police post in Israel. She made history in 1997 when she was appointed police commander in Nahariya, and again in 2009 when she was appointed commander of the Haifa station, the largest in Israel.
Commander Tomer was part of the convoy going to evacuate Kibbutz Beyt Oren. When she heard that a bus had been caught in the fire, she rushed to the scene, but was also trapped in the flames that destroyed the bus carrying Prison Service cadets. The fire reached Tomer's car, giving her no chance to escape.
A few minutes before heading out to the fire, Tomer said, "It’s a painful fire that destroys the Carmel.”
אֲהוּבָה
Name:
Ahuva
Gender
Female
Meaning:
Loved, beloved.
:::
16-year-old Elad Riben was an excellent student and a liable young man who volunteered as a "fire scout" at the Haifa fire fighting station. Elad lost his life while volunteering in battle against the Carmel Mountain fire. “When he saw the smoke over the Carmel Mountain, he left school and ran to help out," said his mother Tzvia. "He was very close to the burning bus, so he ran to save lives and got caught in the fire. He was a hero - running into the fire instead of running away from it and saving his own life."
The name may be composed of the words אל (el, God) and עד (ad, “eternity”).
History:
Elead was one of Ephraim’s sons.
Citation:
"And the sons of Ephraim, Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son. And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead.” 1 Chronicles 7, 20-21
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