I have to say that the timing of the Khamenei take-down was perfect for Jewish history. It was the Sabbath before the holiday of Purim, which celebrates the victory of the Jews over their genocidal Persian foe Haman who decided to wipe out the entire Jewish people all over the world because he was miffed over being “disrespected.” On that Sabbath, we are commanded to read and listen to the Biblical verse dealing with the attack of the Amalekites against the Jews fleeing Egypt:

Deuteronomy 25:17-19: Remember what Amalek did to you on your way as you left Egypt, how he attacked you when you were tired and exhausted, striking down all your stragglers in the rear, with no fear of God. And so when the Lord gives you rest from all your enemies around you in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from beneath the sky. Do not forget.

It is mandatory, a commandment, to hear this read in the synagogue every year. And so, at about 8:20, one foot out the door to the synagogue, we were suddenly blasted with a missile alert siren, which means run to the nearest shelter. That’s when we knew the battle we’d been waiting for had finally begun.

Just the day before, I’d had a talk with my son who’d told me about a famous scientist, much in demand by Harvard, Stanford, etc. who had insisted on returning to his lab at Weizmann Institute. The lab was bombed in the last round with Iran. While no one was killed, the lab was totaled. Nevertheless, this Professor had managed to create a new lab and three months later, all his projects were back on track. “It’s amazing. Such resilience!” we told each other. “We are the most resilient people in the world.”

And now, we are under attack again. It almost feels like getting back to normal, So instead of us hearing this verse it in the synagogue, my husband read it aloud at home to us. It felt like a very appropriate message for the day.

So we were stuck sheltering most of the morning. But around ten to twelve, I told my daughter, who was visiting while her husband is out of town and her grown kids off somewhere together for the weekend with her ex, that Khamenei was just going to have to wait, because I was setting the table and serving my festive Sabbath lunch at exactly twelve o’clock in the dining room.

Sure enough, the sirens ended at twelve, and we had a leisurely, uninterrupted meal. When I went to the sink with the dishes, preparing to serve the last course, my daughter froze. “I think I hear a siren, “ she said. “No!” I shouted in the direction of Iran. “We haven’t had our dessert yet!” And believe it not, there wasn’t any siren, and we then had dessert and even a Shabbat nap, until the sirens went off again.

Only after Shabbat did we learn the amazing news that our generation’s Haman, the evil psychopath and murderer Ali Khamenei, was dead. Like his evil puppet Nasrallah in Lebanon, he too had been killed in his safety complex, surrounded by senior Iranian figures when he was put out of his misery, his big, fat, lying mouth finally shut for good. The bearer of evil tidings, wishing death to Israel and America, had finally got his just desserts, along with a number of his family members and his entire senior cabinet: Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of his Security Council and senior advisor; Mohammad Pakpour, Commander of the IRGC and chief of “destroy Israel” plans; Saleh Asadi, head of intelligence; Mohammad Shirazi, Head of the Military Bureau of the Supreme Leader since 1980; Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense; Hossein Jabal Amelian head of Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, i.e. nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare research and development; and his co-worker Reza Mozaffari-Nia. They were all gathered for a meeting of their Defense Council. LOL!

In all, 40 Iranian commanders and senior officials, including the Chief of Staff, were eliminated in the first minute of the opening strike of the current operation in Iran. Israeli planes, in a brilliant, never before attempted maneuver that included 200 combat planes, and dropped 30 bombs on the evil dictator’s “palace.” First they dismantled the aerial defense system and missiles in western Iran, and then proceeded to gain air supremacy in Teheran, where they dropped their bombs on target.

As can be expected, the Khamenei fans elected an equally “noble” replacement for the head of their Revolutionary Guard Core: the terrorist responsible for the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires, in which 85 people were killed and 300 injured. The President of Argentina, Javier Milei, has requested Ahmad Vahidi’s extradition to be tried for mass murder. Hoping he’ll be dead before that can happen.

Of course we rejoiced, the way the Jews of Persia rejoiced when Haman was hung on the gallows he’d erected meant to hang the Jew Mordechai. And as the Jews of the Persian empire about 2500 year ago wrote in their Purim Megillah: “The Jews came together in their cities throughout the provinces to lay hand upon those who sought their harm and no man could stand before them… The Jews rested from their enemies and the month was turned for them from sorrow to happiness, from mourning to celebration.”

But we couldn’t celebrate long, as one Iranian missile managed to escape our protective shield and land smack dab in the center of Tel Aviv, damaging 50 apartments, and dislocating 200 people. Only one person was killed, and several more injured, the only casualties of this war so far, which is in itself pretty miraculous, all things considered.

IDF Spokesman in Arabic: “When the lion roars, history silences the illusions of tyrants.”

The Iranians, obviously in disarray with idiots running the show, are now targeting everyone: Kuwait, Doha airport in Qatar, Dubai’s airport, hotels in the UAE, Oman (including an oil tanker in the port of Duqm), Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and apartment houses and hotels in Bahrain. They even sent two missiles towards Cyprus, where thousands of British soldiers are stationed, proving to the world that Iranian missiles also threaten the EU. That, and attacks on the Sunni Gulf States, might finally bring the world closer to understanding Israel’s position, and perhaps convince them to take joint action against a common enemy!

Meanwhile, we await the fulfillment of Pete Hegseth’s promise to bomb Iranian tankers and warships so they cannot threaten international shipping.

Ali Larijani, Secretary General of Iran’s Security Council, and seemingly by default, one of the few leaders still alive, is foolishly baiting Trump by issuing the following threat, Trump-style: YESTERDAY IRAN FIRED MISSILES AT THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL. AND THEY DID HURT. TODAY WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.

Yes, Mr. Larijani, you also have a big mouth that needs permanent closed! The Iranian stooges of the dead Khameini have now raised the “red flag of revenge” over the mosque in Qom. Considering that they never achieved revenge in the past, and Israel is currently bombing the regime headquarters relentlessly, I’m glad this makes them feel better.

I do not enjoy being in a shelter. I certainly could do without worrying about my grandchildren and great-grandchildren running down five flights with each siren to find shelter. But I am grateful to our blessed IDF, and to our amazing ally Donald Trump, for having the guts to finally join us in eliminating this Hitler wannabee from the world stage. Our Purim plans for a merry meal with friends and family on Tuesday and Wednesday are currently on hold. But there are so many things to be merry about, even as we live in the uncertainty of yet another war.

We must keep our faith and our hope for a better future for our own country and the entire world.

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