Brave peace loving Israelis like Sofie require safe rooms in their home as protection from monsters. Whiny, privileged, pampered American college students demand safe places on campus in case they are misgendered. The trauma Sofie suffered and the courage she displayed are impossible to imagine. In America we remain mostly safe, but don’t forget everyday similar monsters are invited across our border by the Biden Administration. And they hate us every bit as much as they hate Jews.
A powerful interview. We have been fortunate to live through historically peaceful times, but it has made many of us forget the harsh realities of the world, it has made us underestimate what others are capable of—being reminded of this truth once again will be painful, and we will morn that lost innocence as yet another casualty of war.
This was really beautiful and sad and thought provoking. What she said about having a child being a statement of being alive in the world really spoke to me. I will pray for healing for them.
I was afraid at first to read this interview, but I'm glad that I did. It was the most horrific but, at the same time, life-affirming interview I've ever read. Thank you, Sofie, and thank you, Max. I'm sharing this interview with everyone I know.
We live in the merkaz and were woken up by the sirens at 6:30am. We watched channel 12 all morning, asking the same question: where is the army. Not yet aware of the complete terror and horror you and others went through.
Thank you Bari for reposting this interview.
And the museum Man in the Living World is simply superb and wonderful.
As far as I can tell, the evidence--and there is a lot of it--is that we do in fact survive the final malfunctions of our biological shells, which are really just skins we put on for a time. I think something close to that metaphor was in the Bhagavad Gita.
To take just one example of many, Dr. Eben Alexander had a powerful Near Death Experience that as a professional neurosurgeon he found impossible to explain in purely materialistic ways, despite possessing as good a scientific understanding of brain structure and functioning as it is possible to get. Most NDE's cannot be accounted for using the superficial guesses of determined deniers who have not really studied the issue.
But our religious beliefs really don't matter. This is physics, not fantasy. Good people who are atheists are the same as good people who are religious, and I really thought the epiphany she describes really is the essence of spirituality. You don't need belief in an afterlife, per se, to grow and do your work as a human.
On a personal level that really was a harrowing account. Everything is worse when children are involved.
What a moving interview with a remarkable woman. What a hell she survived and yet her beautiful humanity remained intact. I can’t imagine the terror she felt and my heart goes out to her and all the others who have, and continue, to suffer. God bless you all.
Thank you for the compelling interview. It was hard to read, but I had to read it all to the end. After all the horror and an acceptance that death was inevitable, Sophie spoke of wanting another child. Hope springs eternal.
This is an important piece, and Sofie is amazingly strong to give this interview. But it strikes me that she is still unbelievably naïve. There are worse things than death, worse even than a violent death, things that actually happened to her community - she is lucky she didn't have a more active imagination, or she could not have felt that peace when she believed she would die; she would have worried that death would not be what came next but the torture or abduction of her children. The advice not to dwell on and relive trauma, though, is solid.
Among many other things this article demonstrates clearly that the actions of the Hamas, and Gazan, attackers were true, unadulterated, unequivocal terrorism. Just look at how many times this articulate, sophisticated human used the word terror.
I’ve read many essays published by the FP, but this is the first one that actually made me cry. I was able to empathize with everything you went through and the interview really conveyed the range of emotions you must have experienced that horrible day. I just hope you can find peace, move on with your life and stay optimistic about humanity. Shalom.
Brave peace loving Israelis like Sofie require safe rooms in their home as protection from monsters. Whiny, privileged, pampered American college students demand safe places on campus in case they are misgendered. The trauma Sofie suffered and the courage she displayed are impossible to imagine. In America we remain mostly safe, but don’t forget everyday similar monsters are invited across our border by the Biden Administration. And they hate us every bit as much as they hate Jews.
A powerful interview. We have been fortunate to live through historically peaceful times, but it has made many of us forget the harsh realities of the world, it has made us underestimate what others are capable of—being reminded of this truth once again will be painful, and we will morn that lost innocence as yet another casualty of war.
This was really beautiful and sad and thought provoking. What she said about having a child being a statement of being alive in the world really spoke to me. I will pray for healing for them.
I was afraid at first to read this interview, but I'm glad that I did. It was the most horrific but, at the same time, life-affirming interview I've ever read. Thank you, Sofie, and thank you, Max. I'm sharing this interview with everyone I know.
We live in the merkaz and were woken up by the sirens at 6:30am. We watched channel 12 all morning, asking the same question: where is the army. Not yet aware of the complete terror and horror you and others went through.
Thank you Bari for reposting this interview.
And the museum Man in the Living World is simply superb and wonderful.
As far as I can tell, the evidence--and there is a lot of it--is that we do in fact survive the final malfunctions of our biological shells, which are really just skins we put on for a time. I think something close to that metaphor was in the Bhagavad Gita.
To take just one example of many, Dr. Eben Alexander had a powerful Near Death Experience that as a professional neurosurgeon he found impossible to explain in purely materialistic ways, despite possessing as good a scientific understanding of brain structure and functioning as it is possible to get. Most NDE's cannot be accounted for using the superficial guesses of determined deniers who have not really studied the issue.
But our religious beliefs really don't matter. This is physics, not fantasy. Good people who are atheists are the same as good people who are religious, and I really thought the epiphany she describes really is the essence of spirituality. You don't need belief in an afterlife, per se, to grow and do your work as a human.
On a personal level that really was a harrowing account. Everything is worse when children are involved.
What a moving interview with a remarkable woman. What a hell she survived and yet her beautiful humanity remained intact. I can’t imagine the terror she felt and my heart goes out to her and all the others who have, and continue, to suffer. God bless you all.
Thank you for the compelling interview. It was hard to read, but I had to read it all to the end. After all the horror and an acceptance that death was inevitable, Sophie spoke of wanting another child. Hope springs eternal.
This is an important piece, and Sofie is amazingly strong to give this interview. But it strikes me that she is still unbelievably naïve. There are worse things than death, worse even than a violent death, things that actually happened to her community - she is lucky she didn't have a more active imagination, or she could not have felt that peace when she believed she would die; she would have worried that death would not be what came next but the torture or abduction of her children. The advice not to dwell on and relive trauma, though, is solid.
Among many other things this article demonstrates clearly that the actions of the Hamas, and Gazan, attackers were true, unadulterated, unequivocal terrorism. Just look at how many times this articulate, sophisticated human used the word terror.
This brought me to tears. Thank you, Sophie, for sharing your story.
I’ve read many essays published by the FP, but this is the first one that actually made me cry. I was able to empathize with everything you went through and the interview really conveyed the range of emotions you must have experienced that horrible day. I just hope you can find peace, move on with your life and stay optimistic about humanity. Shalom.
That glimmer of realization that she's been naïve about human nature...
Wow. Visceral interview.
civilization verse anti-civilization
Curious how many people are reading this and feeling joyous glee at the terror she faced, and the depravity she saw.
I know they are here.