During the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, Moshe Kamara was a soldier and medic in the Israeli army. Since he was always on call, he slept in his clothing so that he could be up in a moment’s notice. He would sleep with a siddur in his pocket as he felt it served as a protection. One night, Moshe and his unit were preparing for a battle the next morning against the Jordanian army. Since his pockets were full or army supplies, he put the siddur in his shirt pocket. During the battle the following day, he was hit by a bullet causing him to fall to the ground. He arose a few seconds later as the siddur in his shirt pocket absorbed the force of the bullet, saving his life. Sixty years later, Moshe’s son, Uri, was relating the story to his congregants at Ohr Israel Federation Synagogue in Elstree, England when one of the congregants asked him which page in the siddur did the bullet stop. When Uri arrived home he checked and discovered that the bullet reached as far as the words in Shemoneh Esrei ה מלך ממית ומחי, O King Who causes death and restores life. We must realize that each bullet has its address. Each one is guided by Divine Supervision.
This point was also brought out by a Holocaust survivor R’ Shalom Mark. He cited the pasuk, יפל מצדך אלף ורבבה מימינך אליך לא יגש , a thousand may fall victim at your side and a myriad at your right hand, but to you, it shall not approach, and explained it referring to his situation during the Holocaust. Many people were killed to his right and to his left (יפל מצדך אלף ורבבה מימינך) but he was spared (אליך לא יגש). Everything is run with Divine Supervision.
