Born in the shtetl of Koydanov, in what is now Belarus, Sarah Reisen (1885–1975) was a member of one of the most outstanding families in modern Yiddish literature: her brother Avraham was a folklorist and prolific author of short stories, while her other brother, Zalman, was a cultural historian and theorist of Jewish nationalism. Sarah spent her life engaged in a number of literary endeavors, among them translating the Russian classics into Yiddish, but she is best known for her poetry. Herewith, one of three of her lyric poems, newly translated by Eli Jany:

I swallowed down every
last drop of the pain—
and proceeded boldly
on to life again.

And the paths spread outward
hither and thither—
I walk without asking
and seek no “whither.”

And if, God forbid it,
my time should draw near—
and from all of the paths
I must disappear,

then in the air I’ll leave
notes of my refrain,
ever-resounding links
of the golden chain.

That last phrase, for Reisen and her readers, invokes both the centuries-old Jewish tradition and the modern Yiddish literary tradition of which she was a part.

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.