Born in Jerusalem and educated in Egypt, Isaac Luria (1534–1572), also known as the Arizal, was one of the foremost rabbinic thinkers of his day, and his kabbalistic theories formed the basis for virtually also subsequent Jewish mysticism. Yet he left behind no written works, and his teachings are known solely through the writings of his disciples. Any contemporary documents connected to him are therefore precious to historians, as Hanan Greenwood explains:

[T]he National Library of Israel has revealed a letter sent to the rabbi during his sojourn in Egypt in the 16th century that discusses everyday matters, providing new firsthand evidence about his life. . . . The writer, a man named David, wrote to Luria to enlist his support for an emissary who had been dispatched from Safed to raise money among Diaspora Jews for Jews living in the Holy Land. Although the kabbalist was known for his simple, even ascetic, lifestyle, he was an important figure whom Jews asked for advice, even on financial and national matters.

The letter was preserved because it had been used to bind another book, a common practice before the invention of cardboard. Bookbinders would take paper or vellum pages from worn-out volumes and stick them together into dense stacks that would serve as stiff enough material for book covers.

The National Library is making the letter to Luria public for the first time in honor of the late Jerusalem collector Ezra Gorodesky, who devoted his career to the painstaking work of picking apart the old bindings and revealing the treasures within.

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.