As the world responds to the outbreak of coronavirus, Jeremy Brown recalls an East European Jewish rite, known as the “black wedding,” once thought to stem the tide of plagues:

The ceremony was simple: a man and a woman, each unmarried and either impoverished, orphaned, or disabled (sometimes all three) were married to one another under a ḥuppah—in a cemetery. The couple’s new home was established with donations by the community. With this collective act of charity and lovingkindness, it was hoped that the plague would be averted.

For example, one such ceremony took place 101 years ago as the Jews of Philadelphia gathered in a cemetery with the goal of defeating the deadly influenza outbreak. By the time it was finally over, the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919 claimed 50-100 million lives worldwide. In the U.S. over 670,000 people died, and the dead were piling up in the city of Philadelphia.

Although its origins are entirely unknown, the black wedding had been imported from Eastern Europe, where it had been practiced since the 18th century. The earliest recorded black wedding was performed in 1785 in the presence of one of the great early leaders of Ḥasidism, Rabbi Elimelekh of Lizhensk. It took place in response to an outbreak of cholera. The bride was a thirty-six-year-old villager and the groom a thirty-year-old water carrier; . . . the wedding was attended by other ḥasidic leaders including the famed Seer of Lublin.

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.