This Sunday, the Wolf family – whose home on Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region was destroyed by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip last month – welcomed their fifth grandchild, a girl.
"It's such a delight, something wonderful amid all this mess. It gives us all the strength in the world," grandfather Robert Wolf tells Israel Hayom.
Wolf is excited not only because of his new granddaughter, but because he sees his vines and strawberry tree starting to blossom.
"For me, this is life. I see it and I'm moved," he says.
The family, who initially after the rocket hit moved in with Robert's daughter Talia, have now rented an apartment. They spent the Passover seder with their next-door neighbors at Mishmeret.
"Emotionally, it's really hard. We're always thinking about what used to be. Susan, my wife, still his shrapnel in her head and doctors haven't decided whether or not to take them out, whether or not they're dangerous. She's at the hospital for tests almost every day. She was wounded all over her body because she had her back turned," Wolf says.
"She, like any good mother, took care that everyone made it into the safe room and didn't manage to get inside herself. She was the most seriously wounded. This will be with us for a long time, but we have strength. She's a very strong woman. The first thing she said in the hospital was, 'We're so lucky it landed on us, [since] we have a safe room, and not on the neighbors, who don't.' That's amazing."
Wolf's son Daniel was the hero of the story.
"If it hadn't been for Daniel, we wouldn't be here. He's the one who saved us. He fell asleep in the living room, heard the warning siren, and woke us up … Daniel grabbed his daughter and ran to wake us all up. I ran out to look for my youngest daughter, Lihi. I heard the explosion outside. I saw that the entire house was destroyed. I was sure everyone had been killed.
"Daniel, who was inside the safe room, was traumatized. He thought he had lost his dad, his mom, and his younger sister. We were outside. He thought there was no chance we were still alive. The safe room saved my family. Without it, I wouldn't have granddaughters – they would both have been killed. You can't take it lightly – you need to get into the safe room [when there is a warning siren]. It saves lives," Wolf says.
It is still hard for Wolf to grasp how his entire family survived.
"Bit by bit, like a puzzle, we're trying to put our lives back together. What gives us strength is the miracle we experienced. Seven people were in a house, a rocket destroyed the house, and we're all still here. That's a miracle that will stay with us for our entire lives. It's crazy, because the house is gone," he says.
"This is my country, my place. We've received a lot of love. A lot of people came to help. I really love the country. I don't care about my house – just about my land. That's what's important. We'll build another house. I'm deeply rooted in this land. When I came to Israel 35 years ago, there were 3 million people here. No we're 9 million. Our enemies still don't understand that we aren't going anywhere. They don't understand that Israel is growing and getting stronger."
When the Passover holiday is over, what remains of the house will be demolished.
"I really hope that next year, we'll celebrate Independence Day in our new home. I have to come back here as soon as possible," Wolf says.
