“I Saw God Face to Face”: A Mother’s Sea Rescue Miracle That Changed Her Life

“Not everyone gets to witness miracles, but I was privileged to experience a real miracle — and I feel like I saw God face to face,” says author Limor Bardugo, visibly moved. In fact, she is not only a writer: professionally she is a chemical and biotechnology engineer. But after the extraordinary miracle she lived through, she left her other fields behind and turned her life completely around, setting out on a journey of deep gratitude with one goal: “to do good for the people of Israel.”

Struggling in the Open Sea

“It happened about three years ago,” Limor recalls, describing the day everything changed. “Our son Eitan was approaching his bar mitzvah, and since he loves fishing, my husband suggested taking him on a fishing yacht trip off the coast of Ashdod as part of his bar mitzvah gift. Since we have two other sons, we brought them too. My husband planned everything in advance and coordinated all the technical details with the owner of a special fishing yacht. I stayed home with our two little girls — one of them was asleep, and the older one was struggling to fall asleep because of a stubborn throat infection.

“I only found out what happened afterward, because at the time I was busy scheduling a doctor’s appointment for my daughter and planning the flower arrangements for the bar mitzvah and the Shabbat celebration. At some point, I was debating between a few floral designs and sent pictures to my husband to help me decide. When I saw he wasn’t responding, I called him — and then I heard Yoav, our youngest son, say to him, ‘Dad, look,’ and the call disconnected.

“I suspected nothing. It never crossed my mind that in those exact moments, the boat was filling with water and sinking within seconds — leaving nothing behind. My husband showed incredible presence of mind. He ordered the boys to take off their shoes, remove watches, and jump into the water. Due to a malfunction, they had no life jackets, so they began fighting the waves. Meanwhile, Yoav — who was only in third grade at the time, started sinking until only his fingertips were visible. In those moments, my husband seemed to receive superhuman strength. He managed to pull him out of the water and keep him afloat despite the heavy weight.”

Limor adds that staying afloat was even harder for another reason: “Right then, the sea was filled with massive swarms of jellyfish. My husband and the boys were surrounded by thousands of jellyfish stinging them all over, especially Eitan — the bar mitzvah boy, who must have the blood type they love most. They wouldn’t let him breathe, and they stung his whole body, his face and even his throat.”

Challah Separation and a Prayer

Limor pauses the frightening description and returns to what was happening at home.

“My daughter Noa, who wasn’t feeling well, couldn’t fall asleep, and she asked me to bake cookies. At first I didn’t want to, but she kept asking, and then I had an idea: ‘Let’s make yeast cakes — and we’ll do challah separation as well.’ Noa was happy, and we kneaded the dough together and prepared the chocolate filling.”

Meanwhile — unbeknownst to her, her husband and sons continued fighting for their lives for more than an hour. Her husband was holding Yoav and sinking together with him.

Then Yoav — who had been the first to notice the boat sinking, noticed something else and drew his father’s attention to it: a plastic mattress meant for a baby’s bed.

“There’s no logical way to explain how it got there,” Limor says. “But my husband grabbed it and helped Yoav climb on.”

At the same time, he called to the older boys: “Check if you have phones in your pockets.”

Two of the boys did. Miraculously, the phones had remained water-resistant. They tried calling the police, but because of all the water and salt, it was hard to swipe and use the screen. Only after fifteen minutes of repeated attempts did one of them manage to get through to the Israel Police. The second son succeeded as well. The dispatcher recognized two calls coming from the same area and understood it was an emergency.

Minutes later, the navy arrived. Using flares and maritime equipment, they located Limor’s husband and sons at the precise moment her husband felt he and Yoav were sinking again. The naval fighters called out over a loudspeaker:

“We’ve got you — we’re on the way.”

When they reached them, they couldn’t believe what they were seeing: a father with three children in the open sea, without life jackets — alive and unharmed.

“Israel’s navy were the messengers — our good angels,” Limor emphasizes. “But personally, I’m certain there was divine protection and that prayers were doing their work, because it turns out that at the exact moment the boys finally connected with the police, I was doing challah separation with Noa. And when I prayed, the words came out of my mouth without me intending: ‘And save my family from the depths in the heart of the sea.’ Noa asked, ‘Why are you praying like that? Did something happen?’ And I answered, ‘Nothing happened — but say amen.’ So yes, miracles exist. And the power of prayer and challah separation is greater than we can imagine.”

Breaking Through a Time of War

Limor’s story doesn’t end there. “Since the miracle we experienced, I stopped my life and went out on a volunteer journey to publicize the miracle,” she says. “I give talks all over the country and host challah-separation evenings where I share our story and strengthen the women of Israel.”

When the war began on Simchat Torah, Limor felt her role was clear. “I felt like God Himself was speaking to me, telling me: ‘You kept asking Me to turn you into a vessel for doing good deeds. Now your opportunity has arrived — take initiative and do what you know how to do.’”

And she knew exactly what she wanted to do. “The day after Simchat Torah, I decided to organize a global challah-separation event,” she says. “My initial plan was to include 720 women — because 720 is the gematria of ‘chai’ multiplied by 40. I started spreading the call in every possible way. By Friday night, I found myself with an unbelievable number: 3,024 women from around the world participated with me, and some are still in touch to this day. Together we try to launch more initiatives and acts of goodness.”

Later, she also initiated a special project of shared prayer for mothers of fallen soldiers and women widowed in the war.

“I invited them to my home for an evening of Torah and challah separation. Because I myself lost both my parents, I felt their pain so deeply. We tried to strengthen each other. Of course, I prepared a special gift for them too — I truly made an effort to uplift them and give them strength.”

“Our Private Song at the Sea”

Amid all her activity since the war began, Limor also found herself writing — for the first time, her own miracle story, which she calls “our private Song at the Sea.” Interwoven into it are also the powerful stories of seven extraordinary women whose lives were transformed by the war:

• Iris Haim, whose son Yotam was killed by IDF fire while in captivity

• Hadas Loewenstern, Anat Meir, and Revital Shamir, whose husbands fell in the war

• Efrat Mor and Ditza Or, whose sons were held hostage by Hamas

• Avishag Libman, who for months believed her son was kidnapped in Gaza, until his burial place was discovered

“Each of these women has her own powerful story,” Limor says. “Together, they weave the book and strengthen the people of Israel, each from her place.”

She adds one striking detail: “At the end of the chapters about Ditza Or and Efrat Mor, I left a blank page — because I’m planning for their sons to complete the story when they finally return to us, soon and safely.”

“I called the book ‘Breaking Through a Time of War,’” she says. “But the truth is, these stories are really the stories of all of us. Because all of us, as women, are breaking a path. Each one contributes her part toward the unity of the people of Israel and complete redemption.”