The Fire Burned Everything—Except the House Wrapped in Prayer

It happened on Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot.

Rabbi R., a Torah teacher from Modi’in Illit, was watching from his window as smoke began to fill the sky. A massive wildfire had broken out in the nearby town of Kfar Oranim. The dry trees and strong winds turned the fire into a raging force, spreading fast and swallowing up everything in its path.

People were running. Families were being evacuated. Firefighters were doing all they could, but the fire was powerful—and dangerously close to the homes.

Rabbi R. suddenly remembered Yossi.

Yossi was a sweet high school student who learned Torah every week with a study partner from the Rabbi’s kollel. Yossi’s family lived in one of the homes directly in the fire’s path.

Worried, Rabbi R. picked up his phone and tried calling him. After a few tries, Yossi finally answered. His voice was shaky. “Rabbi, we had to evacuate. We left everything. They’re saying the fire is already hitting the houses near ours. I don’t know if we’ll have anything to come back to...”

Rabbi R. was silent for a moment. What could he say?

Then an idea came to him. “Yossi,” he said gently, “I’m going to hang up now. I’m going to say Psalms—Tehillim—with my children. I think you should too. Just stop for a moment and pray with your heart.”

Yossi agreed.

The rabbi gathered his children and they sat down together to say Tehillim. Outside, the fire was getting closer. Planes flew overhead, dropping fire retardant, and firefighters rushed through the smoke. Still, the family sat and prayed—calm, sincere, full of hope.

Thick smoke eventually blocked the view from the window. No one could see the homes anymore.

Hours passed. Eventually, the firefighters got control over the blaze. The fire had burned acres of forest and damaged many homes in Kfar Oranim. No one was hurt, thank God—but many families had lost everything.

Still worried, Rabbi R. waited to hear from Yossi.

Finally, Yossi’s name lit up on his phone screen.

He answered quickly. Yossi was breathless with excitement. “Rabbi, it’s a miracle! I’m sure it’s because of the prayers!”

The house to the right of Yossi’s had been destroyed. The house to the left was badly damaged. But Yossi’s home? Not even touched.

It was as if an invisible wall had been placed around it.

“We both knew what had happened,” Rabbi R. said later. “It was the prayer—the Tehillim—that came at just the right moment. It was like a shield, a quiet, powerful force that protected their home.”