I will admit that on Tuesday night, around midnight, I was still awake when someone alerted me that something major was happening involving Israel. My heart dropped. I did a quick search and read initial reports that a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv may have been hijacked. The story was still unfolding, and the media was only beginning to understand what was happening. I knew I had a busy day ahead, and there was nothing I could do but say a prayer. So I did that, and went to sleep with tremendous foreboding, wondering what news I would wake up to in the morning. When I woke up, it was over. Everyone was safe. Everyone was coming home. What struck me was that by morning, most of the world had already moved on. Many people were not even aware of the magnitude of the miracles that had taken place during those terrifying hours. Even the headlines, and the legacy media and social media discussions about it, lacked the dramatic, deep emotions that would typically accompany such an epic event. So many miracles happened to that flight. The passengers were able to overpower a terrorist who was attempting to destroy them and stabilize and land the plane in the most unpredictable ways. Perhaps the greatest miracle was the fact that the aircraft did not break apart during the drastic nosedive and that everyone survived unscathed. I believe everyone agrees that detail is almost beyond comprehension. 182 lives were saved, and what could have evolved into a catastrophic event for Jews all over the world ended swiftly and fairly undramatically - compared to what could have been. Huge miracles deserve huge celebrations! Tonight we begin one of Judaism's most joyous holidays: Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. It is a time to celebrate our connection to the Torah and G-d’s connection with us through it. What better way to express that profound connection than by gathering together in gratitude and joy? Before we take out the Torahs and dance with them in the traditional celebration of Simchat Torah, we recite verses that prepare us for the joy of completing the Torah and beginning it anew. One of those verses, from Tehillim, says: “Give thanks to Him (G-d) who alone performs great wonders, for His kindness is eternal.” This Simchat Torah, we have a special reason to give thanks to G-d Almighty for the tremendous miracle we have witnessed: that this was not a long, drawn-out, terrifying ordeal; that it was relatively quick; that those who sought to harm us were swiftly overpowered; and that, despite our enemies’ attempts to destroy us, we emerged triumphant. May this miracle, another in the long chain of miracles our people have experienced throughout the centuries, be the final miracle before the greatest miracle of all: the coming of Mashiach.