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Fire Tears thru the ‘Chabad Israeli Center’ in S.I.

Staten Island, NY — This past Shabbos a fire ripped thru the ‘Chabad Israeli Center’ in Staten Island. The incident took place on Friday night at around 1:30am when Rabbi Nachman Segal the director of the center awoke to the strong smell of smoke, he quickly woke his sleeping family and with the help of his neighbor they took the two Sifrai Torahs out of the house.

Rabbi Segal told CrownHeights.info that “the house all of a sudden filled up with flames, I woke my family and with the help of the non-jewish neighbor we got the two Sifrai Torahs out” he also said “it was a miracle that thank g-d nobody was hurt”.

More pictures in the Extended Article

Shabbos morning the members of the Shul who came to Daven were shocked to find it as it was. This incident comes just two weeks before Pesach and added to the trouble of making a Sader the Shliach now need to find a place for his family to stay and to make the Sader. If you can help in anyway, be it clothing, furniture or money please call R. Nachman Segal at (917) 750-5043

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19 Comments

  • viewer

    may hashem give them the special blessings of wealth that come after a fire… and may we all see moshiach now!

  • Family of the Segals

    We will be posting more information very soon, as well as how to donate by credit card.

  • realitive

    you can send money to
    Chabad Israeli Center
    c/o Chabad Lubavitch of Staten Island
    289 Harold Street,
    Staten Island NY, 10314. if you would like to donate paste this link into your browser

    http://www.chabadisraelsi.c…

  • chabad of staten island

    address

    322 nome ave
    staten island ny 10314
    usa
    att: rabbi sigel

  • concerned

    who sais he needs money people have fire insurance, second why do people wait c”v for a fire to send shluchim money?

  • relieved

    B“H…such a mess, thank G-d everyone is safe. It’s a ”Passover miracle”.

    Hatzlacha!

  • from shmais

    From Shmais:
    Due to complications with the insurance the Segal family is in desperate need of food, clothing and shelter. Please make a generous donation now online @ chabadisraelsi.com

    Or make your checks payable to “Chabad Israeli Center” and send to
    Chabad Israeli Center
    c/o Chabad Lubavitch of Staten Island
    289 Harold Street
    Staten Island NY, 10314

  • realitive

    at the moment there are complications with the insurance so for the time being they need financial resources to move on

  • In the insurance business

    INSURANCE!!

    I am in the insurance business and would like to comment. Friends, we don’t live in Russia where things have to be underground or done with a “drei” to get things done.

    We live in America where there are reputable insurance companies that cover Shuls. There is one condition, though: The insureds have to be upfront and honest with the insurance companies when starting the insurance.

    The things I am about to write are not necessarily true in this particular case, but I have seen it elsewhere:

    A) The person did not mention that he had a Shul in his house, for fear that the insurance company would not insure his house. (Well, in the end, he didn’t have insurance, because the company at the time of claim, saw there was a Shul in house that was only supposed to be a house!) What did he get for his lie?

    B) He did not have insurance at all, figuring that he would never need it.

    C) He was honest in telling the insurance comapny that he lived in the house and that there was a Shul there. However, he did not mention the full extent of the value of the things in the Shul, because he wanted to save a little money. (Now, because he wanted to save a very few dollars, the Jewish community must step up.)

    Please let me reiterate: There is no reason to lie when taking out insurance. We live in America. Insurance companies insure Shuls. If there are “coomplications” at the time of the claim, it means that someone was not upfront when the insurance was taken out originally. Don’t make it sound like you are the poor victim of the insurance company.

    (I see this all the time! People will mention to me, “Don’t tell the insurance comapny that my kid drives, so that my premium doesn’t go up.” He doesn’t realize that if his kid gets into an accident, the company may not pay the claim! I have seen it!)

  • In the insurance business

    One more comment concerning “complications” with the insurance:

    If, indeed, everything was concerning insurance was done properly and the claim (the fire) was legitimate (I am not intimating that it was not legitmate), then the insurance money will be forthcoming as soon as the insurance company sees fit to issue the check.

    If that is the case, for the sake of honesty, I think the Shul should tell people upfront that they have been properly reimbursed for their loss by the insurance company and offer to give the money back that was given to them at the time of need.

    Otherwise, they are just double-dipping.

    There is no reason that we, as Jews, should be held any less accountable financially than anyone else.

    (Let us know what the “complications” are. Based on that, people can either lend the money, knowing that they will be reimbursed after a while, when the insurance check comes through or just flat-out make a donation.)

    I have no problem with people demonstrating Chesed. At the same time, I don’t think the public should be told “there are complications” and be asked to blindly give.

    Putting it slightly differently, what if the campaign were, “We are promised a check for X amt. of dollars, but need money NOW for Pesach. Can you help us?” In that case some would give and some would lend. They would appreciate the fact that the organization was upfront.

  • To Mr. Insurance

    You bring up some very good points and I agree with you completely. However, one option you didnt think about, which is hard for people like us to imagine, is the fact that maybe they simply could not afford to pay for insurance. There are many shluchim, as well as other families, who dont know how they are going to make Shabbos let alone pay hundreds of dollars in insurance each year. I am sure people without insurance dont sleep very easily through the night knowing what possibilites lay ahead. Let us bentch the Segals as well as anyone else who may be in need, that they should never know of any pain and they should have parnassah beharchava.

  • cmon

    In the insurance business:

    They are asking for donations, if you dont want to give, then dont. Stop attaching strings…

  • Itzhak Schier

    If you are really in the insurance business, you should know that it takes some time for the adjusters to agree on a settlement and that the little advance that some insurance companies give to their clients is just not enough for a KAH large family which also has to find a place to serve a kehilla for Shabbos and the upcoming Yom Tov. You should also know that there is such a thing as a deductible which affects the size of the premium paid, and since no one expects a fire, many people who, like most shluchim, are strapped for cash, choose a relatively large deductible.

  • In the insurance business

    To Itzhak Schier:

    You are correct that it takes time to agree on a settlement and that perhaps the advance given is not enough for a large family to get by. (From my expereience with the companies with whom I have dealt for over a decade, a family in this position would usually be put up in a hotel right away.)

    You are also correct that the shluchim may have chosen a very large deductible to save money. It could be that deductible that is causing the stress at this time.

    Basically, I agree with everything you have said. They MAY be true.

    However, if all that you said is true, that should be stated and, as I said, those who wish to lend them money till the settlement is complete could lend them the money or those who wish to just give them a donation can do that too.

    I just felt that in the spirit of being upfront, “complications” with the insurance can mean many things. People who are being asked to hand over money have a right to know where it is going and for what purpose.

  • Disturbed

    To Mr. Insurance- some things may be personal and you’re if you are not interested in giving- simply don’t and keep your comments to yourself. This family in need does not need your guilt trip. There are BH many people in our community who are willing to help out regardless of what the circumstances might be since it may be none of thier business. You don’t want to be one of them- no problem, but keep quiet about it please!