Chabad Spearheads Hurricane Relief Efforts

Hurricane Sandy stormed into New York and New Jersey with unmitigated force, carrying death and destruction, disrupting lives, and devastating neighborhoods in America’s most densely populated regions—which happen to be home to some of the country’s largest Jewish populations.

In response, the Jewish community banded together to meet immediate needs and plan for a long-term revival.

Jewish Chronicle: Sandy’s wrath spurs comprehensive Jewish community response

Cheryl Fishbein, chair of the Emergency Committee of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), told JNS.org Sunday that the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) is working on insurance — or lack thereof — issues. On Monday, JFNA announced that it is distributing $500,000 in emergency relief, including $250,000 to the UJA-Federation of New York and $250,000 to 10 Jewish Federations in New Jersey.

Also on Monday, UJA of New York said it would commit up to $10 million to assist to organizations and people in the aftermath of Sandy, representing its largest-ever relief effort for a natural disaster.

“We’re pulling together, recognizing that people have really been demolished,” Fishbein said.

“The entire community — religious, not religious, left to right, Chabad and secular, synagogues, organizations — everybody is under the tent, a tent that stretches as big as it can possibly be,” she said. “People need to know we’re out there, checking on one another, making sure everyone is safe.”

U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who represents several of the devastated Brooklyn neighborhoods, said Sandy should lead to a “massive reordering of priorities.” His district includes Sea Gate, a historic “gated community” that suffered massive wind and water damage. Many homes were entirely washed away.

Rabbi Chaim Brikman of Chabad by the Ocean, which serves Sea Gate and Coney Island, said Sandy “hit with about 10 feet of water.”

“Everything was destroyed — offices, classrooms, the library,” Brikman said. “Somehow I had the intuition to bring all the Torahs to the upper floor—some are over 100 years old.”

Rivkah Brikman, the rabbi’s wife, stressed that the storm did not stop Shabbat.

“Homemade food came from Crown Heights (where Chabad headquarters are located),” she said. “We gathered in one of only three undamaged homes. Even without heat, the warm feelings made it the most beautiful Shabbat ever.”

“This is a very loving community,” she added. “Everyone is helping one another — Jews and non-Jews: reaching out to one another. No hurricane will stop us.”

As Shabbat approached Nov. 2, the UJA of New York distributed more than 800 challot to people hurt by the storm. By Shabbat eve, many Chabad centers had reopened their facilities; some organized virtual bake-a-thons to produce challot — even when power was out — and many organized Shabbat meals.

In Freehold, a town on the hard-hit New Jersey shore, Rabbi Avrohom Bernstein invited people to share a Friday night meal — even without electricity.

“It’s a very meaningful time, because people really put things into perspective,” he told Chabad.org. “There are things that we take for granted so many times.”

Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky of the Chabad Jewish center of Monroe, N.J., distributed self-heating kosher meals to Jewish college students in area shelters.

“We’re trying to get hot soup as well,” Zaklikovsky said. “Our spirit is strong. The damage is great, but we’re trying to move on.”

JTA: Berlin Jews offering help for Sandy victims

A Jewish woman in Berlin with family in hard-hit Staten Island, N.Y., started a clothing drive for those affected by superstorm Sandy.

Bella Zchwiraschwili, an event manager, was moved to action after seeing what happened to her own aunts, uncles and cousins. Zchwiraschwili asked her contacts at Chabad in Berlin if they would open their doors for donations, and she said they were more than willing. Items have started to arrive.

Berliners are being encouraged to bring clothing and small toys to the Chabad center on Tuesday and Wednesday. The items will be brought to the American Embassy and Red Cross Berlin later in the week to be shipped.

“Many people think, ‘Oh, America is rich country, it will be OK,“ Zchwiraschwili told JTA. “But I practically lived through this with my family, and they are an example of how people lost everything from one day to the next.”

Zchwiraschwili’s relatives, emigrants from Odessa like herself, settled on Staten Island. The family, which since has grown, lived close together.

During the storm, most of the family was evacuated in dinghies. But two people stayed behind to try to rescue possessions from the house. Zchwiraschwili spoke to them as they literally were swimming through the house. The police came eventually and ordered them to leave after the sewage pipes in the area burst.

“Last Sunday they returned to the house. They said everything inside is destroyed,” according to Zchwiraschwili. It remains to be seen whether the house itself can be rebuilt. Her relatives are now living with other family in New Jersey and Long Island.

Zchwiraschwili said many initiatives similar to the one she launched are being undertaken by other groups in Berlin.

“I wanted to help the people, and also to get people here to wake up a bit because there are too few such initiatives in general,” she said. “You don’t have to wait for a crisis to be active.”