At Earthquake Epicenter in Turkey, Rabbi ‘Can’t Begin to Describe’ the Destruction
by Bruria Efune – chabad.org
On Monday evening, after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, chairman of Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, arrived in Antakya, Turkey, the epicenter of the quake, in order to work with officials to closely monitor the need for aid around the country. Today, Antakya, or Antioch, is home to 14 Jews, the last remnants of a 2,300-year-old Jewish community, in the city that was once the seat of power to Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Chanukah infamy.
From the first reports of the earthquake on Monday morning, Chitrik set to work contacting Jewish residents around Turkey, and requested prayers for “friends and colleagues whom we are unable to contact in Adıyaman, Malatya, Antakya, Gaziantep and Kilis.”
Upon arrival in Antakya, the Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi, who is also rabbi of the country’s Ashkenazi community, found hundreds of collapsed buildings with workers frantically searching for victims buried beneath the rubble. “I can’t even begin to describe the scenes,” he said. “Help is needed and is urgent,” he told Chabad.org, with death tolls passing 6,000 people among thousands of collapsed buildings.
Later in the day, it was reported that the head of the Antakya Jewish community Saul Cenudioglu and wife Fortuna died in the earthquake after their home collapsed around them.
“Regrettably, the president of the Jewish community in Antakya, Saul Cenudioglu, and his wife, were apparently killed in the disaster,” said Irit Lillian, Israel’s ambassador to Turkey
Historic Torah Scrolls Rescued
In Antakya, the ancient synagogue that is still used by the local Jewish community was not spared. Late Monday night, Chitrik entered the sanctuary with community members to rescue the historic Torah scrolls, one of which has an inscription from 350 years ago; others are estimated to be even older.
Many of the Jews in Antakya are from Syria, particularly Aleppo and Damascus, since the city is right next to the border between the two countries. The city’s historic synagogue building was erected in 1890, and is structured with a unique walk-in Torah Ark on the southern-wall, “in a semi-circular apse,” following in the tradition of synagogues outside Israel facing Jerusalem.
Chitrik keeps in close contact with the Jews of Antakya, and has helped them acquire kosher food, even acting as a shochet on a visit to the city before Rosh Hashana. While they do not have a minyan, the synagogue members make an effort to fill the hall with prayers every day. While they aren’t able to read the Torah on their own, on weekdays they listen to live Torah readings from Jerusalem.
The aftershocks, which have been powerful and frequent, have only added to the difficulties faced by rescue workers in the area, said the rabbi. Freezing temperatures and damaged roads have made it challenging to reach those in need and to provide them with medical attention and shelter. The scale of the disaster is becoming clearer with the World Health Organization warning that the number of casualties could potentially top 20,000.
Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi, David Lau, spoke with Chitrik on Monday morning and quoted a verse from Psalms: “He who looks at the earth and it quakes, He touches the mountains and they emit smoke,” and said that all those effected were in his prayers.
