The recent spate of fires was a tragic event. It took 100 years of Zionist effort to reclaim the desert, forest the eroded mountains and drain the swamps. Garden cities and verdant villages were painstakingly built by the pioneers over this time. But it takes only a couple of days of fire to destroy the fruits of that century, and the sight of burned gardens and woodland and the shell of damaged homes is heartbreaking. But as usual, the people of Israel rallied round. While government bodies left fire victims fighting bureaucracy, communities throughout the country came forth, offering refuge in their homes, helping to clean up damaged properties and collecting household items for those who lost everything. Two synagogue communities founded by English- speaking immigrants are an example of pulling together to give the maximum help with the minimum of delay and paperwork. The area of Ahuza in Haifa was badly hit during the fires. In this old-established neighborhood abundant with gardens and forested wadis, the high winds and dry terrain caused the fires to spread rapidly that Thursday at the end of November. At the Moriah Congregation (Masorti), whose large glass windows look out onto a shady garden, the priority was to rescue the Torah scrolls. Peter Lawton, deputy chairman, reports: “The fire swept through the upper floor, destroying the storage rooms in which we kept hundreds of prayer books, books that we bring down for the festivals and special occasions.” Moriah members brave the fire to save the Sifrei Torah (photo credit: MORIAH CONGREGATION) In preparation for the proposed study hall which was under construction, boxes of books were stored there, too. Four hundred chairs which were used for the High Holy Days and special events, tables, audiovisual equipment, archives and synagogue records went up in flames. The office of the Noam youth movement was gutted, and the rooftop playground was destroyed. “I was working at home nearby and realized that the fire was getting close,” says Lawton. His wife, Helaine, packed a bag in case they had to leave their house, while Lawton ran along to the synagogue. “I saw two fire engines outside, and when I went up the steps I realized that the building was on fire. The holy ark is fireproof, and so, indeed, is the upper floor, but the heat was far too intense to protect them.” As other members Eitan Kushner, Itzhik Moises and his son, Eden, and Yedidiah and Tova Giventer arrived on the scene, the firefighters initially prevented them from going in, but after checking that the lower floor was secure, they rushed in and rescued the Torah scrolls. “It was interesting walking through the streets of Ahuza holding a Torah scroll,” reminisces Lawton. Meanwhile, the water and chemicals used to fight the fire on the upper floor caused irreparable damage to the main floor, destroying rows of bookshelves where prayer books and Bibles were kept. The entrance and yard outside was filled with drenched debris. The community's Rabbi Dov (Dubi) Haiyun surveyed the damage with despair but was encouraged by the support and immediate help of the members and other volunteers who arrived the next morning and spent the entire day racing against the clock to salvage as much as possible, clear the debris and clean the main synagogue to be ready for services as usual on Friday night and Saturday. “Solidarity and generous gestures brought tears to my eyes,” he says. “We had planned a brit mila to be performed and catered in the following week, but all the tables were destroyed. A carpenter, Shachar Sela, offered to make some tables and repair the synagogue wood paneling at no expense except for the materials. When Sela approached his Arab timber merchants, Walid Abu-Ahmed and Ziad Yunis, they insisted on providing him with everything he needed without charge.” Haiyun is a strong supporter of coexistence in Haifa, and during the following week invited representatives from the varied religious denominations to a prayer meeting in the synagogue. Community chairman Dr. Aryeh Riskin comments: “The support of the community was amazing, and the atmosphere at that Shabbat service after the massive cleanup was very moving.” In addition, there have been offers of donations from congregations in Israel and abroad, but he nevertheless mourns the destruction of so much property, although thankful that in all the fires there was no loss of life. He points out that many members of the congregation also suffered destruction and damage from the fires, and appealed to the community to reach out and help anybody in need. “We shall rebuild,” he concludes. THE FIRES in Zichron Ya'acov had started a few days earlier than in Haifa, and many had to evacuate their homes. On their return, some homes were uninhabitable, while others suffered so much from smoke and water damage that residents needed to completely replace the contents. A number of English-speaking immigrants from the Moed community simultaneously thought up various ways of helping fire victims; and in the spirit of cooperation in achieving similar goals, they got together to create an enterprise that grew completely out of proportion to their original expectations. A badly damaged house in Zichron Ya'acov stands in its burned-out garden (photo credit: MOED COMMUNITY AND EDUCATION CENTER) Moed is a nonprofit center for Zionist education and Jewish identity in Zichron Ya'acov, led by Rabbi Yair and Ilana Fodiman-Silverman, members of the Beth Hillel national rabbinical leadership. They also run the synagogue, which, while Orthodox, reaches out to the entire spectrum of the community. This includes a hessed program, which includes a good-deed project for pre-bar mitzva children. Helen Oster, an immigrant from St. Albans in the UK and a member of Moed, described her own experience of leaving her home in a hurry and having to decide on the most important items to take. Once that crisis was over and she returned home, she used the website “Keep Olim in Israel” to reach out to those in need and those who could donate household items and clothing. This website was founded by Liami Lawrence because so many immigrants fall between the stools of aliya organizations and bureaucracy. “Donations began pouring in,” says Oster. “Four cars arrived from Modi'in, followed by others from all over the country, full of clothing and household equipment. Very soon the Moed synagogue was full to bursting.” Helen Oster arranges shirts and skirts on a display rack at the center (photo credit: WENDY BLUMFIELD) Meanwhile, another member, Avi Nowitz, who was born in South Africa, raised in Australia and educated in the United States, had paid a visit to friends in Ra'anana's Kehillat Shivtei Yisrael that first weekend after the fires. He mentioned the need to provide supplies to those whose homes had been destroyed or badly damaged, and within days, carloads of goods, many of them brand-new bought specially for the fire victims, arrived in Zichron Ya'acov. He then got the idea of using a local abandoned school building, and the Silvermans approached the municipality, which gave them the use of the old Yavetz school, and sent in maintenance staff to reconnect the water and electricity. The school, too, was scorched, and Oster and a large group of volunteers set about cleaning the debris and washing the floors. The team of volunteers – which included local Scouts, youth movement members, schoolchildren and university students, as well as members of the Moed community and local residents who brought their own families to help – set up separate classrooms as “departments” to make selection of clothing, bedding and toys easier. The Darkenu special-needs seminary also brought in their own students, a gesture that made them appreciate that they had much to give, not just to receive. “We modeled the distribution center like a department store,” says Nowitz. “We did not want families to have to rummage through bins of random clothing. We aimed to give them the dignity of selecting items they needed according to size and suitability.” The Silvermans, who immigrated from Montreal, had also been evacuated from their home for a period during the fire. They started a fund in Israel and through the Rabbinical Council of America to help those who were now homeless. So far, they have raised $20,000, and they aim to reach $80,000 from tax-deductible donations in the US. These funds are administered professionally in order to reach those in need, whether it be to buy major appliances to equip rental apartments, to reestablish their family homes, to replace tefillin and religious items or to make new homes accessible for the disabled. They also recruited items from individuals and local firms. Beth El, the local Christian German community which manufactures bedding, supplied at cost price pillows and blankets sealed and still packed in their original bags. Teva Naot donated 100 pairs of new slippers, and Crazy Line gave racks of new clothing. “It was important to provide people with the best quality of household items and clothing,” says Rabbi Silverman. “This was such a trauma for the community, affecting people on every income level, and the sensitive and caring distribution of essential items was a kind of healing process.” Nowitz describes how they had coordinated with the municipal social workers in order to reach out to people in need and also to recruit volunteers from across the community, religious and secular, immigrants and veteran Israelis. On the morning I visited the Yavetz school, Diane Rabinowitz, also an immigrant from the UK, was busy sorting out the mountain of clothing in a large storage room, a task that she has been doing painstakingly on a daily basis. She and other volunteers then direct the items to the appropriate spacious classrooms, where they are clearly marked and displayed on rails and shelves, with household items in another room and toys and children's equipment in another. “My mother was a WIZO lady, so I am familiar with their shops and distribution centers,” she says, filling a clothes rack with brand-new women's winter coats that had been donated. “We greet our 'customers' with personal shoppers, volunteers who can guide them around the areas, selecting what they need,” Rabinowitz continues. “I have been there when families have come in to take items, and I feel such a range of emotions,” says Oster. The distribution is open in the evenings and Friday mornings, and at special hours for people with specific needs such as replacing equipment for the disabled. The rabbi has also been doing some chaplaincy work for those who have been mentally or physically affected by the situation. “Some people did feel embarrassed by their need to replace essential items, and really appreciated seeing well-organized rooms full of good quality and even new clothing that they and their children would not be ashamed to wear,” says Nowitz. “The only thing worse than being in need is to feel that one is in need,” says Rabbi Silverman. Each “customer” is given a card with a blessing of rebuilding and peace signed by the community. “We are extremely grateful to the mayor and municipality of Zichron Ya'acov who gave us so much support, both with the use of the school and the coordination with people in need,” he adds. Eventually, even the large premises at the Yavetz school was overflowing with items, and after most of the Zichron Ya'acov residents had had the opportunity to replace essential items, the local Gershon Removals company donated the time and their trucks to pick up surplus donations and take them to Tirat Carmel and Haifa. To donate or to receive help, contact Moed, Rabbi Silverman, 052-704-1422; Avi Nowitz, 054-652-2497. Moriah Congregation: Rabbi Dubi Haiyun, 050-438-9802; Peter Lawton, 054-546-4865.
Debris clogs the waterlogged entrance to Haifa’s Moriah Congregation (masorti)(photo credit: MORIAH CONGREGATION)