Dear Friends,
By now we’ve all heard about the terrible destruction of the LA wildfires.
LA’s Jewish community, many members of which have been deeply affected by this tragedy, is coming together to support each other, and have already vowed to rebuild, even while the fires continue to burn.
My sister-in-law is the executive director of the Jewish Free Loan Society in Los Angeles, which has offered no-interest loans of $2000 each -- without guarantors -- to anyone who has immediate needs like clothing and hotels.
Unaffected synagogues have opened their doors to displaced people as well as displaced Torah scrolls.
Tragically, Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center burned to the ground. Members and clergy raced inside to rescue the congregation’s 13 scrolls, all of which were saved and transported to a safe location.
Last Shabbat, orthodox students and faculty at a school retreat in the path of the fire had to make an important decision. They knew that pikuach nefesh -- saving a life -- is a mitzvah. They knew that we are commanded to violate almost all other mitzvot in order to save a life. But as the students entered an automobile on Shabbat, and as adults got into the driver’s seats and pressed the gas pedal on Shabbat for the first time in their entire lives, it must have been very, very strange to them.
They were literally living the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh!
I think we can relate to that deep feeling all of these heroic fellow Jews have of commitment to Judaism and to their communities. It reminds me of how our community pulled together during hurricane Harvey and other devastating floods. It reminds me of how our congregation supports each other in hard times and celebrates together in times of joy, both of which are equally important.
One rabbi tweeted that even though his home was completely razed to the ground, he kept reminding himself that the most important things, the lives of his family, survived. In the face of so much devastation, we are reminded to be thankful for the many blessings bestowed upon us. It’s important to remember that it’s ok to acknowledge that our problems are real and that we are allowed to feel our feelings about them, even as we take perspective in the face of the terror in LA.
Tonight as we recite the nightly hashkiveinu, a prayer of protection and peace, let us include the survivors as well as those who are still threatened by this grave disaster.
May this Shabbat pass with no further loss of life and property. May this Shabbat pass with absolutely no loss of hope.
Shabbat shalom,
Cantor W