The devastation and loss of life in Texas leads many of us to ask, “Why?” How can this happen? So many homeless. So many helpless. So many facing uncertainty.
Our hearts go out to all those affected by Hurricane Harvey and their families.
I received an email today from my colleague Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar, director of Chabad in Cary, North Carolina, a native Houstonian.
He wrote:
My cousin, Dayna Skolkin, had her wedding scheduled for this Sunday.
Pinny Bard-Widgor moved to Houston from New York just last week with his wife and children.
Jim McIngvale, (known in Houston as Mattress Mac) made sure to build all of his furniture stores in a way that would survive bad flooding.
Tomer Ben Shushan had years of experience with the IDF, driving all sorts of military vehicles.
They all had something in common this week…
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Tragedy struck Houston this week. Lives were lost. Thousands of homes destroyed. Billions of dollars ruined. Coming from Houston, all of this hit deeper. Worrying about my family, watching so much destruction in the streets I grew up in…
And yet, I also observed so much kindness. So much generosity. So much love. So much selflessness. This was certainly not the situation they had wanted at all, but they recognized there were Mitzvot needed to be done.
Dayna had to sadly postpone her wedding with so much family unable to make it in and many of the vendors dealing with the impact of the storm.
What to do with the huge amount of kosher food set aside for a pre-wedding Shabbat dinner for 100 guests? Divine Providence! It went to the many without food in the community. And as volunteers started preparing the food, they were shocked to see the bride- and groom-to-be coming to assist in preparing the food for others!
What message did Pinny see in his moving to a new community just as this storm hit? He quickly used his many New York connections to coordinate huge shipments of supplies straight from NY to the community. Day and night he has been leading the efforts to get supplies to his new community with the money that has been donated from all over the world.
Mattress Mac knew many in the city were homeless. He also knew he had huge stores full of couches and beds. Before long, hundreds were invited to his stores, welcome to sleep anywhere they wanted as well as eat from the restaurant. And his moving trucks? They quickly became rescue trucks looking for those in need of safe passage.
Tomer Ben Shushan was used to acting fast from his days in the IDF. When there was a lull in the rains on Sunday, he called his friend, Mishiko, who knew about a military surplus truck. With his wife fielding phone calls and using social media to find people in need, both former soldiers rescued people until three in the morning. The next day, they set out again at 8 a.m. rescuing about two dozen, some of whom would not have lived, he said.
Wow.
I have no words to express the deep sensation of gratitude to all those selfless individuals that stepped up in so many ways. Creating human chains in the water to rescue a drowning man; canoeing to perform surgery; opening one’s home to total strangers; and sharing one’s own clothing. These are just a few example. I am truly humbled.
It reminded me of the Jewish approach to challenging situations. There is a time for debate, discussion and dialogue. But, when we are presented with a challenge, the Jewish response is what, not why. What can I do? How can I help?
This is the message the Torah repeats again and again. For instance in this week’s parsha, Ki Tetzei, we are taught about the laws of returning lost objects and helping a stranger’s struggling animal:
You shall not see your brother's ox or sheep straying, and ignore them. [Rather,] you shall return them to your brother.
But if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, you shall bring it into your house, and it shall be with you until your brother seeks it out, whereupon you shall return it to him.
So shall you do with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment, and so shall you do with any lost article of your brother which he has lost and you have found. You shall not ignore [it].
You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen [under its load] on the road, and ignore them. [Rather,] you shall pick up [the load] with him.
In any of those cases it’s easy to ignore my fellow.
“Why wasn’t he more careful? Why didn’t he put a smaller load on his donkey? Why should I step up when there are hundreds of others here? Why should I spend precious time and money that could perhaps better be utilized in other ways? Why should I intervene when she will never learn her lesson?”
Justifying inaction is not only a less stressful route. It is sometimes cloaked in a guise of sanctity.
At other times, we don’t justify inaction, but we get lost on the road to action in the swamp of questions. “What did they do to deserve this? Where is G-d? How could we have prevented this?” The list goes on.
But, the Torah has a clear reminder: You shall not ignore. That added admonishment is telling us that the Jewish way is not to ask. First do. Then ask.
The famous words of the Jewish people, נעשה ונשמע – WE WILL DO (and then), AND WE WILL HEAR, couldn’t be more appropriate.
When everyone is safe and secure, you can ask questions. When all in need are clothed, housed and fed, we can explore and challenge.
We Jews are good at debating. But, it must never be at the expense of others.