Chabad Emergency Relief

Thanks to Chabad Crew #4 for awesome help. Couldn't have done it without you. Much appreciate the hard work. - A.B.

Private Facebook Post:
My first time (since I was quite young) doing the mitzvah of making challah! I also got to help make some wonderful shabbes meals for 2 families who lost their homes to the flooding.  — with Chanie Galperin Lazaroff at Chabad of Uptown. 

Replacement Tzitzis ✓ Replacement Tefillin ✓

If you know of anyone else who needs religious articles replaced, please let us know!

By Faygie Levy for Chabad.org

From teens to groups of adults, lending a hand, big and small, to people drying out from the flood

Parts of Houston are drying out after major flooding earlier this week, with Jewish volunteers helping affected residents move damaged furniture and other belongings outside their houses.

Days after torrential rains caused massive flooding in Houston, the true toll in terms of lives lost and property destroyed continues to mount. Sadly, that includes an elderly Jewish couple who perished when the rescue boat they were in capsized.

Jack and Shirley Alter, both in their 80s, and their 55-year-old daughter were being rescued from their home on Tuesday when the boat they were in capsized. The Alters were swept away in the water, while their daughter made it to safety. The couple was married for 63 years.

In terms of the area that was affected, the recovery is now underway. For many, it will be a long haul. Those who were fortunate enough to have been spared are pitching in to aid their neighbors in whatever ways they can.

RELATED

 

Related News Stories

• Rabbi Works Phones to Help Residents in Flooded Houston; Schools and Roads Closed

 

Chabad Centers

• Chabad at Texas Medical Center
• Chabad of Uptown
• The Shul of Bellaire

 

On Thursday evening, more than a dozen teenagers gathered at the Shul of Bellaire, a city in the Houston metropolitan area, for a CTeen program. Like most Chabad teen programs, they were going to participate in a community-service project at the synagogue, which is located a mile from where much of the flooding occurred.

This time, however, the teens headed out to the hardest-hit part of the city to help Jewish families remove debris and other damaged items from their homes.

“We were actually supposed to have a CTeen event on Tuesday [the day of the flood], but we postponed it because no one was in the mindset to get together, and some of the teens had a little damage in their own homes,” explains Rabbi Yossi Zaklikofsky, co-director of the Shul of Bellaire with his wife, Esty.

He says the response by the teens was more than positive; they were willing and able.

“I see an added enthusiasm from them knowing they have an opportunity to make a difference in the life of a family directly affected by the flood,” says Zaklikofsky. “There are even some teens who are not regular attendees who have reached out and told me they were coming.”

Ron and Revital Mart saw water reach more than a foot high in their home.

The young helpers spent two hours cleaning, removing damaged items and re-organizing the home of Rabbi Joseph Radinsky, rabbi emeritus of United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston, whose home and synagogue were both badly damaged. The rabbi himself was taken to safety by boat on Tuesday.

Other Jewish institutions that were damaged in the flood include the MeyerlandMinyan synagogue, the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center’s Merfish Teen Center and several kosher businesses, including Saba’s Kosher Kitchen and Three Brothers Bakery.

‘Volunteers Have Been Amazing’

For the second day in a row, a group from Chabad of Uptown spent several hours assisting people affected by the flood.

Some have been bagging up wet clothing and washing laundry for the displaced; others have been moving water-damaged furniture outside homes and onto lawns and sidewalks; and still others are hard at work finding temporary foster homes for pets, whose owners can’t care for them right now.

The CTeen Shul of Bellaire group spent two hours cleaning, removing damaged items and helping re-organize the home of Rabbi Joseph Radinsky, rabbi emeritus of United Orthodox Synagogues.

Many have asked via social media what they can do—by purchasing toiletries and small household items for families, for example. One posting said that a set of boys was in need of tzitzit; another man requested replacement tefillin.

“The volunteers have been amazing. They are working nonstop until they drop,” says Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff, co-director of Chabad of Uptown with his wife, Chanie. “And it’s not just the big things; sometimes, it’s small things, like helping dry family photos.”

Indeed, one of the Uptown Chabad volunteers decided to turn a closet door into a drying station for a family’s precious photos.

Toys and baby items floated in the deep water that seeped into the Mart household.

Summing up the community-wide efforts, Zaklikofsky says “it takes a situation like this to see how special humanity is and how amazing a community can be.

“If you follow Facebook, the destruction is right there; you see pictures of a living room that’s been destroyed,” the rabbi continues. “But on that same Facebook page, you see hundreds of people offering help of any kind. It’s always uplifting to see that.”

Displaced Families Maintain Positive Spirit

Intense storms overnight on Monday led to massive flooding in parts of the Houston area, with more than eight inches of rain falling in some places and as much as 12 in others. Brays Bayou overran its banks, flooding an area of the city called Meyerland, where there is a long-established Jewish population. Also heavily damaged was the Willow Meadows neighborhood. Thousands of residents have been displaced as homes and cars were destroyed in the flooding.

The floodwaters rose to reach the crib of the Marts' two small children.

Among them is the Mart family. Ron Mart, his wife Revital and their two young children were asleep early Tuesday morning when they heard a steady dripping. Revital Mart put her feet on the floor and stepped into several inches of water.

They spent much of Tuesday trying to keep whatever they could—particularly electrical items—out of water while keeping their children, ages 1 and 2, calm and safe.

“This was not normal,” says Ron Mart. “We weren’t expecting this. My neighbors have lived here 50 years and said they’ve never seen anything like this.”

At one point, the water reached more than a foot high, destroying everything in its path—the sheetrock on the walls, the couches, coffee table, photos, books and more. Their house is currently unlivable, and the couple, who frequent Chabad Uptown, is now staying with friends.

“We always have Shabbat at our house and invite people over; we have eight, 10 people, and are always hosting Friday-night dinner. It’s a great experience, and we love it,” says Mart. “So we’ll have to do something this Shabbat to bring some sense of normalcy. Maybe we’ll have to recruit one of our friends to host this time.”

CTeen volunteers take a mattress out to dry in the Meyerland neighborhood, which was hard-hit by rising water.

Other young volunteers lift a sofa to remove it from a home.

Removing all kinds of furniture, this one a glass piece; the floors show dirt and damage from the floodwaters.

Ok my friends, today is another day... there's still a lot of work to do! please let us know if you can join our efforts! We have many homes that need our help. We need able bodied men, as well as people to help clean up.

The body of an elderly man was recovered near the Houston Ship Channel Thursday evening, May 28.

A Houston family is waiting for an identification from the medical examiner to confirm if it is their father, Jack Howard Alter, 87, husband of Shirley Wesler Alter, 85, who was drown in flooding along Brays Bayou, Tuesday, May 26.

Members of the Alter family decline comment Thursday night, pending the M.E. report.

It's believed that the man's remains were found by tanker workers.

Shirley and Jack and their 55-year-old daughter were picked up by a rescue boat in the 5000 block of N. Braeswood Boulevard at around 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Minutes later, the boat capsized and the Alters were taken away by the current, according to the daughter, who survived the disaster.

Authorities recovered Shirley�s body late Tuesday morning.

A funeral and memorial service is planned for Sunday, May 31, at Beth Yeshurun synagogue, followed by a graveside service at Beth Yeshurun cemetery, 1037 N. Post Oak Rd.

Shirley and Jack were married 63 years. They were members and active volunteers of Congregation Beth Yeshurun, and also volunteered at Holocaust Museum Houston. They lived together in Houston since 1955.

The JHV will continue to report on developments. 

See article here on jhvonline.com

There are still many homes that need help! If you would like to help cleanup efforts tonight (yes, its late) or tomorrow, let me know!

The amazing CTeen crew hard at work, volunteering, helping families hit by the storm!

Rabbi Zak - CTeen Bellaire

CTeen Bellaire group after spending two hours cleaning and organizing the flooded home of Rabbi Joseph Radinsky. ‪#‎powerofyouth‬ - Yossi Esty Zaklikofsky

 by Jewish Herald-Voice

Photo courtesy of Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff Working tirelessly to clean up Inna Kalnitsky s Meyer Grove apartment are volunteer Shannon Martin, with Inna Kalnitsky (apartment owner), and volunteers Noa Iolin-Deutsch, Karen Nudelman, Jonathan Hersh and Tim Corwin.

by Chabad.org 

Jewish neighborhood among hard-hit areas, and the Chabad day school sustains minor damage

“The sky fell down”—that’s how Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff of Chabad of Uptown in Houston describes what happened overnight when an intense rainstorm left much of the Houston metropolitan area submerged. Three people are believed to have died, nearly 1,000 cars have been stranded on freeways and in other areas, and people are continuing to leave the city, if they can.

Mass transit, roads, schools and offices in the city have been closed. Volunteers, rescuers and others are using canoes and other types of small boats to reach people stranded in the rising floodwaters.

In less than 12 hours, more than eight inches of rain fell, according to news reports. The situation was exacerbated because of already saturated ground from prior rains, coupled with smaller bodies of water in the Houston area that overflowed. And the temperatures were warm, at about 80 degrees midday.

The west side of the city was among the hardest hit, where the Meyerland neighborhood—home to a large Orthodox population—is located.

“People are still trying to get their bearings,” says Lazaroff, co-director of Chabad of Uptown with his wife, Chanie. “Many of our community members’ houses are under water—not in our immediate area, but in neighboring Meyerland.”

He noted that a boy in his son’s class “has four feet of water on his first floor, and [the family] waited on the second floor to be rescued.”

Joseph Rosenzweig and his daughter,Yael, survey floodwaters in front of his in-laws' home near Brays Bayou. The photo was taken by his wife, Noa, who was inside with their baby son.

The rabbi relayed that information to a local volunteer and community member, who went by canoe to help the family, who was stuck without electricity or food. By late morning, the water from the home was receding, and the family was said to be OK.

Also fine were Joseph Rosenzweig, 30, and his family, though his in-laws’ home, which is near Brays Bayou in Meyerland, had water that came up to the front door. He and his 4-year-old daughter, Yael, took to a small boat to survey the street, which was recently redesigned to angle towards the bayou in case of flooding to protect against this very scenario.

He said the current was “pretty strong, and we had to paddle back fast. As we got close to the homes at the end of the cul-de-sac, closest to the bayou, they were completely flooded. Water had seeped into every house there. In fact, some of the neighbors stayed over my in-laws’ home last night.”

The Rosenzweigs, whose home in a different neighborhood was not affected, often attend programs at the main Chabad center in Houston on Fondren Road.

The Chabad-run Torah Day School of Houston was closed today because teachers and students were simply unable to get there. According to Lazaroff, the roof has a leak, though “the damage is not extensive.”

Also underwater were local supermarkets, including H-E-B and Belden’s grocery, which have extensive kosher-food sections.

Water-Related Coincidence

Oddly enough, the Chabad House run by the Lazaroffs was just flooded over the Shavuot holiday—not because of rain, but due to a pipe that had burst. That has since been fixed, and the couple now has running water and a dry home, which they’ve opened to those who need shelter.

So far, no one has taken them up on that. But that’s not surprising, says the rabbi, given that “no one can get out of their house; the water is still too high.”

Instead, he’s working the phones and social media to make sure that people in his community and in neighboring Meyerland are getting the assistance they need.

“Thankfully, everybody seems safe, and that’s the most important thing,” says Lazaroff. “Property is good, but it’s much more important that people have their families.”

Morgan Arney, left, and Donniel Ogorek came to the aid of Rabbi Joseph Radinsky, rabbi emeritus of United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston.