We are all watching with horror as we see parts of LA engulfed in flames taking lives and 1000s of structures, including schools and places of worship. Even though the Torah scrolls were saved, Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, pictured above, was burned to the ground. The Reconstructionist shul in the Pallasades was miraculously saved, but all three rabbis and many congregants lost everything as their homes burned down. For many people here, I imagine seeing these images of devastation and destruction and the hunreds of thousands of evacuees, has reactivated the trauma of the Marshall Fire. We feel so helpless as we watch this unfold and so many of us have friends and family in the area right now, some of whom have already lost their homes, others are evacuated, watching and waiting.
Today on the Hebrew calendar is the 10th of Tevet, which is a minor fast day commemorating the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BCE. Most of us to not observe this day as a fast, but the ritual of fasting is about introspection and paying attention to destruction, how we are complicit, how we can help. It feels unprecedented to have such raging fires in January while other parts of the country are going to be ravaged by ice and snow, as the painful power of weather and climate catastrophe unfold. There are tangible ways in which we can help the communities in Southern California and on this fast day, we can also contemplate destruction and loss in broader perspectives that remind us of the urgency to live more sustainably on this planet.
Tzedakah, giving, can be in concentric circles that often start with those closest to us, so as a Conservative Synagogue, our impulse might be to help support our fellow Jews in the Pasadena Jewish Center (a fellow USCJ congregation.)
They have their own support page here.
The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles (jewishla.org) has all kinds of other ways we can support victims of these horrific fires and, of course, others will want to donate through various organizations on the ground.
As well as giving, some of us are moved to pray and I am including below a prayer written by my colleaugue Rabbi Naomi Levy, herself a resident of LA, which we will read in services tomorrow.
This Shabbat we end the first book of the Torah, Bereshit (Genesis) in Parshat Vayechi, in which both Jacob and his beloved son Joseph die and we are invited to see the power of blessings and legacy. We end each book of Torah with the chanting of “hazak, hazak v’nitchazek,” which means “be strong, be strong and may we be strengthened.” Rabbi Avi Weiss says “most interpret these words to speak first to the individual, and then to the collective whole. Hazak is a singular term. When uttered twice it creates a sense of community. Hence, ve-nithazek – together we will gain greater strength and prevail.”
As well as our support, we send our blessings of strength to the victims and those in the path of these terrible fires and may we strengthen each other this Shabbat through the power of community and the legacy of our shared inheritance.
Hazak, Hazak, V'nithazek
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Marc
A Prayer for Victims of the Los Angeles Fires
by Rabbi Naomi Levy
God, our Rock and our Comfort
Hear our prayer.
Our hearts break for all those
Who have lost their homes in this deadly blaze.
The victims are in shock.
Life as they knew it,
All their treasured possessions,
Beloved heirlooms,
Touchstones for so many cherished memories
Were swept away in an instant.
Their sense of place and home
Their safety and stability have been shaken.
Help us, God, to anchor them,
To shelter, support and steady them with love
As the numbness wears off,
The enormity of the loss sets in
And the work before them begins.
Be with them, God,
Be their strength and their comfort,
Shield them from despair,
Let them know You are near.
Fill them with the courage they will need to begin again,
Bless the firefighters and first responders, God,
And watch over them
As they put their own lives at risk
To protect our beloved city.
Work through us, God,
Transform our helplessness into action,
Inspire us with the determination
And the perseverance we will need
To bring devastated neighborhoods back to life.
Fill us all with the vision of the new days that lie ahead,
A dream of our city restored.
Let Jeremiah’s prophecy of hope enter every heart and soul:
“The city shall be rebuilt upon its ruins!”
So may it be,
And let us say, Amen.
