Ayala Or-El reports on the effects of the recent wildfires on the large and vibrant Jewish community of Los Angeles:
As wildfires fueled by high winds swept through the Los Angeles area on Tuesday morning, the teachers and director of Chabad’s Palisades Jewish Early Childhood Center scrambled to evacuate as conditions grew worse. They began calling the parents of over 100 children, telling them to come and pick up their kids due to growing concerns about the fires that were first sparked in the Palisades Highlands not far from the center.
“We decided to self-evacuate, we didn’t feel good about the smoke that was there,” said Rabbi Zushe Cunin. . . . Cunin managed to save the Torah scrolls, but the center’s storage structure was engulfed in flames, destroying sixteen large menorahs that had recently been used during Hanukkah. The fire also destroyed several vehicles used to transport children and elderly. The main building, however, appears to have largely survived the blaze.
Meanwhile, members of [Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Synagogue in Pacific Palisades] managed to reach the synagogue on Sunset Boulevard and rescue the Torah scrolls, taking them to their homes in the San Fernando Valley. Fortunately, the synagogue itself appears to have been spared, but at least one nearby church was destroyed.
Both Cunin and Rabbi Amy Bernstein [of Kehillat Israel] were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the Jewish community in Los Angeles and across the United States.
Read more on eJewish Philanthropy: https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/as-wildfires-engulf-los-angeles-jewish-community-rallies-to-save-members-and-torah-scrolls/