June 1st is my son Avi’s second favorite day of
the year; with only his birthday ahead of it. As every Floridian knows, June 1st
is the first day of hurricane season, and Avi is an amateur meteorologist. For
his birthday last year he got a weather station that we installed outside, and
the weather readings are sent to a display that we keep in our family room. Avi
follows the weather carefully this time of year, especially any disturbances in
the Atlantic. Whether invest, tropical wave or tropical depression, you can be
sure that we will hear about it over dinner.
The first couple of months of hurricane season are generally
quiet in the tropics, lulling some people in to complacency. Even as we are
reminded to review our storm plans and check our hurricane supplies, many of us
choose to remember the past storm seasons that were quiet, with limited impact
on us. This allows us to postpone and delay our preparations and plans.
And then we wake up one morning, like we did last week, and
the meteorologists inform us that the storm is headed right at us, and it is
gaining strength. That was the case with Hurricane Dorian. At one point the
forecast was that Dorian was a Category 4 hurricane and headed right at South
Florida. One model showed the storm coming to shore in Miami and then heading
North through the tri-county area as a catastrophic hurricane.
It was at that point that people began to notice/ panic.
This was evident by the lines at gas stations and the empty shelves at
supermarkets and Home Depot stores. Here at shul, we began to implement our
shul’s hurricane protocols. The protocols are divided into two categories:
building and people. Our building supervisor Luis oversaw the steps we take to
protect our shul campus and ensure that we have the supplies needed to function
after a storm. We reviewed the 2019 hurricane member survey to see who had
indicated they might need help and who volunteered to help. We also created a WhatsApp
group chat to allow community members to share any needs/ information they had
storm-related. It was heartening to see our community pull together and help
each other out: whether it was updating each other on where to find available
supplies, to the person who was about to get on a long line to buy himself
batteries, and offered to pick up some for anyone else who needed.
Thankfully Dorian remained off shore, leaving our community
with minimal impact. Some see all of the preparation and anxiety as a waste of
time and energy. I think there are valuable lessons for us to consider. First,
a lesson regarding preparation: Prepare early for best results. This is
just as true about our spiritual lives as it is about hurricane prep. Rosh
Hashanah and the Days of Awe will be upon us in less than a month. Instead of
waiting until the very last minute, it is much more effective to engage in a
process of reflection and teshuva throughout the month of Elul. Come to one of
the special Elul classes. Sign up for my daily Elul Reflection via WhatsApp.
Second, we weather the storm best when we do so together.
Worse than being impacted by a storm is thinking that there’s no-one to turn to
for help. Our shul is built upon a foundation of chesed. This culture of caring
is evident at times of need, like during a hurricane.
This coming week our shul will be launching a 24 hour online
matching campaign to purchase security hardware necessary for our shul campus. More
information will be sent via e-mail and through social media. The safety of our
campus is very important to us. We are hoping for everyone’s participation in
this security campaign. Just as with Dorian, synagogue safety and security is
best weathered together.
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