Rabbi in Puerto Rico pleads for help as congregation suffers on eve of Yom Kippur
Rabbi Mendel Zarchi and his wife Rachel Zarchi have spent 19 years building up a small Jewish congregation in Puerto Rico. To do so, they've drawn from Jewish communities as far away as Canada, Israel, and other nations.
Right now, the rabbi is busy preparing for Yom Kippur services, which begin on Friday at sundown and mark the start of the most holy day of year for the Jewish people. However, he is doing so in an environment of destruction, squalor, and a mounting humanitarian crisis.
In a series of emails to supporters around the world, which were provided by a supporter of the Chabad of Puerto Rico congregation, Rabbi Zarchi provided striking documentation of how a bad situation immediately after the storm has transformed into a truly desperate one today.
This year's Yom Kippur services will be unlike any in his time on the island, the rabbi said. His members are dwindling as residents frantically seek ways to escape the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
On top of that, the house where the rabbi and his wife live sustained significant damage when Hurricane Maria blasted across Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 20.
In a message on Friday, hours before the start of the enchanting but solemn Kol Nidre service that begins Yom Kippur, Rabbi Zarchi reflected on the deteriorating situation in Puerto Rico.
"I know that this Yom Kippur -- in the shadow of the utter destruction inflicted on us by Hurricane Maria -- will be unlike any other we have experienced yet," he wrote.
"In these final hours before we will stand in front of the Al-mighty aasking [sic] for his compassion and understanding, I implore you to hear our pain and demonstration the very same compassion and understanding toward the humanitarian crisis we are facing," he wrote, asking supporters for donations that would go to rebuilding the temple and also helping islanders of all faiths to obtain food, clean drinking water, and other basic necessities.
The temple where the rabbi will be leading Yom Kippur services beginning Friday night will hold fewer people this year than during Yom Kippurs past, since so many members of the congregation are leaving the island.
In the short term, the beautiful island of Puerto Rico is experiencing a great void and emptiness
"In the short term, the beautiful island of Puerto Rico is experiencing a great void and emptiness," Rabbi Zarchi wrote on Sept. 26. "The loss of lives, destruction of homes, unrecognizable landscape and now the departure of many of its dear residents."
Rabbi Zarchi's chabad organization has flown aid in with the help of wealthy Jewish supporters abroad and distributed it to areas in desperate need of help. They've also helped arrange flights out for people, too. The organization also partnered with a community service organization called PR4PR to distribute humanitarian aid.
In Friday's dispatch, the rabbi wrote that the island is "experiencing an unprecedented exodus of tens of thousands of people desperate to be relieved of the unbearable conditions."
The rabbi, along with his wife, Rachel, issued a plea for help from the mainland of the United States, at the same time as criticism has mounted against the Trump administration's sluggish and ineffective storm response:
The response to this overwhelming tragedy demands a national initiative. We are a nation built on compassion and kindness, and we must demand that Puerto Rico – especially those most vulnerable and impoverished – be treated with those very attributes.
Yet at the end of the day, the rabbi and his wife are working toward reestablishing their home and rebuilding their congregation, just as millions of others on Puerto Rico are struggling to pick up the pieces and rebuild, too.
"Over the last ten days, we have seen much of our hard work compromised for the indefinite future. Yet, even as our personal living quarters have been constrained to a 12’ x 12’ room with air mattresses at Chabad, we are hopeful for the future and consider ourselves privileged and fortunate to be in a position to help others and lead by example," they wrote.
"We look forward to the day when we can welcome you back to our beautiful and restored Island."
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Andrew Freedman is Mashable's Senior Editor for Science and Special Projects. Prior to working at Mashable, Freedman was a Senior Science writer for Climate Central. He has also worked as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Greenwire/E&E Daily. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, online at The Weather Channel, and washingtonpost.com, where he wrote a weekly climate science column for the "Capital Weather Gang" blog. He has provided commentary on climate science and policy for Sky News, CBC Radio, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sirius XM Radio, PBS NewsHour, and other national and international outlets. He holds a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
