4 Lessons I Learned During the Surfside Collapse

By Rabbi Aryeh Citron – the Surfside Minyan

This week has been a hard week for the Jewish (and wider) community of Surfside, Florida, and for the worldwide Jewish community. Following the shocking collapse of the Champlain Towers South, there have been several bodies recovered while most of the residents of the collapsed tower remain missing.

Although the hope that there are survivors underneath the rubble become slimmer with each passing day, the search and rescue operations are continuing while people around the world pour their hearts in prayer, hoping for a miracle.

The amount of support this community has received is tremendous. Some of the organizations I have seen are

• Hatzalah (from Florida and Israel) – a volunteer ambulance corp. They have been here non-stop since the disaster.
• Chessed Shel Emmes (both from Florida and from New York)- volunteers who assist in burial and shiva arrangements. These dedicated people are there when people need them most.
• Yedidim – a local network of volunteers (mostly Israelis who reside in South Florida) who assist people as needed
• Cadena – volunteer therapists who specialize in disaster response
• The Jewish Family Services – a branch of the Local Jewish Federation
• The IDF Search and Rescue team as well as the trauma unit and the special forces.

Not to mention the Red Cross, the local and state police and fire departments, the many chaplains (of various faiths) who have been here non-stop and countless individuals, both local and those who came from afar, who have been assisting the victim’s families, the survivors, and other volunteers in an extraordinary fashion.

Just to give you an idea of what has been transpiring here, I will share with you some of the mitzvah activities the members of my community as well as my wife and I have seen or merited to be part of over these difficult days.

• Assisting in making burial arrangements
• Attending those burials and the shiva that followed
• Putting Tefillin on many of the volunteers 
• Helping some of the survivors (i.e., those who were in the parts of the building that didn’t collapse and were able to escape) get new pairs of Tefillin (as they had no time to pack when they were evacuated).
• Staying in touch with some of the families of the missing and some that survived
• Starting a fund to assist the families and trying to figure out what kind of assistance they need at this time
• Helping the survivors find housing
• Helping some of the volunteers find places to stay
• Connecting family members of those missing with appropriate therapists 
• Helping some of the survivors buy or receive appropriate clothing
• Making coffee for the volunteers
• Making food for some of the families
• Talking to a few reporters

In addition, we are all davening that, miraculously, some of those missing should be found alive.

It has been heartwarming to receive calls from family and friends around the world offering support and assistance. Every warm word of encouragement and appreciation goes a long way.

Here is a message I got from a friend expressing his relative’s feelings about the support he received: “As for community, this has shown me how much we are a family. As Jews from everywhere have come together in the past, the Jewish community, in general, has come out to support us even though we didn’t really participate much (until now). They have embraced us and kept us warm when the nights were cold. They literally fed us and lifted us when we were at our lowest. I’m more proud to be a Jew today than ever. Amazing that our … (relative) brought so many people together to show us how important it is and how lucky we are to be Jews.”

Here are some of the lessons I learned as the rabbi of a small shul near the collapsed building:

1. If you are alive, even if all you have is the shirt on your back (or not even that) you should jump for joy.

2. If you get a chance to help someone, grab the mitzvah opportunity right away. If you don’t, someone else may get it first.

3. When seeking to help someone, always speak to them directly first so you can understand their needs. Otherwise, you may be working to provide them with something entirely different from what they actually need or want.

4. There is a lot to learn from the level of dedication of some of the people I have seen and gotten to know over this week or so. People who have traveled here (or have taken off from work) as volunteers to assist, feed, support and spend time with the families involved in this tragedy, whether they are friends, relatives, or even total strangers. These people are living lessons in dedication to family and community. In addition, the amount of time and energy are given by the devoted members of the organizations mentioned above is both mind-boggling and inspiring.