 |
Answering The Call: Days of Community Service The Personal Journeys |
||||
|
We Will Do, Then We Will Come To Understand
|
|
With those words, NAASE President Glenn Easton, FSA, ATz, began his recent message to the 300 Association members upon the delegation's return from this historic visit.
"Never before, had I truly understood in personal terms, the meaning of the Hebrew name of our association, Na’aseh, more clearly than following the recent Board meeting and days of community service in Biloxi.
"I shared the initial skepticism about the purpose and value of such a trip at this time, as voiced by others. But in retrospect, our work in Biloxi was truly an example of Na’aseh v’nishma. While seventeen colleagues accepted "the call" and engaged in various assignments to perform the mitzvah of tikun olam, it was not until later, when we met the owner of the home we were helping to repair and joined the members of Beth Israel Congregation in Biloxi for shacharit, that we fully understood and appreciated our mission and our work. . .
"Let me just add how proud I am of our Board of Governors, our member colleagues who joined us, and our association for seeing a need, accepting the responsibility, and generously contributing the energy and resources of NAASE, our home congregations, and the Jewish community. I would like to thank our colleagues Nadine Strauss, Harry Silverman, FSA, and Rabbi Moshe Edelman for their assistance in planning and guiding our Biloxi mission."
Excerpted from the NAASE Connections (June 2006) President's column
| |
|
The move from comfortable New York City for this meeting and its enveloping clean-up and rebuilding activities, prompted NAASE Executive Vice President, Neal Price, to describe it to a reporter traveling with the delegation, as taking the group "from Broadway to Biloxi".
of personal journals and reports by particpants in this marvelous three day journey, and to be awed by the photos that chronicle the encounter.
. . . It is difficult to put my feelings into words following an experience such as these three days. I am full of admiration for my Southern landsmen in both Louisiana and Mississippi who have endured so much with such grace. I am touched beyond telling by the outpouring of volunteer assistance from uncounted thousands from across the country and abroad. I am proud of my fellow executive directors and our association for their help in both states. I am stunned at the extent of what remains to be done. . . . And I am grateful once more for the power of mitzvot to both clarify and transform our lives." . . . RH
 
"The Biloxi experience has taught me some things and reminded me of others . . . When my colleagues and I were ripping out the floor boards, I realized that not all of us were using the same tools or the same techniques to rip out the floor boards in the house . . . different tools, different techniques, within the same house
which reminded me of Klal Yisrael (the Community of Israel) . . . After bearing witness to this horrific natural disaster and being reminded about the beginning of the upcoming hurricane season (100,000 people living in trailers and tens of thousands of homes with roof tarps), I am reminded that we must appreciate what we have and do our part to help others." . . . MS
 
"Did you ever see a demolished building as a pile of rubble? . . . Have you ever seen a building site cleared to the foundation? . . . Take a moment and imagine these two images. . . . Now, imagine the street where you live and every home is either the pile of rubble or a cleared site. . . . Now, imagine your neighborhood in total destruction with only three or four homes left standing without major damage. Welcome to the Mississippi Gulf Coast of Harrison County.
According to the May 17, 2006 issue of USA Today, “68% of the houses are damaged or 48,651 homes.” This happens to be the day that the NAASE executive directors are set to volunteer with a group called Hands On Network, a non-profit company where volunteers are coordinated to assist residents rebuild their shattered lives. . . . Fifteen executives and one Rabbi are here at Katrina’s Ground Zero in Gulfport/Biloxi, Mississippi as NAASE’s Tikun Olum Team. We arrive at “Hands On”, fill out the paper work, meet Charlie our crew chief and off we go to our job site for the day. Charlie arrived three months ago from California as a volunteer and is now a crew leader. He is 22 years old and in college but decided to skip the spring semester and make a difference. . . . We drive west on Route 90 along the gulf coast, where majestic homes once stood. I was here in August and I didn’t recognize the area. There were no houses near the road, no hotels, no gas stations, just ruins of a world before Katrina." . . . GK
 
 
Paraphrased from a recent rabbinic Dvar Torah . . . "The second of this week's two Torah Portions, Behukotai, opens with the words 'if you will follow my laws faithfully...' The Hebrew word - telechuh - means to walk or go. Some commandments can be fulfilled by saying the right things, or by writing a check, or by sending a card, or by making a call, but others can only be fulfilled with your feet - by your physical presence. In modern terms, it is not always enough to talk the talk. At times we must walk the walk. For example, when you make a shiva call, no one remembers what was said - but everyone remembers that you were there. This week, our Executive Director and a group of his colleagues from NAASE, travelled to Biloxi Mississippi to help the community in recovery efforts, by their presence and by hard work, to be there for families affected by Hurricane Katrina. This week, these people truly walked in God's ways, and in the weeks to come we look forward to hearing from them and learning how we too can help." . . . . . . DR
"The many signage poles dotting the highway along the beach announcing no longer standing opulent casinos, fancy restaurants and souvenir shops, as well as the hundreds of awnings dangling from windows of once stately homes, brought both astonishment and appreciation. Astonishment because of the sheer force of nature unharnessed from human control that could slice a huge bridge into a caricature of sliced bread, and appreciation of the universal hope of this tormented community." . . . . . . NS
photographs with us as visual reminders of the intense and lasting experience you see depicted here. | |
The annual Spring meeting of the NAASE Board of Governors has for many years been convened on the campus of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in upper Manhattan, in New York City. But this year was different - overwhelming support and encouragement were given for the relocation of this meeting to Biloxi, Mississippi. Part of the three-days' events were held at an airport hotel, the balance in the Biloxi community, and at the devestated site of Congregation Beth Israel.
© North American Association Of Synagogue Executives 2006 ~ 5766