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Rabbi Barry Schlesinger, spiritual leader of
Kehilat Moreshet Avraham in East Talpiot, Jerusalem, is President of the Rabbinical
Assembly (Masorti) of Israel. The message below is one he posted after his visit
to S’derot.
Going to S'derot to volunteer has been on my mind for over a week. Last Motze
Shabbat (Saturday night) my daughter, Talya, forwarded me an email from an organization
called Lev Echad (a wonderful volunteer organization run by young people ages
19-30) which said that S'derot needs volunteers for a day or more. I contacted
them and arranged to go down on Monday May 28.
I started the day by taking a "tremp" (hitch hike) from my home in
Efrat to the Jerusalem central bus station and then took two Egged busses (something
I rarely do) to Ashkelon and then to S'derot; altogether a two hour ride.
I arrived in S'derot and went directly to the Lev Echad center. There were many
young adults and 3 older people beside myself. We all registered (I imagine
for insurance purposes) and received our assignments in S'derot. Around five
minutes after I arrived, there was a Kassam attack warning. The loudspeakers
throughout the city of S'derot scream out "Tzeva Adom, Tzeva Adom"
(the color red, the color red). After that, one has only fifteen seconds to
find a safe place to sit it out for at least another five minutes. Since we
didn’t have time to get to a bomb shelter, we all hugged the western wall
(how symbolic) of the building we were in. Four Kassam rockets landed in S'derot
and, according to the media, only one woman was wounded, very slightly.
After receiving instructions on how to behave after hearing "Tzeva Adom,"
I went with my partner Gilad, a soldier on vacation (this is what a combat soldier
is doing during his "regila" – week off duty) to survey 25 homes
throughout S'derot, interviewing the residents to determine who is left in the
city and what their needs are. All of the families we met had at least one family
member with a disability and special needs. The serenity and quiet of this S'derot
morning was disturbed by only one other Kassam attack. We were caught on Trumpeldor
Street when we heard "Tzeva Adom." Not having a compass, we didn’t
bother looking for the western side of the street and just crouched down hugging
a wall until it was all over. The radio reported "no casualties."
By the end of the day we had met many frightened, hopeless, angry and frustrated
S'derot residents. We met a woman originally from the Former Soviet Union, who
was just on her way out to work. She and told us how hard it is for her husband
who has kidney disease and has to go to the hospital in Ashkelon three times
a week for dialysis. They live in a third floor walk-up apartment, and it is
virtually impossible for him to get to a safe place in 15 seconds. When asked
how we can help them, the woman asked us to help her move to a flat on the first
floor.
We then met a family of seven. When we entered, they were sitting in the living
room watching TV, reading and chatting. They looked sad, almost as if it was
a Shiva home. It certainly wasn’t, the opposite was the case. The 13 year
old son had just been called up to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah that Monday morning,
but there was no "simcha" (joy) in that house. The father who is a
"Shiputznick" (small time building contractor) hasn’t worked
in weeks and they had to cancel the Bar Mitzvah celebration, because their family
and friends were too afraid to come to S'derot. The father said to me clearly
that after 7 years of Kassams falling in S'derot, he is losing hope in his ability
to provide for his family.
We met another family, this time of four. The mother is blind, and the father
is physically disabled, having only one leg. Although they are very upbeat and
positive they don’t have a safe room. When they hear the "Tzeva Adom,"
the best they can do is stand under a door frame.
The stories repeat themselves over and over. People don’t leave their
homes. They are literally incarcerated in their own abodes, as if under house
arrest. Going shopping for food is scary for many. One woman told me that she
will not leave her house and asked us for food, badly needed medicine and a
psychologist to talk to.
After surveying the homes, my partner and I returned to Lev Echad to file our
report. It was 16:00 and I had to return to my Shul, but Gilad stayed on with
another list of 25 families and another partner.
It's all very frustrating. I'm no General, and I am really not able to give
my government any military advice on how to stop the bombing of S'derot. However,
since our Rabbis have taught us of the importance of Bikur Cholim, I can only
encourage you to go down to S'derot to volunteer and visit the residents, talk
with them, allow them to tell their stories and help lift up their spirits.
In addition we could do the following:
*Bring the residents of S'derot for a "breather"-Tiyul (excursion)
in Jerusalem, just like we did last summer for the residents of the North.
*Send "care packages" of food, "goodies" and games to the
families of S'derot.
*Send letters of encouragement to the families.
*Send goodies to the volunteers.
B'ezrat Hashem, S'derot will see better times. As in the words of the Book of
Samuel, we all pray that Israel will "Be of good courage, and let us prove
strong for our people, and for the cities of our G-d; and HaShem do that which
seemeth Him good.' (2 Samuel: 10:12)
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