By Mrs. Devorah Wahl. I am literally dizzy right now. My eyes and head hurt from spending 13 plus hours straight trying to arrange for some basic yom tov needs to be sent down to Miami following the hurricane.
With power still out by some (including my own relatives) and freezers and fridges empty, smelly and/or broken by all, Yom tov preparation has become a nightmare for most. Right now the key word is SURVIVAL. A 3-day Yom tov. No food in their freezers. Lines out the door in the stores that are trying to keep up with the demands for those that have the peace of mind to even make it to a store and shop.
I spoke to several women that begged for simple things like challah and cakes. One women said, they are all so overwhelmed they don’t know where to start. Several asked if we can send sanity along because there is absolutely none left in town!
They can’t even think of what they need and how they are going to make meals for the 3 days. Some can’t afford anything right now and others were very clear that nobody should think that they are poor, but that they just are overwhelmed. And desperate for some caring and TLC while they try to put some normalcy into their lives.
I heard people were panicking if there is even food available at all for yom tov, and was reassured that the stores were stocking up. (Prices are a different issue altogether….) Through a network of phone calls and texts, I got in touch with a main command center in NMB, Dovi Katz of Tomchei Shabbos and Mark Rosenberg of Chesed Shel Emes. They are doing great work and though it’s overwhelming what is going on there, they are getting things under control.
When I told him people are asking for challah and cake… he asked for my help to get that to them. I reassured him that would be no problem knowing how much our “in-town community” loves to help out in crisis, and told him I would do my best to get things rolling… and so began my journey of phone calls, texts, messages, alerts,…. Etc.
13 hours of it. Disappointing hours.
While I was sent lead after lead, I hit only dead ends. My children were rooting me on while I neglected them trying to get Challah and cake to Florida, but I was hitting a brick wall. I did meet some amazing people that offered to keep getting me leads and do whatever they can. But I didn’t get challah or cakes. I didn’t even get a chance to explain that we would fund whatever I could of it. I got no response by most and some response that they couldn’t handle it with the pre Yom tov local rush. At least our locals will have bakery goods a plenty for Yom Tov. (I do not have any hard feelings towards any of the wonderful suppliers. I am explaining the frustration of the past 24 hours of my life.)
I had messages from the Florida community all day asking me for updates and I kept promising them I would have food updates soon. I had a separate community reach out to me that they had NO stores and nobody helping get them food for yom tov and we got them taken care of along with NMB chesed.
Meanwhile in NMB the Rabbanim, Tomchei Shabbos, and Chesed shel emes continued to worked with the local volunteers to cook main courses for 3 of the 6 meals for up to 1000 families. No Sides. No challa. No extras. But at least main course for 3 meals.
I was happy to be able to at least share that important information with the women waiting for food updates.
But I was frustrated to no end that I couldn’t get the challah and cakes down to these traumatized and exhausted families in time for Yom tov. I went to bed at 1 AM still unaccomplished. I realized, that Hashem runs the results, not me. At least I put in the effort.
First thing in the morning I got in contact with the Florida headquarters and we decided that instead of shipping down challah we will source from the local Floridian bakeries. I am working to get them the funds for this to at least supply as many people as we can with challah and cake for Yom Tov even if not everybody. We are still assessing the situation and will be in touch to see what needs are still not being addressed again after Yom Tov – but I turn to you now to please take literally 1 minute of your precious time to give whatever you can from $5 to $500 (and more if you can too!) that will be directly distributed to the Command center in Florida for Yom Tov needs and any additional needs following Yom Tov.
We can NOT just leave these traumatized and worn out mothers to fend for themselves because we are too preoccupied with our own Yom tov needs https://www.uhelp.com/florida-irma-emergency-flood-relief-fund
May Hakadosh Baruch Hu bestow on all of you a kesiva vechasima tova!
Mi KiAmcha Yisroel, I got a phone call moments after this post with someone that has already made several phone calls to try to help and has just donated $1000 check towards purchasing challahs in Miami.
Thank you to the donor! I currently have people calling multiple stores in Miami to pull challas off the shelves – so we are paying full retail prices as the bakeries cant handle a new run right now.
You can use the link to donate or contact me devorahwahl@gmail.com to arrange sending a check as well!
And more generosity!
Thank you to those that immediately stepped on the band wagon to make sure that sukkos wont have the same problem…
We are currently buying whatever we can for Rosh Hashana needs. Keep those donations coming!
Almost out of the first $1000
Here is a reworded letter:
Dear brothers and sisters,
As you tov approaches, you are certainly busy, and perhaps overwhelmed by the tasks for preparing for the three days. You are also inundated with appeals from aniyei ircha, and all types of emergency campaigns. As you know, Florida was hit by a major hurricane and our national community has been lending many a hand in all kinds of ways to help our brethren have the basics for their families and especially for you tov. Please join me for extra zchusim at this time to help them enhance their tension filled yomim tovim with Challah and cake which are much needed. In this zchus may you and your families enjoy a beautiful you tov and have a ksiva v’chasima tova with all the basics AND all the extras! And when you sit at your laden table, you will have the extra pleasure that you have enabled the simchas yom tov of your brothers and sisters in Florida.
Feel free to edit and expand on this positive theme.
i would like to explain to everyone up north what is going on. just a glimpse. For those who stayed and weathered the storm, they were left to clean up afterwards. Most have lived a week with no power, and few resources to house them. Their houses are hot, and smelly from the rotting food. After doing that fridge freezer clean up, there is the endless, “shlepping the stuff you care about to the neighbor with power”‘s freezers. (that would be me) then there were the evacuees. (again that would be me and 500 of my friends) who have literally been on the road with their restless children for a full week. YES A FULL WEEK with no where to go. some overstayed their welcome in Atlanta. Some made it up to the east coast to friends and family only to to realize that their journey home will now be twice as long. Oh did i mention there were no hotels or gas anywhere near the state of Florida. A young mother and her newborn literally slept on the side of the road (i-95)jbecuase she could drive no further. So Yes BH we dodged a bullet here, and bchasdei we did not lose our homes or belongings, but those of you who saw us displaced in your communities had no idea that we had been wearing the same clothes for a week. that our children could not sit in the car any longer, and although we are thankfully in the Land of Plenty, running to each and every target to get basics wore us out.After being part of the whats app group “yearning to return” and others, it occured to me that these poor ppl wiil arrive home erev shabbos not even knowing what day it is. they need shabbos food and they need it handed to them. I stopped on the way to the airport with my son daughter and five grandchildren to GG and ran it to fill up six take out boxes with shabbos food. Although the manager was nice and helpful he really did not understand what i needed. I just grabbed cases of things. a case of each, challah, kugel, deli, deli roll, raw meat. I could not give the food away fast enough. These were normal “geshickt” people who were all tired, weary, on edge, overwhelmed, and literally had no idea today was friday., Anyone wo power went somewhere else. but took the food along. they were all so grateful and i couldve given away twice as much had i had more time to organize it. Now its Tue Pm. imagine you just got power back last night late. YOu spent all night getting your food from your neighbors house that survived. Now you have to go back to work/teach. At 4pm you can maybe fight the crowds at local stores which have no eggs, margarine, milk etc. Yes we will all be fine BH yes we will all Make it. BH and we realize now that the Ribono Shel Olam just prefers really fresh food!! but extras are not on the menu right now. kugels, challah, cake would have been welcome additions. but we have more important things to focus on. Our food supply chain is doing well BH and everyone is pulling their own,but just realize if you have a friend or relative here in So Fla, we are tired, worn out, frazzled, out of sorts, our brains cannot think. we dont know where to begin, and now that most got their power turned on last night, they are stayiing home for RH, which means more to do!! So city of Lakewood,, just take pause when you wander into your luxury supermarket and toss that premade simanim platter into your cart, those of us here in your winter vacation destination, are plowing ahead with fortitude to overcome any obstacle that stands in the way of providing a beautiful meaningful yom tov for our families. Ksiva Vchasima Tova. Thank you GG lakewood manager, and chaverim for the generators! and thank you BMG for the Kollel Generator. You do come through in a crisis and we appreciate that greatly.
They may not be poor but in a community where many live paycheck to paycheck or only get paid when they work like a therapist the inability to work for two weeks or missing a paycheck can be extremely difficult but BH everyone is safe.
Thank you all for the continuous support… It’s been a whirlwind locating and sourcing Challahs and cakes but BH we got more than we expected… I thought I was done until after Sukkos yet I just got calls tonight that I need to find another 300 challahs and 300 rolls of bulkelach- I contacted 3 bakers and IYH in the morning they will see what they can spin out for us… We’re on a roll—- I couldn’t do this alone.
Thank you All for your support even if I didnt have a chance to personally thank each person that gave and continued to give.
Please continue the generous donations to cover as much as we can – we can only get what we pay for.
Additional items such as eggs we are urgently trying to source by early morning!
Working on efforts to assess what is and is not needed for sukkos as well…
Thank you all for stepping on board! I’m humbled…