Until You Need Them.
You hear about Hatzolah all the time. You see the signs, the campaigns, you know they’re important, special, doing incredible things. But then you go back to your regular life and you don’t think much more about it.
Until the night everything changes.
It was 1:00 in the morning when our child woke up gasping for breath. We were panicked, frozen. In that moment of chaos and fear, the only thing I could think to do was call Hatzolah.
And five minutes later, they were at our door.
I still don’t understand how that’s even possible. Someone was sleeping, got a call, got dressed, got in their car, and made it to our house in what felt like no time. But even more unbelievable than how fast they came was how calm they were. They walked in, assessed our child in seconds, started treatment, and just as importantly, started calming us down.
A few minutes later, more Hatzolah members showed up. They worked together so smoothly, like they’d done this a thousand times. They decided we needed to go to the hospital, and they got us into the ambulance. The entire way there, they were focused, kind, gentle taking care of my kid as well as myself.
And they didn’t just drop us off. They stayed. They gave the hospital all the info, made sure we were settled. They only left once they knew we were okay.
An hour later, still in the ER, I looked up and saw one of the volunteers again. He was wheeling in another patient. But he stopped to check in on my son. It was almost 2:30 a.m., and he looked like it was the middle of the afternoon. Calm. Unbothered. Smiling.
I couldn’t even find the words. I was just in awe.
These are regular people with families, with jobs, with responsibilities. But they get up in the middle of the night, without hesitation, without complaint. And that’s the thing ,they’re not regular people.
Mi K’amcha Yisroel. You don’t really understand what Hatzolah is… until you find yourself calling them in your most terrifying moment. We’ll never forget it.
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Thank you for writing this. My husband is on Hatzalah and sometimes it’s so hard when he’s running out in middle of bath time, breakfast or going to a full day of training for hours on end. Seeing how much comfort Hatzalah has brought you, is a real chizuk to us wives!
Couldnt agree more!
This is a major problem in the world today called “FACING REALITY”
The Rambam says אין פוראניות בא בעולם אלא בשביל ישראל, “there are no Tragedies in the world except because of “כלל ישראל . From the year 2001 until the year 2009 what happened in the world? First we had September 11 2001. where over 3000 people died in one day (only one other day was there that 3000 people died in one day & that was during the Civil War) what happened then? Everyone was effected with loss of family & jobs, & we each ask ourselves as we say in Yiddish “Vos Vil De Eibishter Fun Mir” (what does Hashem want from me) for a short while we feel it & then it leaves us & we all forget about it. What happened in September of 2005? the Tsunami hit from the Indian Ocean. Where over 110,000 people died & another 1,000,000 people became homeless & lost their jobs & their lives were destroyed & again we say “Vos Vil De Eibishter Fun Mir”. & the same thing happens (we feel it for a while & then forget about it). What happened in 2006? Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans [here in America] where thousand more AGAIN lost their lives & thousands of others lost family & jobs. & then what happened in 2008? the Market crashed & people lost millions & billions of dollars, with thousands of other people losing their jobs . With the Lehman Brothers Market Crashing & General Motors Going Bankrupt etc… Each time we say the same thing to ourselves “Vos Vil De Eibishter Fun Mir” (what does Hashem want from me) & then after a short while we just forget about it like it never happened. We all think that the Riches that i have are because of ME & the work i did for my Business, we forget that Hashem sent us all this money & everything in the world he is watching every day. We have to remember that all this is Happening because of אין פוראניות בעולם אלא בשביל ישראל, all this is because we don’t take these messages from Hashem for us to return to him. Hopefully now we can take these signs & prevent other tragedies from happening.
The situation in Eretz Yisroel & in the Diaspora is very bad from Terrorists to the entire Economy going down etc… If anyone should ask why all these Tzaros are Happening to Klal Yisroel he only needs to look at what the Rambam says. Saying that as long as we remain ignorant of the present troubles that we have & what the reasons are that they are happening. The situation can only get worse until Mashiach comes. With the society we are living in today we (sadly) CONSTANTLY need reminders (wake-up calls) from HASHEM for us to do T’shuva & return to HASHEM so all this Tzaros can end & Mashiach comes.
Where in the world does this come in????? This is the difference of a worldveiw of seeing things through a positive lens rather than a negative lens
Read the first paragraph of the authors letter above and then REREAD the shocking message DIRECTLY FROM HASHEM and the Rambam that was rewritten earlier in the comment section above
What does this have to do with the unbelievable and awesome work Hatzolah does 24/7???
What am I missing here? You may be 100% right. However, how does it fit in here with Hatzolas work and the sacrifices , dedication and devotionof the Hatzolah wives?????
Yes, Hatzoloh people are from a different planet. Calm under pressure and great people.
And after each time that we had to call Hatzloha I always made it a point to reach out and thank the wives of the members that came! Whether it be in middle of the night, during the day, on Shabbos, on a busy Sunday afternoon!!
Behind every Hatzloha member there is a wife that lets him go!!!
So beautifully written and so accurate! I think every Jewish home has benefited from Hatzolah! Thank you!
I once called Hatzolah for an accident on prospect street. The members were there so fast they must live right there. Tthe way they treated the patients was really amazing to see.
They are the best people we have in Klal Yisroel.
@admin. Very innovative to have reactions, i would highly suggest to remove the negative reaction capacity. Its fine if one receives positive, or no reaction. Negative reactions are unhelpful.
Additionally, the fact that a reaction is agreed to, or disagreed to, does not make it true. Popular opinion unfortunately isnt necessarily correct opinion.
Hatzlacha
Side note, not at all addressing anyone specific, rather an interesting segue.
I have now been involved in multiple chessed organizations, and of course seen the work of others, from the wonderful organizations we have in our kehilla, hatzala, chaveirim, bikur cholim etc.
It truly is incredible and a testament to our noble nature as a people. And met so many special individuals along the way!
That said, what i have come to realize, is that Someone giving their life to chessed, does NOT mean that it has permeated their essence. What a person DOES is not necessarily what a person IS.
One can be involved in helping others the whole day, but lash out at those closest to them, or even those they are helping, if their will is frustrated.
I am not chas v’shalom saying that this is what most people are, just the opposite, chitzoniyus misorer!
But there still is a divide between what one does, and what one is. There have of course been scenarios of people who have gone on to do terrible things, and people say “but he was so nice, involved in xyz”.
Yes. But the point is not what we DO. Its what we allow ourselves to become. Rachmana Libah Ba’ee.
From personal experience I can attest that you are 100% correct!. I completely understand and I am sure everyone else does as well. You are simply stating what others think and wouldn’t dare say. One has to INTERNALIZE the Torah and chesed. It has to become part of their fiber.
Nice trick here. A dare to disagree.
So here I am…. I absolutely disagree – with the context, not the content of the message.
Yes, we have to internalize Torah and Chesed….
NO NO NO and thumbs down down down to making this statement to insinuate that the previous poster is right to insinuate the contrary about our amazing Hatzala chevra. SHAME ON BOTH IF YOU!
100% disagree with any negative insinuations about our amazing Hatzala chevra