PHOTOS: We’ve all heard much about the terrible damage sustained by communities during the recent hurricane. Perhaps one of the hardest hit, yet least publicized communities, was the Yeshiva community of Long Beach, New York. Located in the few blocks that separate the ocean and the bay, the community took the full brunt of the storm, quickly finding itself under several feet of water. As the water receded, Long Beach was left looking much like a war zone, with extreme damage to its entire infrastructure.

Aside from the hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to a number of the Yeshiva buildings, the Yeshiva was forced to temporarily relocate to upstate New York, no less than eleven Hanhala members have sustained devastating, unrecoverable losses to their homes, their personal property, and belongings. Many of these homes were deluged by over six feet of salty ocean water, leaving them in uninhabitable condition, with tremendous damage to each, totaling over a half of a million dollars.

Presently, due to the severe condition of their homes, the families have been forced to uproot and relocate to surrounding communities (as to be in close proximity to their children’s schools and their places of employment), with the Hanhala members themselves commuting to the Yeshiva’s temporary location in the Catskills. In addition, as you can well imagine, being charged with ensuring the Yeshiva’s future and its over-all continued success, while at the same time attempting to get their own houses rebuilt and their lives back in order, is no easy feat.

Feeling their plight, and wishing in some way to show gratitude to those who have given so much, a number of concerned alumni have undertaken an emergency campaign to help ease their predicament.

“We therefore turn to the entire Lakewood community to help in this worthy endeavor by assisting in the rebuilding process, thus allowing these families to return home and resume their normal daily lives and allowing the Hanhala members to continue in their Avodas Hakodesh undisturbed”, say the organizers.

There will be an Emergency Relief Asifa this Motzei Shabbos, December 1, 2012, at the Yeshiva Ketana Hall, at 8:15 P.M. The event will be graced with the presence of the Rosh HaYeshiva, Hagaon Harav Yitzchok Feigelstock, shlit”a. 

Mayor Menashe Miller, a Long Beach alumnus, will chair the event.

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