On the morning of Sunday, June 2, a 12-member group representing the KU Chabad community set off in a white 12-passenger van stuffed with supplies to help victims of the tornado in Moore, Okla., a city hit hardest by a devastating tornado just 10 days before.
As they enjoyed the scenery along I-70 everything seemed to be quite normal, but then as the van entered the city of Moore, the entire reality just shifted before their eyes — strip malls that had been totally crushed and areas where houses had stood were now reduced to rubble.
“No words could ever be enough to describe what we saw and felt,” shared Rebecca Katz, a trip participant from Overland Park. “It was horrific to see, blocks and blocks of houses destroyed.”
Once in Moore, the group stopped at the area’s command center — an area that lost its power again as a result of last weekend’s latest storms —and teamed up with the relief efforts being led by Rabbi Ovadia Goldman of the Chabad Community Center in Oklahoma City. With a wide swath of the city of Moore destroyed, and the need for food and basic living supplies growing, there was lots of work to do.
The KU Chabad group split up across the hardest hit neighborhood and went from house to house clearing debris and searching for items of value. Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, the director of Chabad at KU who organized the trip, said it was heart wrenching to see so many lives torn apart as they found such personal effects as World War II medals, wedding pictures and baby toys.
The group also distributed more than 250 pounds of clothing that was collected from families and friends in Kansas. Some families were given gift cards to Target and Walmart to help them purchase items to begin rebuilding their lives. Sarah Krawchek, who participated in the trip along with her husband Matt, brought along handmade jewelry that she shared with two young children who were standing in the ruins of their home.
“It felt so good when two girls were excited to receive my handmade jewelry,” Krawchek said. “I felt as if I was giving hope.”
In addition to the physical assistance of clearing the debris and distributing clothing and gift cards, Rabbi Tiechtel said trip participants really felt that people were uplifted by their presence and relished the opportunity to talk about what they experienced.
“Seeing so many people work for hours and make just the smallest dent in the miles of devastation was a very humbling experience,” said Rebecca Katz, who joined along with her husband Jonathan. “The items that we found seemed broken and worthless, but to the people we were helping they are the only physical pieces of home they have left.
“Even standing amidst all the miles of former neighborhoods, it is hard to believe the number of people whose lives have been impacted. I feel so blessed to have been able to give back even the littlest bit to those who have lost so much.”
Rabbi Tiechtel said the purpose of this trip was to show how in the face of so much destruction and darkness, “if we gather as a community together we can bring so much more light.”
“When we arrived in Moore we were all just shell shocked from the devastation, the destruction, the stillness in the air; but we were also so moved by the love, the care and the concern of people across the country that drove in to show how much they care for another human being. The tremendous relief efforts of the Chabad of Oklahoma and the Jewish community has made a real ‘Kiddush Hashem,’ Sanctification of G-d’s name,” the rabbi continued.
Rabbi Tiechtel wants everyone to be reminded that “as we move on in life and the tragic destruction in Moore begins to fade away, it is important that we continue to do our part to support those in need.” The Chabad in Oklahoma City has established a disaster relief website where updates are posted and help can be offered at www.jewishokcrelief.com.
Even though the trip from Lawrence to Moore was only for one day, Tiechtel said all the participants will surely take lessons from Oklahoma with them.
“It was so heartwarming to see people from all over the world come together to help the community of Moore, Oklahoma,” said trip participant and KU senior Howie Abrams. “It made me proud to be a Jew, an American, but most of all a human. This journey symbolizes that in a sometimes complicated world, people can come together to help others in their time of need. My hope is that the people of Moore, Oklahoma, can find peace in the fact that there are so many people who care about them, and want to help them.”
The Mitzvot for Moore trip was a project of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life at KU and was supported by Miles Schnaer of Crown Automotive of Lawrence.
For more information about Chabad at KU’s social action activities, contact Rabbi Tiechtel at 785-832-8672 or or visit the website at www.JewishKU.com.
