When Everything Stops: Reflections On Hurricane Irma

Tuesday morning. I feel great; time to tackle my goals. Let me just check something on my phone quickly. Hmm, another hurricane on the way. I wonder how bad it’ll be. Category 5! But they still don’t know which way it’ll go. Maybe it’ll go around my neighborhood and just cause a lawn chair to tip over like Hurricane Matthew did last year. What if it’s a direct hit? I need to tell my husband. Of course, he says not to worry, as always. I’ll check flights out just in case. No available flights out on Spirit! What about JetBlue? Site not working - because too many customers using it. I’ll check again in a few minutes. It’s $697 per person?!?! Whoa. I’m not sticking around to see if it goes one way or the other. I’ll fill up the gas tank and drive out of here if I need to. What if there’s no gas left? Am I finding out about all this too late?

Wednesday morning. I better start packing. For how many days? What do I take? I guess a few outfits per person plus outfits for Shabbat and just do the laundry wherever I go. Is one suitcase for all five of us enough? It’ll have to be. What kind of food will last us on the road? What if everything gets flooded like I saw on the news on Texas? How long would the recovery take? Will I ever come back to Florida? What’ll it be like when Mashiach reveals himself? Am I ready for that? Could I really leave all this behind?

Those were just some of my thoughts in the days leading up to Hurricane Irma. As we drove out and left our home behind, I had a very heavy feeling, and I consider myself a generally positive person.

I remember a story of an overwhelmed father who came to a renowned rabbi to ask for a blessing that his child should be healed. Because of his child’s condition, all he could do was worry. The rabbi blessed him that his child should have a refuah shlema (complete healing), and he added, “You should have many tzarot (troubles).” The father was in shock. What kind of blessing is that? He asked the rabbi what he had in mind. The rabbi explained that when you are living life and have your daily routine, there are many challenges that pop up along the way and everyone has something that they need to deal with. That’s just the way life is. However, when there is a major crisis, it takes over a person’s whole life. There is no daily routine. All of a person’s focus is consumed by that one thing. So the rabbi was blessing this man that his life should go back to the routine, with the everyday challenges.

That’s what Irma was. It wasn’t an inconvenience, like being stuck in traffic so you’re 15 minutes late to a meeting, or like realizing you’re missing an ingredient for the birthday cake you’re making until you’re halfway through the recipe. Irma was a pause button on life.

School was cancelled. All the kids were home. While trying to prepare for the hurricane, you had to take care of them, too, at a time when they would normally be in school. You also had to think how you’d entertain them over the course of the next week, including days without electricity, and attempt to teach them about the upcoming chagim (holidays), because they’d be missing all the learning from school. You had to mentally prepare for how hot it would be in the home from the Florida heat without any air conditioning and find ways to keep the whole family cool.

As far as the house, shutters needed to be put up to protect windows from shattering, in case of strong winds or flying objects. Besides the usual Shabbat shopping, there was also a mad rush to fill up the gas tank and buy flashlights, batteries, candles, water, and whatever else was on the hurricane preparedness checklist before the stores ran out of items. You had to make sure to have enough nonperishable food, because who knew how long the power would be out. You could also forget about going to work until everything settled down and the power was restored.

If you decided to leave instead of sticking around, you had to find a place to stay. In some places, evacuation was mandatory. Many hotels were completely booked. You could drive north, but who knew which path the hurricane would take and how far north you needed to drive to get to safety? You had to pack all your valuables, clothing, and food, and head out early enough so that you had access to gasoline and didn’t get trapped in gridlock and make it in time for Shabbat, wherever your destination. Baruch Hashem, we had family who made us feel right at home and reassured us and prayed with us and drank l’chaims for everyone’s safety.

There were communities that opened their doors for all us South Floridians. “Mi ke’amcha, Yisrael” – whose level of kindness is as amazing as the Jewish people’s?! I received endless texts and emails about the chesed (kindness) that people were doing for each other. It blew me away. Shuls were contacting their members and finding out what each family’s plans were so they knew if they needed to check in on them. There were forms going around for people to fill in if they would be traveling to Atlanta or Maryland so that they could be matched up with families living there who were willing to host them for Shabbat. Amazing! For those who stayed in South Florida and lost electricity, there were others who hadn’t lost power yet and invited them in, even though they didn’t know them. It made me think. What’s keeping us together? It’s Hashem, the Torah, Shabbat – all One!

As we turned on our phones after Shabbat to check the path of the storm, I realized how lucky we are to be able to disconnect. What a gift to be present in the moment, to let go of the need to know and trust that Hashem is taking care of everything. The storm took a different path. We were spared. Yes, it was a relief, but we continued to pray for everyone else that would be impacted.

After the storm passed, the kindness continued. I was all the way in New York and a woman from my community contacted me to ask for my address so she could drive by and let me know if my home had power. She didn’t need to do that. My husband even had a friend who drove by and texted us pictures of the front of our home because we were wondering if there was any damage and wouldn’t be able to see until we drove all the way back.

The Jewish communities here were active in filling the needs of the communities. A Jewish school, Ohr Yechezkel, was willing to open their doors and offer child care free of charge for a couple of days while most daycares and schools were still closed. Parents were searching for a place for their children to be and enjoy activities while they tried to repair any damage and attempted to restore routine to their lives.

There was also a South Florida Hurricane Irma Emergency Relief Fund set up by the rabbis of North Miami Beach. It is meant to help families who are in need of funds for food for the next few weeks. Many had to throw away all the food in their refrigerators and freezers, which spoiled because of power outages. Some people had already done major shopping for the upcoming holidays and lost it all. This fund is also set aside for short-term construction funding for those whose homes were damaged and need immediate repairs.

Irma was an experience, even if we didn’t stick around for it. It was full of teachable moments for my children. It was full of opportunities to thank Hashem and work on building our trust in Him. It was a time when other people’s lives continued, but ours had to stop. Now, as we are slowly but surely getting back into our routines, we are thankful for the everyday challenges!