Hurricane Sandy

[hatam_soferet]

We had Weather here this week. You might have heard something about it in the news. My bit of Manhattan is fine, so am I, and so is your Torah. Despite our apartment building swaying in the wind, which is unnerving because we aren’t Californians and therefore not used to buildings wobbling about.

These scrolls were not so lucky.

These scrolls were in a mandatory evacuation zone in a low-lying part of Brooklyn. The owners decided not to evacuate, or even to move their scrolls up to the second floor despite warnings of once-in-a-lifetime flooding, and this is what happened. The scrolls are ruined and probably cannot be repaired.

(If your scrolls get wet, do not lay them out like this. It will not help. Layer them flat back and forth in zigzags interleaved with kitchen paper and stack heavy weights on top to keep the sheets flat. Cut the seams if necessary.)

Star Apprentice puts it best: “We had a fire drill last week, and I noticed that it’s no-one’s job to evacuate the Torahs. It would be bad if we had a fire and the Torahs got burned or wet. The fire drill plan should include evacuating the Torahs. I’m going to do something about that.”

This is a post first for CBH, my current client, but I’m cross-posting because plenty of other Jews read this. If you find the above image upsetting, but your fire drill, hurricane plan, or other natural disaster preparation routine doesn’t feature your Torah scrolls, you should be asking yourselves why.

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

Comments

[lethargic_man]

The scrolls are ruined and probably cannot be repaired.

Ouch.

We had a fire drill last week, and I noticed that it’s no-one’s job to evacuate the Torahs. It would be bad if we had a fire and the Torahs got burned or wet.

We had a fire drill once at shul on Shabbos morning. I'd just done hagbahah, and ended up carrying out the Sefer Torah I was holding. It was fifteen minutes before I got the chance to put it down, and my arm wouldn't unbend properly afterwards. Gave me a whole new respect for parents who spend that long with children in their arms. (Admittedly, they worked up to this from when their children weighed less.) So since then, when I'm gabbaiing I make a point of asking parents to do hagbahah...

[hatam_soferet]

Part of the trick is to keep switching arms...

dQlNIPeEbK

[(Anonymous)]

We've arirved at the end of the line and I have what I need!