Can We Help the Mavens of Disaster Relief?

When tragedy struck in Birmingham, Ala., a few weeks ago, killing scores of people and leaving thousands of residents destitute, a group of Jews saw a chance for mitzvot. Heading out from their home base outside of Minneapolis, a team of disaster relief and recovery experts drove their emergency trailers 1,000 miles to Alabama. They were joined by dozens of other Jewish volunteers who raced there from other parts of the country. While most of us watched on CNN, these volunteers were on the ground helping repair and clean up, providing skills, hard work and comfort — nechama — to the badly damaged city.

Along with a few friends, Minneapolis-based financial planner Steve Lear started ” title=”Graduates, Your Mountain Is Waiting” target=”_blank”>Graduates, Your Mountain Is Waiting,” Jewish Journal, June 2), I mentioned the great need for volunteers to help in places ravaged by natural disasters. From Pierre, S.D.,  to Birmingham, Ala., and from Joplin, Mo., to Greer, Ariz., American communities lay in ruins and their citizens need a hand. Nechama is the Jewish answer to disaster relief, and I believe part of the solution to the broader issue of building Jewish unity and opening new ways for young Jews to connect.

Yonah Bookstein, a leading voice of the next generation of American Jewry, is an internationally recognized expert in Jewish innovation, founder of the Jewlicious Festival, and executive rabbi at JConnectLA. Follow him on Twitter