Thursday, September 15, 2011

[chicago-aneinu]AISH.COM Please Help

Some of the details are still murky. What we know is that it happened during Hurricane Irene. Actually, it was after the worst of Irene had apparently passed. At about 11 a.m. on Sunday, August 28, I felt safe enough to leave the house (where we had no electricity), get in my car and drive to my office where there was electricity, to catch up on some work. Little did I know that around the corner from my home a horrific tragedy was about to take place, and the victim was not only my neighbor but my friend, Moshe Yosef Reichenberg. At about 2 a.m., early Sunday morning, as Irene raged through our sleeping, wooded neighborhood in Rockland County, an hour north of New York City, there was a loud “boom!” The storm had brought down some high voltage power lines at the corner of Merrick and Union. The transformer had been damaged, shooting sparks in all directions like a fireworks display. Moshe Yosef was awakened by the blast, quickly put on a bathrobe and ran outside to see if anyone needed help. His house was one street over from the danger of the sparking transformer, yet he ran out into the night worried about his neighbors’ safety. That’s who he was. If anyone embodied the biblical ethical imperative “not to stand idly by one's neighbor's blood,” it was Moshe Yosef. At that time, no one's blood had been spilled.At this time, when the books of life and death are opened, and the scribe is writing all our deeds for good or bad, I make a personal plea to open your heart with the utmost generosity. This is what Judaism is about. Helping others in their time of need. The Reichenbergs time of need is upon us. Donate online at, https://www.duvys.com/simple/reichenbergfund or send your generous support to The Reichenberg Fund, c/o Rabbi Jonathan Wosner, 3 Manor Drive, Monsey, NY 10952, USA. Email: reichenbergfund@gmail.com Phone: 845-232-0067

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