Shabbat Brings Fragile Respite to Fire-Ravaged Los Angeles

As the massive fires spreading through the greater Los Angeles area burn into a fourth day, Jews across the region are preparing for Shabbat amid the smoke, ash and rubble. Many are homeless, evacuated and in shock. But, like a beacon, Chabad centers in the affected areas are still operating, reaching out to community members, preparing food packages and gearing up for an influx of people at Shabbat services and meals.

As the Eaton fire continues burning, Chabad-Lubavitch of Pasadena has been hosting evacuees and those who’ve lost their homes since Wednesday morning, with communal breakfasts and care packages, all while the center’s rabbis drive through the city checking on people and their homes—even extinguishing fires when needed. Families are taking refuge at the Chabad center, and the preschool classrooms have been opened for parents and their children, with meals and snacks provided.

Rabbi Zushi Rivkin, director of Chabad of Pasadena’s Pasadena Jewish Academy, told Chabad.org that he’s had the weighty task of informing community members that their homes are no more.

“It’s horrific—extremely difficult. The homeowners are not here anymore, and everything is gone. We try to support them emotionally and help them retrieve belongings from the rubble. We’ve been giving out resources, and we had a lawyer hold a town hall for them.”

Rivkin estimates that between 50 to 80 homes of his congregants have been destroyed.

He says another 150 community members have partially destroyed homes, and he and the other Chabad emissaries in Pasadena have stepped up to find them lodging, including in their own homes.

He notes that Emek Hebrew Academy has been assisting Chabad with food and connected them with Our Big Kitchen LA, which catered and sponsored Wednesday’s meals, while Thursday was catered and sponsored by local kosher restaurant, Holy Smokes.

Shabbat Dinners at Chabad

As Shabbat approaches, Rivkin says that they do not view this as a Shabbat of crisis, but one of hope and unity. “We’re hosting Shabbat dinner at Chabad and are encouraging everyone to show up. If you lost your home, you can find some consolation; if you live south of Chabad [where the fire hasn’t spread] you can show your support and love. Members of the city’s destroyed congregation are invited. It’s a huge loss,” Rivkin says.

For Marilyn Kirschen, Shabbat cannot come soon enough. Her home is one of two left standing on her street in Altadena, the neighbourhood most ravaged by the Eaton Canyon fire. When Rivkin and Rabbi Laibel Hanoka, also of Chabad of Pasadena, visited her street to survey the damage (eight community members lived on that street) they found Kirschen’s detached garage a smoldering pile of rubble, with flames leaping over towards the home. They tried using her garden hose, but the water was shut off. Hanoka and Rivkin began throwing bucketfuls of dirt on to the fire and managed to extinguish it.

“Chabad saved my house,” Kirschen says.

“I’m devastated. I’ve lived in Altadena for 40 years. So many homes have burned down, and I have multiple friends who’ve lost their houses. I took refuge in the home of Rabbi Yisroel and Chanie Pinson [likewise Chabad emissaries in Pasadena] together with another woman who brought her two dogs with her.”

Kirschen attributes the miracle to the mezuzahs on her doors: “I kiss them every time I walk through the house, and G‑d watched over my home.”

Now in South LA with her daughter, Kirschen is trying to return to Pasadena for Shabbat. “I’m thankful to be alive and part of the Chabad Pasadena community. I want to be closer to my community, and maybe I’ll find a place to stay, or I’ll just go home and see what’s left. It’s always been such a beautiful street with lots of trees. My neighbors are suffering, and I feel for them. Even though my house was saved, I can’t feel joyful.”

In Pacific Palisades, an LA coastal neighborhood almost entirely reduced to ruins, the Chabad center is closed this Shabbat. It is not that they don’t want to open their doors, but rather they cannot. The city is shut down and fire ordinances prohibit allowing anybody in. Though suffering damage, Chabad of the Pacific Palisades was not destroyed.

Rabbi Avi Cunin, co-director of Chabad of Palisades Village with his wife, Ita, says his area of the Palisades was hardest hit. “Shabbat services were scheduled for tonight, but that building no longer exists.” Thankfully, the Torah that was housed at the premises was removed mere days before the fires.

Cunin, his father Rabbi Zushi Cunin, director of Chabad of Pacific Palisades, and the other emissary couples in the area are badly affected. One rabbi and his wife lost their home, and all were evacuated. Still, Cunin says they’re in close contact with their community members. “I texted 200 people today,” he says, while his wife adds that they’re working on sending care packages to their members located all over Los Angeles, and arranging meet-ups and playdates for children.

Cunin spent Wednesday fleeing the city he grew up in, while on the phone to elderly community members and neighbors helping them escape. One neighbor of his was trapped in her apartment, too afraid to use the elevator but with her walker, she had no choice. Cunin contacted emergency services who said they could only rescue her from the lobby, and the rabbi coaxed her into the elevator while remaining on the line until she was picked up and taken to hospital for observation overnight.

In nearby S. Monica, Rabbi Eli Levitansky says they are preparing for an influx of survivors this Shabbat, many from Pacific Palisades who lost their homes and are staying in hotels or with friends. He doesn’t know what to expect yet, but says the kitchen is working overtime, saying “we’ll have enough for everyone who shows up.”