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From our Mailbag
Letters and e-mails that were sent to us after the crisis
Dear Mendel,
This is a token expression of our deep appreciation for all the support and encouragement we have gotten from you folks at the Tulane Chabad Center and Chabad of Metairie. Rabbi Rivkin was so gracious when originally called and offered us the use of one of the Torah scrolls for our Shabbos services and he continued to make a Torah available to us whenever we needed it.
… Yochanan was amazing in supervising the squad of young Chabad volunteers who came into town and did the dirty work of helping to clean our Shul and the mitzvah of burying the hundreds of ruined prayer books.
Rabbi Nemes has also been encouraging, making us feel welcome at services… He has been of immeasurable help to many of our families, especially those who have had to call on him in times of family burials.
May we all continue to recover and support each other and hopefully become a stronger and closer Jewish community.
Jackie Gothard, Congregation Beth Israel, New Orleans, LA
Dear Chabad of New Orleans,
…Of the many respected organizations working to aid those affected by the hurricanes, we have chosen to donate this money to your fund. We would like to help our fellow Jews and we recognize that you will meet their specific needs such as proper burial, rebuilding Shuls, and taking care of Jewish education. We hope that this donation will benefit as many Jewish victims as possible. We thank you for your hard work and devotion to our brothers and sisters in New Orleans.
Sincerely,
The tenth grade YULA Girls leadership class, Los Angeles, CA
Chabad of Louisiana
Enclosed please find a 10% portion of my stipend. I would like to share it with one of my brothers who has a greater need than my own. Thank you. May G‑d continue to bless your effort.
Respectfully,
(name withheld)
Buffalo Federal Detention Facility
To Rabbi Zelig and Bluma Rivkin:
…Listening to the adversity that your family endured during and after the hurricane was spellbinding. Your strength to go forward and continue to rebuild your community is an inspiration to my husband and I. Enclosed, find our donation.
Jamie C.
From the bottom of our hearts, thanks to you for allowing us to have a Mezuzah from your collection. After losing all our Mezuzot in the floodwaters following Hurricane Katrina, it was a great comfort. We hope to have it in our doorway in New Orleans someday.
B’Shalom
S&L H.
Dear Rabbi Zelig,
I am writing to tell you that I am in receipt of the check from the hurricane fund. May Hashem bless you for your generosity.
B’shalom and Bless you
R.
New Orleans Chabad,
Such good works! You can always count on Chabad with Hashem’s help. Please accept this offer…
Judy M.
Enclosed is a donation of … to help you continue your relief work. I asked … to recommend an appropriate place to send a contribution. As you can see from the enclosed, she greatly values your work.
“ Dear Mrs. B.
…Your offer to donate money is more than welcome. A worthy place to donate your funds is to the Chabad House that services the New Orleans Jewish communities. They did a tremendous amount to help families relocate and also saved many Torah scrolls. Although we are not connected to them in any way, you can mention that we here in NJ have our Jewish brethren and their bravery in Louisiana in our hearts.”
Very Truly Yours,
R.B.
Rabbi Yochanan Rivkin,
Thank you so very much for the check. It will help out a lot!! My son has gone through a very difficult time – but not a bad as those that lost everything. Thanks again.
E.F.
Dear Rabbi Rivkin,
I wanted to write and thank you from our hearts so much for your help. It's so hard to believe how our lives are scattered all over......... I just pray that we all will have some good from all of this. Thank you again for your generous help.
S.K.
Dear Jewish people in New Orleans,
Hi, it’s the fourth grade. We collected tzedakah everyday. We wanted to give the money to you because you had a hurricane in New Orleans and it is very scary when big waves tumble on your house. Now you need a place to live and food to eat. We hope this money will help.
Love,
The fourth Grade
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