Hi to all. I am truly touched by your concern. As my dear friend TBB told you, I have just returned to my home B”H after too many days away. We lost power and heat, but chasdei Hashem had no realy damage other than the doorframe swelling, so we have a bit of trouble opening, closing, and locking/unlocking it. I did lose a freezer’s worth and 2 fridge’s worth of food, but when I see what others have lost, I am humbled.
I appreciate that ZK and others were worried. I had no available internet where I was, and I decided Hashem was encouraging me to reassess how I spend my free time. It IS a churban out here. I ahve friends who saw their possessions floating away, lost their cars, the entire contents of the bottoms of their homes, and major appliances. The reconstruction will take them weeks, if not months, and it has taken a great emotional toll on them.
BUT – the gam zu l’tovah is that I have been zochah to see the most amazing acts of extraordinary chessed and ahavas Yisroel being done, by total strangers. I have also learned a great lesson, which I mentioned to a local Rosh Yeshivah as we stood outside and watched the utility people attempt to restore some power. Obama THINKS he has power. Achmedinejad believes he has power. Donald Trump and his fellow millionaires/billionaires are convinced THEY have power. None of them has power. Only the Aibishter does. We saw the force of that power unleashed, as we went from one weather extreme to another in a matter of days, sometimes even in the same day. It is a sobering thought. It is uplifting, though to realize how we Jews come together to help each other in crisis. Mi k’Amcha, Yisroel!
Again, thank you all for your concern. I hope none of you has suffered any serious losses, if any, as a result of this hurricane and its aftermath.