Who, what, where and when

Posted on 24 August 2011 by LeslieM

There was a heavy downpour the other day as we were in the midst of a service at one of the local health centers. At one point, the electricity went out for a minute and, while many people made a joke out of it, others were immediately worried and voiced concerns:
“What if the elevator doesn’t work?”
“What if we don’t get the air-conditioning back on? After all, the temperature is in the 90s outside.”
While the electricity was off, I posed the question if anyone had taken the time recently to thank G-d for the fact that we have an elevator to get up and down to the various floors and if anyone had taken the time (before the power went out) to thank G-d for the air-conditioning system, which keeps the place nice and comfortable in the midst of the brutal heat wave of recent weeks.
Fortunately, the power came back on rather quickly, but, I asked them to think about what they would have done if the power had not come back on. Many said they would stay in their rooms until the power was restored. Well, that might be fine if the power comes back on at some point in the day, but what if the power doesn’t get restored for several days? What then?
And without realizing it, we began an important dialogue on hurricane preparedness. Some of the people at the service have portable oxygen tanks. Others have to be hooked up to a machine three times a week for dialysis, so I had to ask if they knew what they would do and where they would go should a major storm like a hurricane kill all the electric power for a while.
We talked about what to do and we made a list of the many things we are blessed with that we often take for granted, and we thought about how we would survive if we did not have them in our lives.
Many people remembered things that they had read about … what you need to have around in case of a hurricane. Many had even been to seminars about it. People talked about the need to have a flashlight and extra batteries. People talked about the need to have bottled water. People talked about the need to have some food around that is easy to open and requires no refrigeration and no cooking.
The residents came up with just about everything one needed to have in preparation for a major storm and a major power failure. Everyone was listening. Everyone was participating. Everyone was paying attention.
And just before the end of the service, I decided I had a few more questions to ask …
“How many of you have extra water in your house?”
“How many of you have a flashlight and extra batteries?”
“How many of you have bottles of water?”
“How many of you have food that does not require refrigeration or cooking?”
“How many of you know where to go if you need special medical care?”
Amazingly, not one person could answer “yes” to any of these questions. Many said that someone else would take care of it for them, but who?
Hillel asked the question, “If I am not for myself who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And, if not now, when?”
It is time to prepare. Get what you need so you are covered. Cover for others who are unable to get the supplies they need, and remember, knowing what needs to be done … knowing what supplies you need doesn’t do any good unless you go out and purchase those things. Don’t delay. If not now….when?

Shalom My Friends,
Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

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