Judaism Under Water
A local rabbi helps Grand Forks, N.D.,
rise above the flood waters.
LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER
emple Israel's Rabbi
Joshua Bennett put in a
helping hand in Grand
Forks, N.D., last week,
amid the destruction and wreck-
age created by flooding.
A phone call from his sister,
Dr. Joann Bennett, sent the
West Bloomfield-based rabbi
halfway across the country. Dr.
Bennett, her husband, Maj.
Robert Groman, and their
daughter, Zoey, live in Grand
Forks.
"On Thursday night of last
week, the first day that the wa-
ter had receded in her neigh-
borhood, I got a panicked phone
call from my sister saying that
they desperately needed help,"
Rabbi Bennett recounts.
Hers was one of the "lucky
families" — the only damage to
their home was about eight feet
of water in the basement.
"We pumped the rest of the
water out of their home. I went
out with the intention of help-
ing her and seeing what was go-
ing on with the Jewish
community there," the rabbi
said.
He says the damage due to
flooding is "quite unbelievable
— there are actually still some
homes that remain under wa-
ter, completely up to the roof."
About 40 families affiliate
with the Jewish community in
Grand Forks. The city's one syn-
agogue had water in its base-
ment and lost use bf its kitchen
and social hall, Rabbi Bennett
said.
"Anywhere the water is" has
been damaged by flooding —
largely because of the "sewage
and rain water and disgusting
muck. Anything that touches
water needs to be thrown out
unless it's not porous. Metal is
OK, but the synagogue oven was
completely under water so it's
no longer functional. They lost
all the functioning pieces of the
kitchen and the social hall," he
said.
"One thing I'm hoping to do is
pair up with the Jewish com-
munity and create a partner-
ship" between Detroit and
Grand Forks, the rabbi said.
Hopefully, the effort will raise
money for the Jewish families
in Grand Forks — "we'd like to
help rebuild the synagogue and
rebuild the lives of these fami-
lies."
Most people in Grand Forks
did not emerge from the flood as
unscathed as Dr. Bennett and
Maj. Groman. Residents have
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Rabbi Joshua Bennett: Helping out in Grand Forks.
been pumping flooded base-
ments, then tearing "everything
off the walls, dry wall, paneling,
carpeting — basically we're de-
constructing homes," Rabbi Ben-
nett said. "Then, the city comes
in and decides whether the
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structure is sound."
The majority of Grand Forks
remains without drinking wa-
ter, and about half the city has
no electricity.
Much of the flood relief will be
"helping people get back on their
feet," the rabbi said. "Half of the
city doesn't have jobs; even if you
have flood insurance, [it] doesn't
cover much."
The Jewish Community Re-
lations Council of Minnesota
and the Dakotas brought in
more than 100 volunteers over
the last month to help flood vic-
tims and damaged institutions.
About 50 of the volunteers were
from Jewish youth groups.
On Saturday, May 17, about
50 volunteers from the JCRC's
Disaster Response Committee
will travel as much as seven
hours to Grand Forks to assist
in clean-up efforts.
The person who runs the dis-
aster relief part of Catholic
Charities, a national non-profit
organization, is Rabbi Bennett's
step-father-in-law, Bruce Net-
ter. Mr. Netter was in Grand
Forks last week — and will be
there for another two weeks —
coordinating the efforts of
Catholic Charities, which served
as a link between all the other
relief organizations, the rabbi
said.
Catholic Charities set up
emergency command posts,
hosting twice-daily update meet-
ings, overseeing all relief efforts
in the area.
Rabbi Bennett helped create
a 24-hour day care center. In
Grand Forks, 6,000 kids attend
day care, but due to flooding,
about 4,500 were unable to go,
he noted.
The flood relief help is "not de-
nominationally-based — every-
body's helping everybody," Rabbi
Bennett said.
❑