Guest Column

Facing Hurdles from page 112

innovative and expansive visions.

On the Ground
In Kathmandu:

A personal account.

Strong Roots

That's not to say Hillel of Metro Detroit
has lost its way.
— —
At the lounge
dedication, sopho-
more Hannah Fine,
a Detroit resident,
talked passionately
about how nimbly
HMD assists fresh-
men in meeting
Hannah Fine
other Jewish stu-
dents and finding a
Jewish niche on campus, through Hillel
or otherwise. Programs like "Jewish
in the D" and "D360" give students a
sense of the vigor of the Motor City —
and its vast potential.
Said the biochemistry major:
"Kresge Court at the Detroit Institute
of Arts has been affectionately dubbed
the Living Room of the city. And if
Kresge Court is the Living Room, then
Hillel has got to be the Family Room.
I don't know anywhere else where you
can walk in and everyone knows your
name, asks you how you are doing;
where you can sit down, talk, watch
the Tigers; and eat a kosher Passover
lunch."
Like Hannah says, "Supporting
Hillel means support for the Jewish
journey of Jewish students on each of
the six campuses of HMD, which is
really a big deal."
Hillel of Metro Detroit has plenty
to be proud of. Seizing its challenges
and highlighting its strengths — while
mining the nuggets of its storied histo-
ry — will help position it for continued
excellence.

❑

Dry Bones

Fi gni

AMERICAN CHEESE,
BLUE CHEESE, BEL
PAESE,
BRIE,
CHEDDAR,
COEUR DE
CHEVRE, CREAM CHEESE,
CAMEMBERT,
COTTAGE CHEESE, DANISH BLUE, EDAM,
FARMER CHEESE,
FETA,
EMMENTAL,
MOZZARELLA, GOUDA, GRUYERE,
LIMBURGER, MUENSTER,
PANELA, PARMIGIANO,
POT CHEESE,

RICOTTA,
PROVOLONE,
ROQUEFORT,
STILTON,
SWISS,

nly days after a 7.8 magnitude
many people turned
earthquake shook the South
to the Lifshitzes for
Asian nation of Nepal on April
shelter, water, daily
25 — killing nearly 8,000 people (a
meals and medical
number that is likely to rise) and injur-
care.
ing more than 17,000 — I flew there with
Throughout our
my father, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice
time together, I was
The author, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky (center), his father,
chairman of the educational arm of
amazed by their
Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky (right), vice chairman of the edu-
Chabad-Lubavitch.
unwavering and
cational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, and Rabbi Chezky
It was our plan to meet with Chabad
intense focus — the
Lifshitz (left), co-director of Chabad of Nepal, are in dis-
of Nepal's co-directors, Rabbi Chezky
focus of those who
cussion with a member of the medical team at the Israeli
and Chani Lifshitz, as part of a strategic
have handled crises
field hospital that was flown in from Israel.
visit to the Far East.
before.
Never did we imagine that we'd meet
Although we
in the middle of a humanitarian crisis of
needed to take multiple breaks to allow
deal of pride to see what the Israel
epic proportions, and that the Lifshitzes
them to field urgent phone calls and
Defense Forces have done in such a
and a team of about 50 volunteers,
messages — many of them pertain-
short amount of time, though for those
many of them Israelis just finishing sev-
ing to life-and-death situations — each
familiar with the IDF, their tremendous
eral years of military duty, would be at
time we continued exactly where we
capabilities are not surprising. During
the center of a far-reaching rescue-and-
left off, honing in on the nuts and bolts
our time at the field hospital, we also
relief effort.
of planning a long-term humanitarian
arranged for the hard-working soldiers
I've been to Nepal before, but I
campaign.
to use Chabad's facilities, particularly in
quickly realized that this visit
One major asset for locat-
preparation for Shabbat.
would be very different.
ing the stranded has been
On the way back to the airport, as
When we landed at the
satellite phones. After a
I glimpsed the shuttered stores and
airport, it was full of special
sudden blizzard last October
newly homeless citizens from the dusty
shipments and Hercules
killed four Israelis and
taxi-cab window, I was reminded of
planes bringing aid from vari-
trapped some 250 others in
the first time I left home to learn at
ous countries. Kathmandu's
the mountains and surround-
the International School for Chabad
Tribhuvan International
ing areas, the Lifshitzes
Leadership in Detroit. Each Friday, as
Airport is the only interna-
began keeping a supply of
part of a program instituted by the
tional airport in the country
such phones, giving them
Lubavitcher Rebbe — Rabbi Menachem
and, with just one runway, it
to backpackers who stop in
M. Schneerson, of righteous memory
seemed to be quite a chal-
beforehand
at
the
Chabad
—we
would visit the homes of Jewish
Rabbi Mendy
lenge to accommodate all of
center.
They
have
served
elderly
immigrants, many of Russian
Kotl arsky
the added traffic.
as a key tool in finding
origin, in an effort to create personal
Driving through the city to
people stuck in the middle of
bonds with often isolated members of
our destination, we witnessed
hikes and climbs, or in this
the community.
immense damage. Words fail
instance, remote places.
It is this very same ideal — reaching
to describe the utter destruction that
Later in the day, we accompanied a
out to others in less fortunate circum-
had befallen Nepal. The streets were
group of volunteers from the Chabad
stances, the collective responsibility
lined with broken buildings, crumbled
center on a visit to one of the poor-
for every Jew and every human being
homes, personal possessions strewn
est areas of the city. There, we joined
—that has inspired and continues to
everywhere — the shells of crushed
them in distributing water, rice and
motivate me to do the work I do. And it
lives. And we were told that it wasn't
fruit, which serve to both nourish and
never ceases to touch a chord within.
even the worst of it; some villages were
hydrate. Some have constructed rickety
With news of another powerful earth-
totally destroyed.
cloth tents for themselves. Others sleep
quake shaking Nepal and with monsoon
People seemed to be wandering
under the open sky. It was heartbreak-
season fast approaching, I think of the
about as if in a daze, trying to make
ing to see the situation of these people,
Nepali people and aid workers, whose
sense of a world that had been turned
many of them young children, not know-
faces are etched in my mind — impres-
utterly upside-down in a single day.
ing when their next drink of water will
sions I will share with others in the hope
Upon arrival at the Chabad center,
arrive.
that it creates more awareness of those
we were greeted by the Lifshitzes, and
I was completely stunned with how
who are less fortunate and encour-
immediately sat down to discuss how to
the locals I met — many of whom had
ages people to engage in more acts of
continue and expand their rescue work.
lost loved ones, their homes and more
kindness, may it be for a stranger one
With hundreds of thousands of people
than that, any resemblance of normalcy
encounters on their way home or a
touring the country annually — many
— were handling the situation. They
victim of a natural disaster half a world
of them young Israeli backpackers who
were calm, collected and extremely
away, each individual and each good
recently completed their army service
grateful for everything we did to assist.
deed is infinitely significant.
— the Chabad center has become a de
We concluded our 10-hour stay with
facto embassy for Jewish visitors. But
a visit to the Israeli field hospital that
Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky is director of strategic
in the wake of the massive earthquake,
was flown in from Israel with 260 mili-
initiatives at Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters in
supplies were rapidly dwindling as so
tary medical personnel. It brings a great
Brooklyn, N.Y.

❑

DryBonesBlog.com

May 21 • 2015

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