Hurricane Holiness: Helping Through the Hands of Nechama

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take a free Jewish service trip to Western North Carolina with Nechama, the only Jewish natural disaster relief organization, Mem Global, and Repair The World, the leading Jewish service organization, to help out with ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene, which devastated the region just under a year ago. I chose to come not just to get out of town for a little bit, but to make a meaningful impact.

From Mishnah 4:5 (expanded)

“Whoever saves a single life, it is as though they have saved an entire world. This teaching reminds us that every individual is a universe unto themselves, containing infinite potential, stories, and worth. When we serve others with respect and love, we honor the divine spark within them and affirm the sanctity of all life. Service is not just a duty but a profound encounter with holiness.”

My experiences consisted of painting makeshift homes for survivors, picking up trash and remnants of what once was, and sorting clothes for survivors. The biggest thing I took away from the experience was the religious duty I came to serve. When I choose to repair, I am not only making an impact on others, but on myself, and on communities. In Judaism, service isn’t just a value, it’s a divine act of engagement. When we commit to service, we are sanctifying our holy duty by helping others. 

As the area is still devastated, recovery is the next step. This won’t be fixed overnight, and it will take a long time for the area to recover. Likely 5+ years.

Nechama, which means “to comfort,” is the only Jewish organization of its kind. Started in 1993 by two Jewish men from Minnesota after a really bad flood in Iowa, they wanted to go to the scene and help. Every volunteer organization had a faith waiver required to sign, and because the two men were Jewish, they were subject to antisemitism, and so, Nechama was born. Not only do they help with disaster relief, but engage it’s volunteers in interfaith activities through service and fighting antisemitism.

We came on the tail end of their deployment to the region, and although we may have been the only Jewish group to join Nechama on their deployment to Asheville, what matters most is that we came to help each other out.

The biggest challenge I faced was a hurt foot. I constantly struggled with movement due to the pain. But with the encouragement of my peers, I kept going. Regardless of the pain I was in, I was proud of my achievements. This is what I came to do, and I’m grateful for my efforts.

The friendships I made and built during this trip are ones that have been instilled with me forever. We went from strangers to friends in just five days. Thankfully, everyone is local to me. I feel that I have found a group of people that I enjoy being around, thanks to this experience. 

Thank you to Nechama, Mem Global, and Repair The Workd for having me. I had the best time and I found my work meaningfully impactful. Here’s to doing greater good for the world.