This past week, I joined Masbia Soup Kitchen and its relief team on a mission to Mayfield, one of the most hard-hit cities from the recent deadly tornado. There, we met the Seavers family – long-time local and resilient residents.
The Seavers transformed their family restaurant into an around-the-clock soup kitchen, cooking hot meals for literally tens of thousands of locals and emergency workers. The restaurant, Southern Reds BBQ, is based some 17 miles from Mayfield and has been running this operation with their staff, local volunteers and donated supplies from across the country. To make sure everyone had what was needed, Masbia arranged for several truckloads of supplies from neighboring Jewish businesses, as well as buying food and other products that they had exhausted.
As soon as the tornado passed the area where Buck sheltered, he instinctively sprang to action and grabbed a chainsaw and hopped in his truck with a neighbor. They gaped in horror at the scenes they witnessed in their own home town. After a moment to collect their shock and dismay, they jumped out of the truck and began to clear debris and trees from the roads. Once cleared, they searched house-to-house to help people. Sadly, they discovered many dead bodies, some of whom were so badly injured that Buck could not even identify them.
It will take many months, if not years, to get Mayfield to where it was before this tornado touched down.
I’m an outsider. This is a city I’ve never visited and people I’ve never met. Even so, the feelings of pain and loss were not lost on me. This was complete devastation on a level I had yet to witness with my own two eyes. We did not travel to Mayfield to make a splash, nor to merely show up in a time of crisis. We care about this community. We care about all of our neighboring cities and their families. We want to see Mayfield get back on their feet.
Buck was simply blown away by the support of Masbia and the Jewish community in general. He and the Seaver family broke down in tears several times throughout our time together as they tried to articulate their appreciation.
Their tears spoke far louder than their words.
After all, if we as a Jewish community are true to our Torah values, how could we not help others in a time of need?
Rabbi Simon Taylor is the National Director of the Orthodox Union’s Community Projects & Partnerships. He can be reached at staylor@ou.org.
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.
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