Along with the rest of San Diego County, the Jewish community suffered deep emotional losses this week as a result of the wildfires that besieged our homes, our schools, our institutions and other property.

At the same time, it appeared that the Jewish community was spared any of
the 11 known fatalities related to the fires as of Tuesday.

As the fires coursed through such areas with Jewish populations as Scripps Ranch, Ramona, Alpine, Lakeside, Poway, Miramar, Tierrasanta, Santee, San Carlos and Kearny Mesa, it burned down the temporary trailers housing the Chabad Hebrew Academy and Chabad's headquarters in Scripps Ranch.

Additionally, much of that institution¹s outdoor sculpture garden was damaged. Melted sculptures included various interpretations of the Jewish experience.

Of more than 1,000 homes that were consumed countywide, nearly two dozen, and probably more, were believed to belong to members of the affiliated Jewish community.

Rabbi Yosef Fradkin, son of Chabad¹s regional director Rabbi Yonah Fradkin, told Heritage there was less than an hour from the time the fire began spreading south from Ramona to approximately 8:20 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 26, when Chabad staff frantically grabbed three sefer Torahs to protect them from destruction.

Everything else in the temporary school trailers was destroyed, "including files, teachers' personal items, materials that they had collected over a lifetime of teaching, every single file Chabad headquarters ever had — all our records," Fradkin said.

It was in one of the trailers that Chabad housed a temporary synagogue from which the Torahs were saved. But other items such as tefillin and tallisim were destroyed. Fradkin said in many cases these were special keepsakes of congregants that had been handed down to them through generations or acquired for special occasions such as weddings and bar mitzvahs.

"The people are very affected by that," he said.

Also destroyed, said Fradkin, was a "large collection of art prints, from the 16th to 19th century, that recently were donated, so they were not insured."

Fradkin said notwithstanding the property losses, there was much to be thankful for. Chabad's new campus, located on higher ground on the same Scripps Ranch property, was relatively unscathed. He said the mutiple-building complex, intended to house a library, community center,
adult education center, school, synagogue and administrative offices, originally had been scheduled for completion in December. "Now we will make every effort to do it more quickly," he said.

Fradkin said arrangements are being made to move the classes for approximately 300 students to other institutions. The Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla was mentioned by its director, Michael Cohen, as one possibility.

Scripps Ranch was one of the communities in San Diego hardest hit by the fire. On Tuesday, Oct. 28, at a meeting of synagogue and agency leaders held at the headquarters of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County, various congregations reported how many of their members had homes destroyed.

Congregation Beth Israel, which counts 84 families from Scripps Ranch among its membership, reported nine families whose homes were destroyed. Rabbi Sheila Goloboy said there were unconfirmed reports that seven other Beth Israel families also lost their homes.

Of the nine families with confirmed losses, she said, "seven have school-aged children." For these families, finding temporary homes near their children's schools will be a challenge.

"All our congregants have been receiving an outpouring of offers from other congregants, some of whom have guest houses," Goloboy said.

Although the names of the families were known, they were not released to the
news media out of concern for the families' privacy.

Gail Littman, a former president of Temple Adat Shalom in Poway, said two families in her congregation had lost homes, and she reported another three families who are members of Congregation Beth El in La Jolla also had their homes destroyed by the blazes.

Littman said affiliated Jews were being comforted by members of their congregations; however, "our biggest concern is how we reach the unaffiliated Jews. How can our Jewish community be there for them?

"I saw someone being interviewed on local television the other night, his last name was Israel, and he said his biggest concern was finding a rental property near his home."

At Tifereth Israel Synagogue in the San Carlos area, there were reports, as yet unconfirmed, that some members who live in Lakeside also may have been left homeless by the fire.

Littman and Reform Rabbi Deborah Prinz of Temple Adat Shalom loaded Torahs into their cars for a quick getaway in the event that their synagogue buildings were attacked by flames. That scene was repeated at other institutions representing a variety of Jewish movements: Conservative Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal removed the sefer Torahs from Tifereth Israel Synagogue, Reconstructionist Cantor Leon Natker removed Torahs from Congregation Dor Hadash in Kearny Mesa, and Orthodox Rabbi Baruch Lederman protected the Torahs of Congregation Kehillas Torah in the Scripps Ranch area.

The offices of the United Jewish Federation, on Murphy Canyon Road near the Interstate 15, for a while appeared to be in the path of the fire, as were the offices of the Agency for Jewish Education on Mercury Street in Kearny Mesa. Both were not burned, but like other buildings and homes throughout San Diego County they were covered with soot and ash, and smelled of smoke.

At the UJF meeting, it was decided to promote two funds through the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego to help victims of the fire. One fund, to be called the Jewish Community Disaster Fund, will be administered directly by the Foundation. Additionally, the leadership urged contributions earmarked for "2003 Wildfires" be made to the American Red Cross, said
Stephen Abramson, UJF's executive vice president.

Dr. Steve Solomon, the UJF's campaign chairman and a psychologist, recommended setting up a committee of psychologists to help counsel victims of the fire. Similarly, attorney Jerry Goldberg, a past president of Congregation Beth Israel, urged a committee of attorneys and experts in
insurance law be formed to help victims to quickly settle their fire claims.

This task was assigned to UJF's Cardozo Society, under the leadership of attorneys Larry Kaplan and Barbara Spiegel. Information can be obtained at the Federation¹s office at (858) 571-3444.

Mitchell S. Golub, a partner in the law firm of Thorsnes, Bartolotta and McGuire, in quickly agreeing to work with the Cardozo Society, told Heritage that his and other law firms that specialize in construction litigation should try to enlist free services from architectural, structural and soils consultants familiar with the problems of rebuilding.

Meanwhile, Jewish Family Service was designated as the central agency to provide assistance to those affected by the fire, especially people whose houses were destroyed. Anyone requiring such assistance can telephone the JFS from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at (619) 291 0473.

There were stories of Jews coming to the aid of fire victims of all religions and ethnicities. Rabbi Rafael Goldstein, the community chaplain, spent many hours counseling people at Santana High School in Santee, one of the evacuation centers set up by the Red Cross in locations throughout the county.

Goldstein was moved by the plight of some of the county's poorer residents whom he found there. "People with resources don¹t go to shelters," he said. "I spoke with a father living in a trailer on his daughter's property, which was destroyed. What does he do now? The Red Cross will help him find temporary shelter, but he receives $700 a month in Social Security and his
medical bills are $800 a month."

Goldstein said while many people are focusing on the expensive homes lost in places like Poway and Scripps Ranch, they should not forget less affluent people who were left destitute.

"I spoke with lots of people living in trailers, families with little kids. The fathers are unemployed, the mothers are unemployed, and now that they've lost the trailer, what are they to do?"

Listening to their tales, Goldstein said he tried to "bring comfort, and maybe talk about some of the greater theological issues as they came up, such as 'Where is God?' and 'Why me?' I told them that God was with us, listening to them."

Many thousands of residents returned to their homes after fires were either turned back or passed them by. Some had stayed at shelters or with friends, while others milled around at Qualcomm Stadium.

This newspaper was affected by the fires because both my assistant editor Gail Umeham and I, along with our families, had to be evacuated on Sunday from our respective homes. We were permitted to return on Monday, but that caused a one-day production delay for the newspaper.

Rabbi Arthur Zuckerman of Congregation Beth Am and his wife Simi spent considerable time bringing food to emergency personnel on the fire lines.

Besides being the pulpit rabbi at his large Conservative congregation, Rabbi Zuckerman also serves as a chaplain for the county Sheriff's Department. His congregation's mitzvah committee, meanwhile, issued an appeal for items that can be donated to families in need. Suggested items included: "1) CDs of Jewish, classical or jazz music; 2) baby items (crib, clothes, etc.); 3)
Barbie dolls; 4) Thomas the Tank Engine or Brio train tracks & accessories; 5) Toy tools, toy gardening tools, etc.; 6) gift certificates to Target or Westfield Shopping Centers."

Ohr Shalom Synagogue at 3rd and Laurel Streets opened its doors to evacuees, Rabbi Scott Meltzer said.

The Lawrence Family JCC, which is next to the San Diego Police substation in eastern La Jolla, kept its gym and showers open for use by police and firemen during the fires.

Chabad at San Diego State University provided overnight shelter for approximately 25 families drawn from the San Carlos, Tierrasanta and San Carlos areas, said Rabbi Chalom Boudjnak.

Public officials who are Jewish played important roles in the fire and its aftermath. Sheriff Bill Kolender helped coordinate law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of the county, which, besides some of the communities already listed, include such fire-besieged areas as Descanso, Guatay, Julian, Otay Lakes, Palomar, Pine Valley and Valley Center. Lynn Schenk,
chief of staff for outgoing California Gov. Gray Davis, sought firefighting assistance from federal agencies and other states. U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) wrote to President George W. Bush asking prompt action to bring federal disaster aid to the county. County Assessor Greg Smith announced that downward tax adjustments would be made promptly on properties
with structures destroyed or damaged by fire.

Beginning with the outbreak of the fires on Sunday, a number of Jewish communal activities had to be cancelled, not only because of fear of fire, but also because of the intolerably polluted air hovering over San Diego as well as the inaccessibility of some freeways.

A rally in the Del Mar area that had been planned in support of Israel, featuring San Diego City Atty. Casey Gwinn, was one of the canceled events.

Another was an open house at the Agency for Jewish Education to introduce interfaith families to its Pathways to Judaism course.

Additionally, the Sunday night performance of Once Upon a Mattress by the J*Company was cancelled, with ticket-holders urged by managing director Patrick Stewart to try to reschedule for performances this weekend or to accept substitute ducats for Benjamin and Judah, a new production planned during the Chanukah season. People attending this weekend's performances
were urged to bring checks made out to the newly created Jewish Community Disaster Fund.

All five San Diego Jewish day schools cancelled their classes for the first several days of this week, while other institutions such as Congregation Adat Yeshurun set up ad hoc day care centers to assist working parents left without schools to take their children.

There was hope that this coming weekend would bring relief from the fires and from the polluted skies.

Chabad Hebrew Academy, the institution hardest hit, scheduled special Shabbat services on the Scripps Ranch campus for this Friday night and Saturday morning in gratitude for what Fradkin described as the "miracle" that saved the new building.

At Congregation Beth Israel, program director Bonnie Graff said an art show, "Voices and Visions," featuring works for sale by Israeli artists, which begins on Friday, may help lift spirits.

Other upcoming events expected to be both of community benefit and spirit-reviving include the 26th annual ball of the Women¹s Auxiliary of Seacrest Village at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina this Saturday evening, and a pre-Chanukah shopping fair planned by the Shalom Baby Project from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Lawrence Family JCC.