What I learned about American Jews while collecting Judaica for LA fire victims

LOS ANGELES — While the L.A. wildfires were still smoldering in January, I sat down to write a personal reflection on what Judaica means to the heart of Jewish homes like the ones that had been consumed in the inferno. Before I had written the last sentence, I knew I wanted to try to help those families replace what they had lost.

Little did I know that I was about to embark on a journey that would put my life on hold and turn my home into a makeshift distribution center, filled to the brim with boxes upon boxes of bubble-wrapped menorahs and seder plates sent from all over. I had managed to help start a Judaica collection and distribution team with some like-minded partners. A mere two months later, despite knowing next to nothing about organizing donation drives and mass volunteer efforts, our upstart team of volunteers succeeded in our mission: last month we distributed over 5,000 used and new Judaica items to more than 400 Jews impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires. And we’re not quite finished yet.