Bringing Shalom to Joplin: Chesterfield Synagogue Donated to Sister Congregation

They brought clothes. They brought food. They brought other household items, including mattresses and box springs. And they brought supplies for Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath which begins at sundown on Friday night: bread, wine, juice and candles.

Members of United Hebrew Congregation just outside of Chesterfield sprung to action after the tornado struck Joplin, MO May 22. The tornado hit a wide section of Joplin that included many homes and a bustling commercial district. It's been rated an EF5 on the Fujita Scale—the highest rating a tornado can receive, with estimated winds at 200 mph. About 30 percent of Joplin was leveled, and the death toll climbed to 155 this week.

When they heard a United Hebrew Congregation in Joplin survived and was planning on holding services in the week following the tornado, members of the synagogue began gathering donations for the congregation and tornado victims. On the Thursday after the tornado, they drove a pickup, a moving van and a cargo van full of supplies down to Joplin.

Chesterfield resident Larry Amitin was one of the drivers. "Judaism emphasizes doing. We're a people of action; when we see a need, we fill that need. We wanted to help put people back the way they were as much as possible," Amitin said.

First, they met the rabbi at the Joplin synagogue and began unloading supplies. The synagogue was to be used as a distribution center in the next few days, Amitin said, so they organized the supplies, laying out soaps, cleaning items and other household goods as if the synagogue were a store.

There were quite a lot of donations, Amitin said. It was clear members of the Chesterfield synagogue were eager to help.

He met a few families that are members of Joplin's United Hebrew Congregation. They were some of the lucky ones--the tornado hadn't damaged their home. Amitin said he was struck by their sense of hope in the face of destruction.

"No matter what happened, their faith was strong," he said. "They wanted to move on and help their brothers and sisters." 

That need to help is something Amitin said he saw again and again in Joplin. When the volunteers lost their way and couldn't find the temple, several strangers offered directions. They met a man in Springfield, where they stayed in a hotel for the night, who offered to pay for their hotel room to express his gratitude for their service. 

Throughout it all, Amitin said he felt a strong sense of community—there was a lot of hugging and love, he said. When they arrived at the Joplin United Hebrew, they were greeted with smiles. They entered the synagogue through an archway that said "Shalom," the Hebrew word for peace. That word was particularly significant for Amitin.

"We were trying to bring shalom to the community," he said.