Scorched earth and questions as Carlebach moshav, Mevo Modiim, burns

R

abbi Shmuel Taizi can’t quite find the words to describe what he felt when he first entered the village of Mevo Modiim, days after a devastating fire destroyed 40 of its 50 homes and much of its property.

“It was a difficult sight. Scorched houses, burned-out cars, and streets decked in soot. A whole village was just burned to the ground. Whole lives just went and disappeared.”

Rabbi Taizi, 64, a former educator in the Chabad chassidus, said nearly everything was destroyed in the village he has called home for the last 30 years: The shul, the event hall, the playground — all vanished in a cloud of soot and smoke.

The fire in Mevo Modiim, founded in 1974 by followers of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z”l and the site of a popular annual music festival, was only one of several across Israel last week. Extremely high temperatures sparked some of the blazes, but Israeli investigators are also looking into the possibility of arson. “The fire Thursday came suddenly and with force,” Rabbi Taizi said.

“My own house, in a way that none of the professionals can understand, was left almost totally unharmed, as if the fire skipped over it. The windows burst, and one of the doors melted from the heat, but the rest remained exactly as it had been when we fled the village. A photograph of my father ztz”l that hung in the living room was slightly singed, but nothing more.”

Rabbi Taizi, who now lives on a pension, said his sons were not as fortunate. “The homes of two of my sons, which were adjacent to mine, were completely burned. The libraries with the books, the children’s knapsacks — the entire contents of the house were totally incinerated. The mezuzahs on the doors, which are encased in wood, remained totally undamaged. My kids were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.”

When police and fire fighters asked the Mevo Modiim residents to evacuate, most thought they would be returning shortly.

“No one thought there was real danger,” said Rabbi Taizi. “Less than a minute after everyone was evacuated, we saw an enormous tongue of flame that engulfed whole rows of houses at a tremendous height. Those who didn’t want to leave, the fire forced them to, and everyone ran.”

Residents we spoke to said it was a miracle that Yisroel (Sruli) Solomon, a resident, was able to rescue the three sifrei Torah of the moshav.

Many of the village’s residents were elderly, and a good number worked in the arts. Yarden Levi, another resident, said many of his neighbors now have nothing. “Their entire livelihood was based in the village,” he said. “It was all caravans and wooden houses. Whole families don’t know what to do. Nothing is left.”

Solomon, who is part of the volunteer police force in the village, starting evacuating residents when he sensed the fire was developing. A father of five and a musician, he says the only consolation of the tragedy is that no one was hurt. “The truth is that we’re used to evacuations. We live in the middle of the forest, so every summer we train for evacuations in case of a fire.” Only a month and a half ago, residents practiced an evacuation with police and firefighters, he noted. But the fire that destroyed Mevo Modiim last week was worse than what they had drilled for.

“We expected to be evacuated for several minutes or several hours and then return,” Solomon said, “so nobody took their valuables or picture albums with them. We came out with the clothes we wore and nothing else.”

Three generations of Solomons lived in Mevo Modiim: the founding generation, now in their seventies, then Yisroel’s generation, who grew up there and stayed, and that generation’s children.

“And everything burned,” Solomon said. “On Friday, I was booked to play at a wedding. But I couldn’t go because all my instruments were burned to cinders. All my father’s instruments were burned. My brothers went to bring simchah at the wedding while I stayed here to help the people of the community.”

Nearby stands a family that looks particularly distraught. Someone tells us their daughter was meant to get married this week. The entire dowry, including the wedding dress, is gone. So are the new clothes for the wedding. Even their glasses and contact lenses were destroyed.

On Erev Shabbos, once news of the calamity spread, residents of neighboring communities opened their hearts to Mevo Modiim. The Ben Shemen youth village arranged meals and sleeping arrangements for many. Rabbi Taizi said a former neighbor from Lod came with clothes for his children and grandchildren. “Another person told me he has a small apartment in Moshav Zitan, and all I have to do is come and stay there for as long as necessary. It was very moving.”

A commercial knapsack company brought in fresh knapsacks for the kids. Shoe and clothes companies gave out merchandise to whomever needed. The residents of nearby Yad Binyamin opened their doors to anyone who didn’t have a home.

Mrs. Zelda Brecki (see sidebar), who works at a yeshivah in nearby Chashmonaim, was hosted by colleagues last Shabbos. “They showed me a lot of warmth. I stayed for Shabbos with them even though I could have gone to my sons.”

Where Are the Planes?

As soon as the fires were extinguished, the media erupted with claims that the government was ill-prepared, yet again, for fire season. In 2010, the Carmel fires devastated Israel’s north. In 2016, firefighters battled thousands of fires in Israel’s south. Yet Israel once again had to appeal to Greece, Croatia, and Cyprus for help battling its blazes. Moreover, some noted that Israel’s air force was strangely absent from the effort. “People were asking where are the fire jets, and no one got an answer,” recounts resident Yarden Levi. “Only an hour and a half [after the fire started] did the fire jets show up, and by then it was too late.”

The real test for the various authorities starts this week, when they will have to find solutions for families who are now totally impoverished. In previous fires, we learned that the suffering of families does not stop with the loss of their home and property. Dealing with the authorities can be a long and tortuous process. The coming days will reveal if anything has changed.

Despite the tragedy, Mrs. Brecki has full confidence that the residents of the moshav, founded by idealists 46 years ago, will persevere. “Am Yisrael has always gotten over its tragedies, raised it head, and pushed on,” she said. “My house is gone, but I’m sure Hashem will continue taking care of me, and everything will work out.”

 (Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 762)