So many of us have been glued to the news of the multiple Los Angeles Fires: the Palisades Fire, the Eaton fire, other nearby fires, devouring thousands of acres, destroying whole communities. Wildfires aren’t new to California, but they’re usually rural, somewhat contained to unpopulated or less populated areas. This level of staggering devastation in populated areas recalls something akin to Chicago’s Great Fire of 1871, unthinkable in 2025!
It’s too soon, and we’re too far removed, to moralize, explain and point fingers and all that, and not to sermonize on someone’s misfortune or be callous to the hardships – but as the Baal Shem Tov teaches us to seek lessons from all we see and hear, the following are some personal thoughts and metaphors that have been ruminating in my mind these few days, posted them in here (in no particular order) in case one or two of them may resonate with someone:
THE WIND FACTOR
It seems that stormy high powered winds were a key factor in the super fast spread of the fires – and also in hampering aircraft and other firefighting ability to put them out. The wind jumped out at me, as we, too, over on the east coast are experiencing blustery wind that exacerbates the frigid temperatures here and makes the cold air cut to the bone. Bitter cold, yes, but at the end of the day, no harm done. Whereas in California, they had much stronger winds, almost hurricane strength, that were whipping up the fires into a powerful frenzy, with devastating results.
Wind in Hebrew is “Ruach” which also means spirit, and is also an expression used for our temperament and emotions. Why wind for emotions? Emotions can be fickle like wind, going first in one direction then another, and emotions are carriers just as wind carries clouds and precipitation, seeds and now fire, emotions also carry and propel and spread us further, in ways both good and bad. And just as wind (cold fronts and warm fronts, high pressure and low pressure..) is a key determiner of weather, so too, emotions play a huge role in creating atmosphere and our environment. And like the wind, emotions are pressurized and passionate, filled with energy, gusto and thrust.
It’s important to consider the wind-factor! Getting angry can whip a regular controllable emotion into a wild frenzy that’s hard to stop. And in good ways: passion, love and joyous enthusiasm can cause us to reach further and wider, and do so faster, with less inhibition and with more alacrity….
TOO DRY!
The winds were a big factor, but a long period of no rain was another key factor. Even we in the northeast had some form of a slight drought, but it is much more pronounced and for longer periods of time in the West and Southwest. It’s been months without rain around many of those parts and that makes brush and vegetation extremely vulnerable and susceptible to fire. A good soaking and deep moisture is a barrier against fire’s destruction, and there was precious little of it anywhere.
The Talmud based on verses compares Torah to water! Water is refreshing, rejuvenating, sustainer of life. The prophet Isaiah enjoins us: “All (spiritually) thirsty: Go to the water!” Rabbi Akiva took a personal lesson from the flow and erosion of water to his personal life opening his mind to the possibility of study. Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak, the Friediker (Previous) Rebbe, speaks of “Lachluchis” a Chassidic “moisture” that comes from Chassidic stories and songs, an invigorating sap, an inner wellspring of warmth, a soft mortar of stick-with-it connectiveness. A Talmudic expression has this definition of “moist enough to moisten something else” which Chassidic teaching seeds as an expression of being involved and immersed to the extent that one can whet/inspire another person. Being moist means one has within the waters of life. And if too dry? Not enough refreshing Torah? Too little of the “Lachluchis” moisture? Then one is more susceptible to destructive fire.
And not to have enough water in the hydrants! See the Fire-Horses parable below. Those hydrants ought to be bursting at the valves in fire-prone areas, ready to gush forth! This recalls the Talmudic interpretation of the unusual word for study & teaching in the Shema “V’shinantam” that we ought to always have words of Torah on our lips, at the tip of our tongues, eager to express and ready to share if anyone asks, whenever needed.
FIRE DOESN’T DISCRIMINATE
There’s been a lot of attention to famous Hollywood celebrities who have lost their mansions, and uber-wealthy socialites who lost super-expensive beachfront properties. But plenty of the folks who lost their homes aren’t famous or super-rich, many of them have lived in these homes for decades, some are retirees or without work or just getting by. Fire doesn’t stop at the doorsteps of the wealthy nor does it look away from the homes of the poor. Fire is blind to economic or social status, it doesn’t ask for credentials or knowledge or career, fire doesn’t care about race or ethnicity. Fire doesn’t discriminate!
Obviously, there are areas and aspects of life (and Jewish life) where there’s reason to distinguish and differentiate, but this broad-reaching destructive fire is a reminder of the positive values in our shared humanity, of our basic commonality, of everyone being created in the image of G-d.
IN ALL THE RUBBLE, WHAT’S LEFT
It’s cliche to say, but this a heart-wrenching illustration of what we can or can’t take with us. A home filled with one’s accumulated possessions, well-chosen furnishings, beloved personal spaces, garages filled with expensive cars, is all burned to the ground, and what is such a person left with? The physical may not have the staying power but the spiritual, the soulful, that lives on forever. The kindness we’ve given, the love we shared, ideas that we’ve learned, memories we treasure, these are things fire doesn’t burn down. This reminds us (easier said than done) to invest more and focus more in the eternal, on what lasts and endures, not the flighty passing.
THE PARABLE OF THE FIRE-HORSES
We all know many who become armchair experts in whatever’s in current events and they’re wise Monday morning quarterbacks. I am certainly no maven on firefighting techniques in the west, nor am I one to speak when it comes to proper preparedness. But I a reminded of this Chassidic fire-horses parable that my father-in-law Rabbi Shlomo Galperin would share of a Chassidic retelling regarding the Russian Fire-Horses. Compared to most other horses they sat around and did almost nothing all day. But they were well-fed, well-groomed, looked after with much care. An onlooker would say: These horses do nothing! Look at the other horses in the village who struggle all day long under heavy burdens – and they are not nearly as well fed or cared for… But the goal was, when the bell would sound, when it was an emergency, these horses would be prepared and ready, strong enough and fast enough. May we all be better prepared for whatever we face in life. But preparedness costs! It takes time and effort, focus, energy and resources. And as prepared as we are, we also have to be prepared to act when unprepared!
ON WOOD AND STONE
There’s an expression in the Midrash regarding the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, grateful that the wrath was on the wood and stones but not on the people. There’s a lot to ask about and understand in that piece – and not to diminish or dismiss the huge loss of so much property and possessions (the sheer amount is mind-boggling!), but one can’t help but notice and be grateful for the relatively minimal loss of life (to the best of our knowledge now) in such a huge fast-spreading conflagration. This could have been so much worse in cost to human life. This is itself a tremendous blessing and testament that so few lives were lost in such a tremendous fire. Even in devastation we must also find ways to be grateful.
LOOK FOR THE HELPERS
A lot of people are hurting. Even millionaires. If you lost your home and most everything you own, you are hurting. Obviously the poor have it much harder. Those with no insurance have it harder. But everyone affected is hurting and struggling. In a way, this allows people to be helpful to those who’d never depend on them in ordinary regular times. Mister Fred Rogers famously would say: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. There are always people who are helping.'” And that’s true in these LA fires and communities as well. You can see these many inspiring examples of wonderful glimpses of humanity, of kindness, generosity and compassion, even in all this destruction. If you’re looking for it.
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These are some of the ideas, ruminations that we’ve been pondering as we watch for further news from LA. May there be much improvement and betterment for all affected.
May we hear and share good news!