New Zealand’s largest Hebrew library emerged from the rubble of its second most-populous city in the hands of two Auckland engineers and two members of Wellington’s fire fighting brigade, who risked their lives to recover the holy books from the destroyed downtown Christchurch Chabad House.
The pre-Passover effort Monday came a little more than a month after police officer Det. Chris Bell rescued two Torah scrolls from the stricken synagogue, which was left inhabitable by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake on Feb. 24. Authorities counted 172 casualties, including three visiting Israelis, in the temblor, and much of Christchurch’s historic city center was reduced to rubble.
Rabbi Mendel Goldstein, who directs Chabad-Lubavitch of New Zealand, said that 18 rabbinical students from New York, New Jersey, Montreal, London, Buenos Aires, Paris, Melbourne and Sydney – in the country to conduct Passover Seders next week – received special permission to reenter the “red zone” surrounding the city center district for the purposes of evacuating the Judaica. But when civil workers entered the Chabad House, they decided it wasn’t safe for the students to proceed.
“After assessing the building, engineers said that while it will most certainly need be demolished, they will try going in for a brief moment and do the best they can at recovery,” said Goldstein. “The engineers and rescue workers wasted no time and very hastily began removing the holy books and other essentials from the main hall.
“In a very short time, they managed to recover nearly all the sacred books and other essentials, including a pair of Jewish prayer boxes known as tefillin,” added the rabbi.
About 1,000 volumes were recovered.
Later that day, Israeli Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and Israeli Ambassador Shemi Tzur toured the destruction with Mayor Bob Parker before attending a memorial event for the three lost Israelis. At the ceremony, Rivlin presented Jewish community acting president Bettina Wallace, Goldstein and Chabad of Canterbury director Rabbi Shmuel Friedman with gifts in recognition of their dedication to Jewish residents and the upwards of 20,000 Jewish backpackers who travel to the country each year.
After the ceremony, Goldstein and Friedman and 11 rabbinical students honored the rescue workers with a special Chasidic gathering.
Goldstein said that locals were already talking about recovery.
“Plans are underway,” he said, “for the reestablishment of the Chabad House.”
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