Hard-hitting Hurricane Helene’s Hanukkah happiness help

Deb Taylor next to her menorahs before mailing them to flood-ravaged North Carolina. Photo: Ed Taylor

PARK CITY, Utah — Deb Taylor has lived in Park City for 11 years after following her son to town. She’s been a Religious School teacher at Temple Har Shalom for seven of those and spent the rest of her 79 years in New Hampshire, New York, and Massachusetts. So, when she sent menorahs to Jewish families in North Carolina, where there was no personal connection whatsoever, and she sought zero recognition for the selfless act to make the world a better place, it was the very definition of a mitzvah. 

Huricane Helene hit in September but families are still cleaning up from it as Hanukkah approaches on Dec 25.

These aren’t necessarily facts that 2 and 3-year olds, especially in Park City, Utah have a firm grasp on, nor should they, however the concept of making the world a better place is certainly a concept that parents put kiddos in religious schools to learn. That’s why all the parents in “Ms. Deb” as her students call her, were on board when she came up with an idea a couple weeks ago. 

“They’re little,” Ms. Deb told TownLift, “But they’re not too little to know that there are people who need help.”

Ms. Deb happened to have some extra menorahs and was wondering what she could do with them. She was aware of the water and wind damage caused by the North Carolina hurricane. She asked the Rabbi if he would research then reach out to his regional counterpart to inquire if there were congregants whose homes and belongings were unrecoverable, including menorahs.

“I simply explained to my young students,” she said, “That there was a place in our country that had a big storm, and some people lost their homes, and some families don’t have, and they could see all the menorahs I’d always had displayed on a shelf in our classroom, some children don’t have menorahs for the holiday, so we are sending down four menorahs that they can use.”

The Park City Rabbi, recognized that this idea indeed personifies the life lessons he hopes his teachers demonstrate to their students. He found the Temple in the effected location, and made contact with the Rabbi there. That North Carolina Rabbi was touched to receive the call responding in the affirmative that yes, four specific families were certainly in need of a replacement menorah and that he and they would be very appreciative of the gesture of Judaism.

The Rabbi’s wife joined in on the moving movement writing a Happy Hanukkah card to the North Carolinians and leaving room on the paper for the parents of the “Shabbat Tots” class to trace the hands of their children as their adorably age-appropriate signatures.

Even Ms. Deb’s husband Ed got involved in this feel-good moment finding just the right size box to fit it all and the additional candles. He was happy to help since one of the menorahs was from their parents, another from their great aunt and another which had been in the houses he and his wife of 53 years today, since they’d began their lives together.

That’s right, today is Deb and Ed’s 53rd wedding anniversary.

Ms. Deb is a retired speech and language pathologist and has been in education and teaching roles her whole career. She helped start Head-Start, the national program, in inner city New York to Harvard University working with parents and children as one unit. As well, she’s worked with another national program of Early Intervention in a Public School System for a decade when not in the physical rehabilitation service industry. 

Only having three menorahs to send didn’t stop her from fulfilling the receiving Rabbi’s wishes as she didn’t think twice about buying the fourth one.

The parents of these Park City students are all wonderful people and when I explained that we could mail menorahs as a class they were very positive, totally helpful, and super-duper excited.” Miss Deb said.

Throughout all of her 45 years, in-total, of working in different Religious Schools, she said this is one of the most special experiences, being able help others, in this teaching, in this time, in this town, in this Temple.