(Reprinted in part from Chabad.org)

Despite severe flooding in the synagogue of the Chabad on Campus center in Boulder, Colo. last weekend, Rabbi Yisroel Wilhem, co-director of Chabad of the University of Colorado, held Yom Kippur services upstairs in the lobby of the building, which is above the flood line. “We had about 300 people in attendance. Many people were not able to leave their homes because of the devastation, but many, many others came specifically because of what has been going on,” Wilhelm said on Sunday morning.

As soon as the holy day ended on Saturday evening, despite flooding in his own home, Wilhelm organized hundreds of volunteers – with the help of Facebook and a web page – to help locals who have been affected by the rains. He had 25 students volunteering on Friday and upwards of 50 students on hand on Sunday, helping people salvage their personal effects and valuables from their waterlogged homes.

“I have my new hero,” said Wilhelm. “A student who lives up the canyon was told by the police that he could not make his way down to services because of the flooding since the road was not there anymore. He just came down with his bike. He was wet and dirty to his waist because he had to cross two ‘rivers’ while holding his bike in the air. He stayed with us for Yom Kippur.”

The student, Jefferey Schnissel, is a chemistry major at the University of Colorado. He said the roads between his residence in Cold Creek Canyon and the Chabad center had been washed away, and the only way he was able to come was via a patchwork of bike trails and streets.

Rabbi Yaakov Borenstein, co-director of the Chabad Jewish Center in nearby Longmont, serves as a chaplain with the Longmont Police department. Borenstein received an urgent phone call on Thursday evening asking for volunteers to distribute blankets, cash cards and other necessities to people in need. With less than 24 hours before the start of Yom Kippur, he recruited 10 members of his community to get ready to work. They were there until 6 or 7 the next morning.

Meanwhile, the Borentsteins themselves were ordered to evacuate their home, which was subsequently damaged by the flooding.

“It was 3 a.m., and our electricity was out,” said Borenstein, “so there we were with flashlights fishing around for clothes for the kids, as well as everything we would need for our Yom Kippur services.” The Borensteins got the last room in the same hotel where they had previously booked the meeting room to host Yom Kippur services. “We also paid for rooms in a nearby hotel for a number of other families who had lost their homes.”