Victims, Survivors and Heroes of the Surfside Disaster Unite

At 1:00 AM on June 24, 2021, Kevin Speigal was on a business trip to California and couldn’t sleep. He checked his phone and saw news of a collapse in Surfside; it was his home. His wife of over forty years, Judy Speigal, was inside. Kevin caught the first flight to Miami. “It was horrific,” he said, “It was like a bomb exploded; there was more rubble than building.” When IDF Col. Golan Vach heard the news, he also caught the first flight to Miami together with the Search and Rescue team he heads. “It was among the most difficult and complicated situations I’ve ever seen,” Col. Vach said. His team worked day and night for weeks, hoping to rescue dozens of missing people trapped in the mangled concrete and metal. While they waited anxiously for any news of their missing loved ones, families sought shelter and kosher food just up Collins Ave at The Shul of Bal Harbour. Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipsker led the effort to turn the Shul’s unfinished social hall into a distribution center for the people who lost their homes. “We made a conscious decision,” Rabbi Lipskar said, “that we’re not just going to get pizza and hot dogs. We were getting fish, steak, and chicken, whatever they needed. Together, he, Rabbi Zalman Lipskar, and dozens of other South Florida Shluchim worked to feed, house, and provide for the community's needs. Finally, on July 9th, the Speigel family learned that Judy had been found. “It was one of the hardest days of our lives,” Judy and Kevin’s daughter Rachel wrote. The family thanked the first responders, including Col. Vach’s IDF team. Now, just over a year later, Kevin Speigal rejoined Col. Vach and Rabbi Zalman Lipskar at the National Jewish Retreat in Miami. A touching video recounted their stories, and The Holocaust Survivor’s Band and Cantor Aryeh Hurwitz joined them as they sang “Acheinu Kol Beis Yisroel.” Poet Tanya Chazanow then honored the victims and heroes with a spoken word poem. In his remarks, Col Vach spoke movingly of how the tragedy brought him to realize that the entire Jewish people are truly one family. Mr. Speigal spoke of his wife and thanked all those who mobilized in the wake of the tragedy. Following this, the retreat heard a tribute to the victims, survivors, and heroes of the disaster from Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet and Miami Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Referring to the video they had all just seen, Mayor Cava said, “that has to be the best video I have seen about the Surfside tragedy.” --- Subscribe to our channel for more of the best Jewish video content on YouTube. The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) has the largest collection of Jewish media content. Our exclusive videos range from Torah insights to the most hotly debated contemporary topics. Follow us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myJLI Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myjli/ See our full video library here: https://www.torahcafe.com/ Visit our website here: https://www.myjli.com/ ABOUT JLI Serving learning centers in over 1,800 communities and on the internet, the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) is the world's preeminent provider of Jewish learning. The mission of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute is to inspire Jewish learning worldwide and to transform Jewish life and the greater community through Torah study. To make Jewish learning accessible and personally meaningful to every Jew, regardless of background or affiliation. JLI's insightful curriculum utilizes cutting-edge pedagogical techniques, embracing the multiple intelligence model and utilizing multimedia and an array of approaches to engage, educate, and inspire all kinds of minds in a dynamic Jewish learning experience.