Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth, has affixed a mezuzah onto the new Hatzola HBS cabin at a moving ceremony.
Hatzola HBS provides professional pre-hospital care to communities in Barnet, Cockfosters, Hadley Wood, Southgate and Totteridge.
The cabin, which was donated by Lucy and David Wernick, stores medical equipment for use by the organisation’s volunteers.
Since July, when it received approval from the Care Quality Commission, the Hatzola branch has already managed to recruit 65 volunteers, who respond to calls between 7am and 11pm, seven days a week.
The volunteers operate within a halachic framework, which is advised by Rabbi Akiva Rosenblatt of Hampstead Synagogue, and Rabbi Tony Weiniger of Hadley Wood United Synagogue. They are guided by several other local rabbis and the London Beth Din, including Dayan Eliezer Zobin.
Hatzola HBS currently owns two ambulances, and their responders are equipped with defibrillators (AEDs), oxygen, ECG machines, trauma dressings, and other specialist medical equipment.
Many emergency kit bags, which cost £1,500 apiece, have been donated in memory of members of the local community.
Mirvis, who is a patron of Hatzola HBS, attended the Sunday morning minyan at Barnet United Synagogue on the morning of the ceremony.
He said: “It is a very moving experience and incredibly inspiring for me to be with the Hatzola HBS volunteers today. They are so motivated and have such a passion for helping other people, and it’s not just a small amount of help – it’s genuinely saving lives.”
He added: “When we bench, we say the words ‘hatzala’ and ‘hatzlacha’ together – hatzala is saving and hatzlacha is success, and the two go hand in hand. By establishing Hatzola HBS, you’ve reached hatzlacha with a first-rate group of volunteers who are ready to save lives and assist those who need a refuah shalemah, [so] you are achieving that aspiration.”
Hatzola HBS was founded by Jacky Epstein, who tragically lost two friends around four years ago when an ambulance was unable to reach them in time.
At the ceremony, she said: “We are delighted to have Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis with us as our patron, and we are honoured that he has come to affix the mezuzah for us. We are also so grateful to all of the rabbonim who have helped us to develop our halachic guidelines, and we owe huge thanks to the generosity of Lucy and David Wernick for donating the Hatzola HBS cabin to store our vital life-saving supplies.”
The impact of Hatzola was made apparent by members of their team. Adam Greenblatt demonstrated how the kit bags and defibrillators were used, and Lucy Lermer gave a first-hand account of a day in the life of an emergency first responder.
A community member whose mother has already been supported by Hatzola HBS said: “I can’t thank the team at Hatzola HBS enough. They were so professional, kind and caring to my mother and knew exactly what to do when we needed help. It is incredibly reassuring and comforting to know that our community is served by an organisation who can provide a rapid emergency response service.”
Hatzola operates in five continents around the world. While it tends to operate in areas with large Jewish communities, it responds to calls indiscriminately and treats people from all walks of life.
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