Elderly Houston rabbi rescued from floods
Two concerned neighbors paddle Joseph Radinsky to safety in a canoe
You may have heard the old joke about the pious man who climbs to his roof during a flood and passes up offers of rescue from the pilots of two boats and a helicopter, confident that God will save him.
Rabbi Joseph Radinsky, the elderly rabbi emeritus of Houston’s Orthodox Jewish community, took a much more down-to-earth approach when flooding hit Texas this week and two concerned neighbors, Morgan Davies and Donniel Ogorek, paddled a canoe to his flooded home: He got in.
Not only that: The rabbi, who is apparently known for his penchant for puns, kept up his sense of humor as Davies and Ogorek rowed him to safety. “I want to assure everyone that Rabbi Joseph Radinsky was in punny form even as he was being rescued,” another neighbor, Robert Levy, told the Only Simchas website.
A flash-flood warning remained in effect Wednesday in Houston, where at least five people are dead and two are missing in the severe flooding that resulted from the torrential rains that have been falling since the weekend.
Neighborhood heroes rescuing Rabbi Radinsky #houstonflood #HoustonFlood #houstonweather pic.twitter.com/hfCD72SxLg
— Robert Levy (@robertlevy) May 27, 2015
The Times of Israel Community.