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The Scroll Hurricane Kit

Everything you need for Hurricane Sandy

by
Adam Chandler
October 29, 2012

Everyone who happens to live outside the path of Hurricane Sandy will have to forgive us East Coasters our typical myopia–we don’t mean to be so self-centered, we’re just not used having the end of the world as an existent possibility looming beyond our own tortured minds.

In addition to reminding everyone to be safe–please be safe–to help everyone prep for their own internal and external forces of nature, we’re giving you some last-minute impromptu supply suggestions.

• One of our intrepid editors saw that two different grocery stores had nearly sold out of yahrzeit candles to use as emergency lights. I don’t endorse this, but if you’re really in a pinch, I imagine you’ll be forgiven.

• Should you run out of toilet paper, may I recommend Flat, Hot, and Crowded.

• Dreidels are a nice Jewish way to pass the time and draw straws for menial tasks.

• Groggers for alerting others of your presence in the dark (or the presence of Hurricane Hamen).

• Both matzah and maror could conceivably double as spackle and will keep your digestive track moving slowly should your plumbing go.

The editors at Tablet have also assembled a nice list of content that we recommend you print out in case you end up in need of some reading material.

Arts and Culture:

A review of the poems of Frederick Seidel: Nice Weather

An excerpt by Rivka Galchen, author of a memoir about her meteorologist father.

Fallen behind on our Daf Yomi journey with Adam Kirsch? Catch up here.

Life and Religion: Things to do during the storm, even if the power goes out.

Have a glass of wine.

Eat all that ice cream before it melts.

Meditate (but not on your fire escape).

News and Politics:

The Real Housewives of Jersey may be battening down the hatches, but the real housewives of the Middle East are still shopping for Louboutins.

That couch you’re sitting on might have made by Jewish furniture mogul Mitchell Gold—who’s courting evangelical Christian support of gay marriage.

Has Obama bullied Israel? Reagan was accused of the same.

And again, please be safe!

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.