Beyond the Decades: Hatzolah Museum Makes Debut at Brooklyn Expo

Recently, hundreds of Hatzolah members from branches throughout the East Coast at a massive expo at the Brooklyn Expo Center.

 In attendance were vendors selling every type of equipment that these members use in their everyday heroic work, and senior members of Hatzolah who have been with the organization since the beginning, including its legendary founder, Reb Hershel Weber.

 But one exhibit stood out—drawing the attention of all the participants, putting a look of nostalgia on their faces. While it did feature communications, transportation, and medical equipment...they were not operational, and were quite old. These vintage artifacts are part of the history of Hatzolah, the legendary organization which remains prime model for activism and chessed of the Orthodox Jewish Community. They are now the possession of the Museum of Hatzolah, dedicated to commemorating the heroism and courage of those early members—who jumped into this holy work before it was fashionable—through these now-antiquated vehicles and pieces of equipment that were part of their avodas hakodesh in those early days. 

 The passion behind the project is Nussi Josephy—also known as B64, his unit number in Boro Park Hatzolah—who is approaching his third decade in the organization. He is the son of Rabbi Nachum Tzvi Josephy, z”l, the rov of Beis Hamedrash Hagodol of Boro Park (located on 56th Street, off New Utrecht Avenue), and has been a close confidante to the Munkatcher Rebbe.

 He has painstakingly collected and archived every artifact related to Hatzolah that he could get his hands on... including images, radio and telecommunications equipment... and even vintage Hatzolah vehicles. The owner of a collision shop, Nussi proudly relates about his latest acquisition; the East Side Ambulance—ES-1— that bears the distinction of having transported the holy aron of Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, through the massive levaya on the Lower East Side, on to the airport for its journey to Eretz Yisroel.

 “After years of sitting in a lot on the East Side, we had it towed to my shop in Brooklyn, where we cleaned it up and got it working. It was parked outside the Expo Center, and will be part of future exhibitions,” Nussi says.

 Many of these items were on display at the Hatzolah fair, some of which the older ones among us may recognize... like the cherry light, in green and red that members would throw on top of their cars as they were racing to calls, numerous vintage Hatzolah badges and jackets, large, bulky radios, and many others.

When opened—a milestone that is dependent largely on funding—the Hatzolah museum will be under the auspices of Central Hatzolah, which is headquartered in Boro Park, and led by its CEO rabbi Yehiel Kalish.

 Mr. Josephy explains his passion for creating the museum: “I felt it was important to remember... to commemorate the sacrifices and the dedication of the members from these many decades since the founding of Hatzolah, and through these artifacts, their stories will live on.