In the shadow of the big story of the Temple Beth-El fire, there are many small, intimate stories. There are acts, some heroic in scope requiring bravery and sacrifice, and others that are acts of thoughtfulness when empathy translates into action. All of these acts, large and small, have comforted the members and leaders of the temple as they sort through the disorientation and sorrow that a fire leaves behind.

Rabbi Jerome Davidson described the outpouring of assistance and support from the community that kept the phones ringing. "We don't feel so alone in our sorrow over the loss. It has been inspiring to feel how much people care," he said.

Although the religious school has been canceled for the rest of the school year, the nursery school students have been welcomed at Temple Israel, All Saints Church and CLASP. Many other temples and churches offered the use of their facilities for the children's programs.

Offers of support came from the county executive's office as well as Governor Pataki's office and Rabbi Davidson noted that the Village of Great Neck has been extremely helpful in assisting the temple with many practical logistics.

The lay leadership and congregants of the temple have taken on a multitude of tasks from assessing the damage to offering their homes for meetings to arriving on the day of the fire to offer homes to the small critters, rabbits and hamsters, mascots of the nursery school.

According to the rabbi, the staff has been working practically around the clock. "Our temple executive director, Leon Silverberg, all of the secretaries, the maintenance workers and the building operations people have been coping with an overwhelming number of tasks," said Rabbi Davidson. "I am just amazed that everyone is keeping the programs going in spite of how disorienting this is. I have a feeling that somehow, we will find the path through the wilderness."

Rabbi Davidson again spoke highly of all the fire departments that assisted the Alert Fire Department who bravely led the fight against an extremely hot and fast fire.

Services were held in the Beth El sanctuary on Friday night with a large number of people, both members and visitors, coming together to mourn the loss and to celebrate that no lives had been lost in the fire.

Meanwhile, chief investigator from the Nassau County Fire Marshal's office, Steven Wenk, told the Record that all evidence points toward arson and that an intensive investigation continues. The fire marshal's office has, however, ruled out a bias crime.