23 Elul - Anniversary of 9/11

This Thursday, 23 Elul,  will be the 6^th anniversary of 9/11, on the Jewish calendar. That is the day when so many innocent man and women were murdered in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Among those killed were many Yidden from our neighborhoods.  

Hashem Yinkom Domom

 

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Saved by Shnaim Mikra

 

The following story I heard from a Rov, who knows the family, and spoke to the man involved to verify its authenticity:

                                                 

This man was the type that we would call a "Yeke". (A German Jew, they are known to always be very punctual ) He had the same procedure everyday; he would be in his office, on one of the high floors of the World Trade Center, everyday by 8:30 AM. (I don't remember the exact time, but he was always in his office on time.) He was one that was always careful to be read the parsha of the week Shnaim Mikra V'Echod Targum, and to finish by Shabbos. For some reason that week he did not finish the parsha on time.

 

As he stepped off the train on the morning of September 11, 2001, he remembered that he didn't read the parsha. It was a Tuesday morning, which halacha says is the next best time to finish the parsha. So, he sat down in the subway station and read the parsha Shnaim Mikra V'Echod Targum. Partway through, he heard a huge explosion, and the rest is history.

 

Chazal say that one who is carefull to read the parsha Shnaim Mikra V'Echon Targum will have his days and years lengthened. This man actually saw this in action.

 

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Rav Mattisyahu Salomon's Shmooze on the Eve of 9/11

 

Right after the attacks of 9/11, everyone was talking about the speech that Rav Mattisyahu Salomon, the Mashgiach of Lakewood Yeshiva, had given Monday night, the night before 9/11. The speech is included in his book With Hearts Full of Faith. Here is a small part of what he said:

 

We all think, coming into Rosh hashona, that we are going to live and just need to negotiate the terms; how much money, health, etc. We need to beg Hashem for our very lives; that we should live out the year.

 

There are so many Yishmaelim in Brooklyn. What would happen if chas v'Sholom they decide to make a jihad against the Yidden. There are cities in Europe where so many great Jews and Rabbis lived, and now there is no trace of them. Someone once said, "imagine if one day they bring Jews to Boro Park and say that Jews once lived here".

 

After the attacks, people realized that this musar schmooze, given a week before Rosh Hashona, was definitely inspired with Siyata DiShmaya.

 

May we see the Geula Shleima speedily in our days.