At Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center collapse,
the search for bodies continues. R' Avrohom Nesanel Illovitz
z'l was found under the rubble of the World Trade
Center and buried last week in the chareidi cemetery in
Queens following a large funeral procession.
R' Illovitz worked as an insurance agent in the World Trade
Center buildings. Apparently he tried to flee before the
towers collapsed and was caught on one of the lower floors of
the building when it came crashing down.
Last Wednesday search teams working at the site reached the
layer where many of the victims of the attack lie buried,
including Mr. Illovitz, who was a regular mispalel at
the Sephardic Shul in Boro Park.
Many Boro Park residents were present at the levaya on
Thursday, during which they recalled his activities in
support of the organization that sponsors shiurei
Torah at the Sephardic Shul, working to increase the
number of participants in the shiurim.
Public officials say that as search teams reach the lower
levels of the buildings, they are expecting to find the
bodies of many people still reported missing who were trapped
on the bottom and basement floors when the immense structures
collapsed.
The problem of agunos following the tragedy has yet to
be fully resolved. The complex set of circumstances at the
site of the tragedy, which require formidable efforts in
gathering and organizing data on those missing, presents
considerable difficulties for leading poskim who are
seeking ways to apply the complex halochos regarding
agunos.
HaRav Dovid Morgenstern was summoned to help deal with the
problem in the aftermath of the attack, but he is no longer
involved in the issue. He says circumstances are still
subject to change since search teams continue to find bodies
at the site. He also notes how difficult it has been to draw
conclusions: Based on DNA testing, technicians identified the
remains of one victim and notified his family. A month later
the remains of another victim were found with apparently the
same DNA. This is of course impossible and in all likelihood
the bodies of the two victims were confused since both of
them suffered from a similar medical problem.
HaRav Morgenstern explains that a comprehensive approach must
be adopted to deal with the issue and a wide variety of
factors must be taken into account: How were the buildings
constructed and exactly what damage did they suffer? How
should investigations be conducted, and when can a non-Jewish
witness be considered meisi'ach lefi tumo?
"Cases were reported of people who were not killed," says
HaRav Morgenstern, "but they were reported missing by family
members for the sake of insurance claims."
The search for the records of the magnetic card readers at
the entrances to the two buildings proved fruitless.
Everything had been crushed to powder and burned. Records of
outgoing phone calls, credit card transactions and vehicle
movements on the morning of the attack are being examined. In
the case of one man reported missing, he reportedly called
his wife after the attack and related what a perilous
situation he was facing.
Reform rabbis solved the problem with a sweeping declaration
typical of their approach: "Death certificates issued by the
City of New York will be considered sufficient proof." How
does the City of New York issue death certificates? Up until
several weeks ago the municipality had issued over 500 death
certificates for victims whose bodies had been identified.
But since no trace remains of many of those who perished, the
City of New York decided to issue a death certificate for
anyone whose family declares him missing and presents proof
that he worked in the World Trade Center.
The municipality has already issued some 2,000 death
certificates based on such declarations. City officials do
not require the families to demonstrate that their loved ones
were killed in the attack, but merely that they worked in one
of the two buildings. Such certificates, of course, are
worthless according to halocho.
