NEWS
Hashem's Hand at the World Trade Center
by Moshe Rockove

Tuesday, September 11, 2001, started out like any other nice, late summer day in New York: a clear blue sky, nice warm temperatures, and a gentle breeze; surely no hint to the carnage that was about to unfold in Manhattan starting at 8:50 AM. Many people made seemingly unimportant decisions that day that may have ended up sparing their lives, thus giving them a deeper appreciation of Hashgocho protis.

Note: To respect the privacy of the individuals concerned, the real names are not used. However, the stories were verified to the best of our ability.

Reb Meir had an important business meeting to attend on the West Coast. He was scheduled to take an early morning flight out of Newark Airport to San Francisco. He decided that since in was the yemei haslichos, perhaps he should daven at his regular shul so he could daven properly, and take a later flight. The flight he was supposed to take was the one that crashed into Pennsylvania later that morning.

But the story doesn't end there. His office is in the World Trade Center (WTC) building. He figured he'd tend to business matters at the office before heading out. He arrived there a few minutes late -- enough time for him to miss the planes crashing into the building.

Reb Yaakov had an important business conference scheduled for Tuesday morning at 8:30 on the 106th floor of the WTC. He wasn't sure if he should attend the meeting because it cost $400 to attend; he didn't really have the money to pay for it. He received a call Monday night that the conference organizers were allowing him to participate for free. He looked forward to attending because it was an important meeting that could potentially help his business. As fate would have it, he woke up late. He debated, should I go or not? He decided that, as big a meeting as it was, he was just not going to make it. He stayed home instead, tending to his typical daily business matters.

Two days later, on Thursday, he got a phone call from the conference organizers. They were tracking down the people who were supposed to be at the conference to see how many of them are accounted for. He was the first of two hundred people they tried that was alive and able to respond to them! He now shows the invitation he received to the conference as proof of the Hashgocho protis.

A meshulach had an appointment with a prospective donor at 9:00 AM on Tuesday morning on top of the WTC. The businessman said to him, "Why should I inconvenience you to come to me? I'll come downstairs to you and we'll meet there." After he came down, the plane hit the building. Because he did a favor to this meshulach, this person saved two lives: his own and the person who solicited the donation. Yes, tzedokoh tatzil mimoves.

Reb Sholom was in middle of being maavir sedrah on the train to Manhattan. As he got off the train, he realized he needed a few more minutes to finish the part of the parsha he was in middle of learning. He decided that since he could not finish it if he went upstairs to his office in the WTC -- he'd be distracted with the goings-on in the office -- he'd stay in the lobby for just those few minutes to finish up. Sure enough, the plane crashed while he was still downstairs, so he was able to get quickly to safety. Did a few pesukim of Chumash ever seem that important?

Mrs. Goldberg volunteered for her children's school PTA. She had just finished an important piece of work and put it on a computer disc. She asked her husband to take the disc with him to work on Tuesday and to finish some details for her on his office computer at the WTC. As he left the house Tuesday morning to catch his train, his wife called after him, "Did you take the disc?"

He suddenly remembered that he had not taken it. He turned around and went home to get it from his wife. When he arrived at the train station with the disc in his attache case, he realized that he missed the train, so he had to wait a few minutes for the next train. When he got to Manhattan, he saw the smoke and debris coming from his office building, the WTC. Those few minutes enabled him to miss when the plane hit the building.

What do we say every Shabbos about those who are oseik betzorchei tzibbur be'emunah?

A carpool leaves from Lakewood to Lower Manhattan -- home of the WTC -- every business day. The driver that Tuesday morning overslept. His alarm clock was accidentally unplugged, so he woke up late. A couple of people who travel in the carpool work in the WTC.

Mr. Friedman had a meeting at 9:00 at the top of the World Trade Center to inspect the cooling towers. He was running a bit late so he called ahead to ask if perhaps they could reschedule the meeting for 10:00. They agreed. He figured now that he has more time, he'll buy a cup of coffee to finish up his breakfast and then head upstairs. He found out pretty quickly by looking at the smoke emanating from the WTC towers that his 10:00 appointment was also "cancelled." It will not be rescheduled again.

Mrs. Stein was already at work in one of the upper floors of Tower Two when she heard a commotion. She looked out the window and noticed smoke pouring out of Tower One. She said, I'm getting out of here. The security personnel in the building said there's no reason to leave because it's only the other building that was hit. She felt otherwise. "I was here in 1993 when the WTC was bombed and I'm not taking any chances."

Twenty minutes later, when Tower Two was also hit, she was happy she left when she did, for she doubts she would have made it out alive had she waited. What she saw eight years prior gave her the instinct to go against the advice of the people "in the know."

Mr. Goldstein was attending a meeting on the lower floors of the WTC when the disaster struck. He and a colleague grabbed a table from the lobby, put it over their heads, and started to run. Debris fell on the table, miraculously, none large enough to crack the table. They managed to stay a block ahead of the thick smoke that quickly engulfed Lower Manhattan when the buildings collapsed. When the smoke eventually caught up with them, they banged on the window of a nearby building and shattered it. The building occupants took them in. They went into a back room that wasn't overcome with smoke and stayed there until it was safe to go outside.

Reb Yitzchok, who is usually punctual at his office in the WTC, came late to work this particular morning. His wife wasn't feeling well so he stayed home longer than usual to help out at home. He found out the real reason his wife wasn't well: so his life could be spared.

There are also unconfirmed reports of brisim that morning which people who work in the WTC attended. They were delayed by the simcha, thus missing being a statistic in the disaster.

Also, many changed their normal daily routine in order to say selichos properly, thereby coming later to work that usual.

It is said that there were a lot of Orthodox Jews who were laid off by their employees in the past few weeks who were working in the WTC. Bad news isn't always bad after all.

As time goes on, more stories are being shared by those who were there -- something out of the ordinary kept them out of harm's way that day. It only makes sense that when an office complex that houses 50,000 employees on any given day -- besides tourists and business guests -- goes up in flames, people should have stories such as these. If an enterprising person would take the time to interview the thousands of people that have such stories, it would be an instant best- seller and a great mussar sefer in teaching Hashgocho protis in real life.

Unfortunately, there are other stories the other way too: for example, the people who are never punctual and that Tuesday decided to get to work on time and got stuck in the building. There was a list in my shul this past Shabbos of 26 missing Jews with the person who knows they are missing next to them (for accuracy purposes). Each of those people were led by fate to be in the building at that particular time. Did they change their routine that morning that put them in the buildings that time? We may never find out.

Yet one thing is for sure: Thousands of people are walking around with a deeper appreciation of Hashem in their lives since last Tuesday. In the aftermath of this apocalyptic disaster, perhaps this is the silver lining that needs to be gleaned from that day's events.

May the heightened awareness of the Yad Hashem in our lives serve as a zchus to us all so we may never need such reminders again.

Thoughts and Observations on Today's Tragic Events in New York by Moshe Rockove Written the night of the tragic events. We experienced events today that are only supposed to happen far away in the Middle East: civilian buildings used as targets for mass destruction; people trying frantically to call loved ones on their cell phones to see if they're OK only to get a jammed signal; ambulances running from all parts of the city and beyond to assist in rescuing those trapped in the burning buildings; people running with abandon in all directions with shock and disbelief written all over their faces. This did not happen in Yerushalayim or Tel Aviv; this happened today in New York City, the capital of capitalism, and in Washington, D.C., the capital of the free world. At 9:00 AM Tuesday morning, America lost its innocence. The footage of the bombings was too painful to watch; officials refuse to give a number on the amount of casualties for fear that it may be unfortunately beyond our comprehension. The World Trade Center -- aside from being a huge commercial center, with 50,000 people estimated working daily in the two buildings -- stood imposingly 110 stories high atop the New York skyline symbolizing American financial prowess and achievement. Today, it stands no longer. The Pentagon, the home of the American Defense Department which controls the mighty U.S. Army, has been damaged by a hijacked civilian aircraft. That such a plan could be carried out to perfection -- four planes hijacked from four different airports at the same time and doing damage within an hour -- points to the Yad Hashem, as well as being a devastating blow to American intelligence who had no advance warning about these attacks. America has lost its sense of invincibility. Many Orthodox Jews work in Lower Manhattan, the site of the World Trade Center. It is quite possible that hundreds, if not thousands, of families will have been affected one way or another by today's act of war. Rav Matisyahu Salomon, mashgiach of the Lakewood Yeshiva, gave a shmuess Monday night in Yeshiva -- the night before the attacks -- and lamented the sense of complacency that has set in amongst American Jews. Thousands of Arabs live in New York, he said, who is stopping them from starting up? Why do we feel secure here? Do we realize that we must do teshuva? Today Lower Manhattan is engulfed in flames, less than one week before Rosh Hashanah. Let us all be mispalel that we will be zoche this year to see the fulfillment of Hashem's kingship on the entire world with the coming of Moshiach, bimheiroh beyomeinu, omen.

A Personal Response to the Tragedy by AL Ovinu Malkeinu, I've learned my lesson. Every night, when I say Ahavas olom, I remind myself that even in times as dark as these, You love us as much as ever, and that is why we talk about Your never ending love when it is dark outside, and the yetzer hora wants me to believe that I am alone and unprotected. I regret not having woken up at least two years ago. Living in Yerushalayim, I bore witness to a dramatic surge in the number of young mothers and fathers passing before their time from natural and unnatural causes (Rebbetzin Ellis o"h, wife of HaRav Simcha Ellis mashgiach of Lakewood East, was among them). Last Erev Rosh Hashanah, You began to scream louder, beginning an intifadah with the severe beating of three American yeshiva boys who were heading innocently to the Kosel. As travel became restricted around the country, who wasn't afraid? One wrong turn and your life was in jeopardy. The gedolim cautioned us to heed Your screams, so I said some Tehillim and made sure to go only "where it is safe." As the year progressed, it took worse and worse tragedies to actually send a shiver down my spine. Finally, we all suffered such a terrible blow that I have now put up my white flag. I surrender my stiff neck. This time, I am not just going to anesthetize myself with the comforting thought that Moshiach must be on his way and avoid having to look myself in the mirror to see which areas need improvement. I want to do my utmost to make sure that the WTC disaster should not pass entirely in vain. I actually took inventory of my life, and sat down with my wife to make a real attempt to figure out what You want from us. I thought about how I daven and how I learn, how I give and how I take. I tried to figure out if I am spending my time and my money like I should, or if I am misusing these gifts You have given me. I took into account how I relate to my wife and child, as well as everyone else I come in contact with. I realize that if I am dishonest with my words or my money, or if I am not careful in how I speak about others, You won't be impressed simply because I carry myself as a "frum Jew." This time, I have not just said "I will do more chesed" or "I won't speak any more loshon hora," but I have pinpointed specific things that I can do better. I wrote them down and I will treat these kabolas as real commitments. These improvements I am taking on might not be many in number, but I will stick to them as best I can. I know that Your strong hand is stretched out to us in these times eagerly anticipating our return, and I pray that You will be happy with the way I am changing. Ovinu Malkeinu, together with the rest of my Earthmates, we beg: Please find it unnecessary to throw any more rocks! May we soon live in the days of simcha le'artzecho vesosson le'irecho -- the days of Moshiach Tzidkeinu! AL is an avreich in the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim.

A Kinus Chizuk Held on America by G. D. and Yated Ne'eman Staff Three days after the destruction in New York City at the World Trade Center, a special gathering was held. Some 5,000 reportedly attended in New York, and there were various hookups to 30 other cities. We reproduce here some of the ideas presented at that kinus. HaRav Matisyahu Salomon mentioned the tefillah of Vechein tein pachdecho, saying that the pachdecho already occurred with the incidents this week and it is up to us to convert that pachad to veyiro'ucho kol hama'asim. The first step is veyei'osu kulom agudoh echos but he did not mean anything political by that. He went into some detail about forgiving and forgetting petty issues among people, not temporarily but permanently. One main point that he came back to several times was that we do not need a novi to interpret the events. It is not hard for us to see that the World Trade Center is a symbol of wealth and the Pentagon is a symbol of military might. He said that the Ribono Shel Olom is telling us lo bechayil velo beko'ach ki im beruchi. Wealth and power will not redeem us, as this week clearly showed, and our response should be to increase our "beruchi" and to make that the focus and purpose of our lives. He explained the Rashi in Ha'azinu about "Kenesher yo'ir kino: that the nesher makes a lot of noise, going from tree to tree and from branch to branch to warn its young of its arrival so that they will have the koach to receive it. The nimshal is that Hashem is now bo lishpot ho'oretz, and He is making noises closer and closer to us so that we should be warned of His imminent coming. Rashi explains how the nesher carries its young on its wings instead of in its claws as do other birds. He asked, How do they get up onto those wings? He answered that the nesher comes in close and gives its young the opportunity to jump up onto its wings. In the same way, Hakodosh Boruch Hu warns us of His coming and gives us the opportunity to jump on, so that He can be mekayeim yifros kenofov yikocheihu. The time to jump, HaRav Salomon said, is now, as the noises that the Nesher makes are coming closer and closer. Giving some practical directions, HaRav Salomon said that when a person is mezalzel in davening by talking, he shows that he has little respect for the power inherent in davening. He is disarming his own greatest power. Another reason he went into is gezel. When a person has money which does not belong to him or loans which he took without the wherewithal or intention to repay, his tefillos for parnossoh are not genuine and are not answered. He included specifically in this obligations to tzedokoh and sechar limud. HaRav Salomon suggested that we do teshuva not only on aveiros, but on missed opportunities of tefillah. Also speaking at the kenes was the Novominsker Rebbe, the Rosh of the American Agudas Yisroel. He started by saying that at a time when this malchus shel chesed, from which we have been zoche to tremendous chassodim and opportunities, is experiencing such tzoros, we need to be mishtateif betza'aro shel tzibbur. He specifically mentioned non-Jews as well as Jews. He mentioned that for chillul Hashem the only tikkun is kiddush Hashem. One way to avoid troubles is following the advice of the Rabbeinu Yonah to be "rodef pe'ulos shel chesed ve'emes" as protection from yissurim. There are also opportunities for kiddush Hashem. The Novominsker said that gemilus chassodim has always been the zechus of American Jewry and by doing gemilus chassodim in many different ways one can accomplish significant kiddush Hashem at the same time. Here too he specifically mentioned kiddush Hashem for non-Jews as well as Jews. Many times the Novominsker noted during his talk that things are not the same as they were and our responses cannot be the same. The remarks cannot just remain a mussar shmuess. It can't stop at that, things have to change. Up to here, he said, was the easy part. We have to restrain ourselves, he said, in many ways. One area is restraining ourselves from talking about other Jews, whether individuals or groups. He then started on a favorite topic, spending at semochos. In particular, he was very emphatic about lavish engagement vorts which he said are totally unnecessary and a waste of time and money. He also mentioned unnecessary spending on weddings and bar mitzvas and asked that it be very much limited by the current situation; that "everyone is doing it" is not enough of a reason. He wanted to end bedovor tov, so he quoted the gemara in Kesuvos on keitzad merakdin lifnei hakaloh. Beis Shamai said that you cannot say kallah no'eh vachasudoh because of midevar sheker tirchok. The Maharal explains that Beis Hillel say that for the chosson, the kallah is no'eh vachasudoh, and it is based on the chosson's subjective truth that our saying so of her is not a violation of midevar sheker tirchok. We hope to be no'eh vachasudoh in the eyes of our Chosson, Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Hashem should look favorably upon us and through His chesed, see the subjective truth of no'eh vachasudoh as the emes.

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