On September 11th, 2001, 19 terrorists hijacked four U.S. commercial planes leading to the destruction of both of the Twin Towers, extensive damage to the Pentagon, and the death of nearly 3,000 civilians. The attacks were organized and carried out by Muslim terrorist group al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, with the intention of demonstrating their deadly message: death to America! Death to the West! While the extremist Sunnis hoped to start a war with the US that would lead to its downfall, they ultimately failed, and humiliation fell upon them.
To honor this historic day here at Scheck Hillel, students welcomed Jewish National Fund Miami Director Sharona Whisler, who delivered a rousing speech to upper school students about patriotism and the close ties between Jewish-Americans and the State of Israel. She presented Scheck Hillel’s Security Director, Sharon Rabinovitz, with a plaque featuring the JNF-USA 9/11 Living Memorial outside of Jerusalem, the only monument honoring each of the 2,983 victims of 9/11 outside of the USA. The ceremony served as a reminder that patriotism is a lasting commitment, and as Jewish-Americans, a dual commitment to both our nation and to Israel.
Just over three weeks ago, the 23rd Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony of 9/11 was held in the New York City Memorial Plaza. The annual remembrance ceremony consists of the families of the victims reading each of their names and of six separate moments of silence representing each time a hijacked plane crashed and when the towers collapsed. Along with hundreds of civilians wanting to pay their respects, many notable politicians attended the solemn event.
Pictured above, left to right, are Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former President Donald Trump, and his current running mate, JD Vance, at the ceremony. In spite of their disagreements, the group’s gathering on Patriot Day reminds Americans of the importance of setting politics aside to see the bigger picture when it matters most.
Mr. Andrew Butler, eighth grade English teacher and head of Scheck Hillel’s English department, began his first week as a teacher in Manhattan on the week of 9/11. He shared that the news first reached him as a rumor, but soon, he and some coworkers huddled around a TV and watched as the towers burned. “No one knew how extensive the attack would be, and since we were a Jewish school in an NYC landmark building, we felt vulnerable,” he stated. That day, Mr. Butler could see the smoke and smell the chemicals from work not even 10 miles from the site. And that day, parents who worked at the World Trade Center arrived just in time to pick up their kids, covered in dust.
Reb Yaakov Boyd, high school history teacher, began his first day of college at Georgetown on 9/11. When the planes hit, he was sitting in Arabic class. Later, on a dorm rooftop, he watched the Pentagon burn not even five miles down the Potomac River. He shared that the hardest part of the experience was the loss of “our feeling of security and innocence in the United States…There was no longer the idea that things like this only happened elsewhere. Rather, the events laid bare our naivety in our immunity from violence and our collective vulnerability to the harshness of the world around us.”
It is well known that this devastating tragedy altered the course of airport security forever and saved who knows how many future lives. On a more personal level, however, higher-level miracles occurred. For example, due to the fact that that fateful day fell on the Jewish month of Elul, dozens of Jews who worked at the World Trade Center were late to work that day because they were busy saying Selichot, prayers of atonement said in the days preceding the High Holidays. Many Jews were saved that day because of the time they took to connect with G-D, and their stories are meant to encourage others to find the silver lining in any given situation, no matter how difficult it may be. This is especially important now, in an unprecedented time where it is difficult to look past the immeasurable pain and torment we face. Just know that if we look hard enough, we will find a miracle, even in the most miserable situations.
