Terrorist Attacks in the US
Alumni Response to Rav Shaya's Letter
"Let us know you are doing ok"

The following is a letter sent out by Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky to alumni in the US immediately after the terrorist attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2001 and some short excerpts from the many responses.

Dear Alumni,
In a switch of roles, we now need to inquire about your welfare. The devastating terrorist attack has all of us in shock, even as we are far away, and with the scope of the tragedy slowly becoming clear. What is not clear are all the ramifications that will play out in so many directions.

It has been very difficult to make telephone contact with the US, especially the NY area. So this e-mail message will serve as our first contact with all of you. Please respond to let us know that you are all doing OK. We have been davening for everyone's welfare, and we would like to be kept appraised of how everyone is.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Rav Shaya and the entire Darche Noam family in Israel

*

I probably speak for many other North American DN Alumni in saying that our physical well being, while obviously being the most important thing, is only one part of the equation. Knowing that the strongest and seemingly safe country in the world is susceptible to this kind of unspeakable Terrorist activity, is beyond alarming and shocking. And coming to terms with the reality that probably as many as 10-12,000 Americans lost their lives at the hands of these terrorists, is also a reality that makes it a little difficult to roll out of bed in the morning and continue on with our daily lives. People in Aretz have learned to accept the fact that terrorists exist in their midst, ready to strike at any moment. Americans, until yesterday, at 9:00 a.m., did not live under that cloud of imminent danger and uncertainty. Until now.

May the New Year bring the Hischadshus of an end to all this madness B'vias Goel Tzedek B'Karov.

*

Rabbi Karlinsky and all of Darche Noam,

Your thoughts and t'fillos are more comforting than any of us could have imagined. I, personally, always viewed davening during crises as something that I was personally doing to help, something for me to actively do. I never realized how comforting and reassuring those heartfelt words were to the people directly effected by the tragedy. I now know.

The amount of achdus demonstrated in New York City during the past hours is amazing. A city noted for its 'everyone out for his/her self' has done a complete 180. Everyone is in the boat together and is anxious to help whomever, however they can. Once again, a major reassurance.

Thank you for your concern. I, for one, am able to email you and tell you of my well being. The next hurdle is to care for the eight year old children, many of whose parents work in the World Trade Center, that I teach when school resumes tomorrow.

Thank you and only good things,

*

There were a lot of miracles yesterday. I made it out after being hostage there for hours because people were very kind.

*
This normally loud, bustling city is eerily silent. No trucks, few cabs. People are walking around like zombies, heads down. My whole ride in this morning, I did not hear anyone say a SINGLE word. A small toddler broke the silence, and her father quieted her. There are make-shift hand-written signs everywhere.. Store Closed.. Express Bus Cancelled...Give Blood at 61st&3rd...etc.

I am actually in the office. I needed to get out of the house, and share with my friends at work. A few are here, including Eddie, our trader, who is missing a brother and many, many friends. We do a lot of business with Cantor Fitzgerald. From what I understand, that one firm has approx. 1000 people missing. A good friend of mine was in the bldg on a low floor, and had the saychel to flee quickly. There are many other stories. A broker just called this moment and said he got out of the 73rd floor of building 2 (the first to collapse). Everyone in the city is asking each other: Do you have people missing?

I feel helpless. How can I help? Went to give blood, but they are turning people away...not enough blood takers or storage. I signed up at shul to serve on a chevra chadisha, when they start removing bodies. No word yet. They can't get through the rubble to find bodies.

Guess all we can do is pray now.

*

Thank G-d we are well...as well as can be expected while reeling from the enormity of what has transpired and the horrific loss...sad that it takes something of this scope to get many American's to get a clue about what you in Eretz haKodesh contend with on a daily basis...not only generally, with respect to daily fear and insecurity of this nature, but specifically (the actual "family" of terrorists involved).

The only comfort...and I can only say this because I am b'li ayin hara thus far "chamisha" very much removed from the tragedy in a tangible way...is that those who perished are alright, and Ha-shem is in control.

*

It is now the morning after, and I sit at my desk in the Washington, DC office where I work, composing this email. I am very tired and somewhat numb emotionally. As I sat on the bus yesterday going home, I knew that the world had changed--that my world had changed--but I wasn't sure how. Some things are clear. Those that affect my sense of physical self-preservation are at this moment very worrisome. It is inevitable that this tragedy will have a severe ripple effect on the world economy. How will this affect my family and me? Is it selfish for me to even think along these lines? What about all of the orphans, widows, and widowers in New York? Yes, New York is the largest and wealthiest frum community in the world. However, this doesn't excuse those of us who were not directly affected by the tragedies from stepping forward to help to the utmost of our capabilities. We must help them; G-d will take care of us. . . .

A frum yid said to my shul rabbi yesterday, "Maybe this happened so that Bush should know what it feels like." My rabbi responded, "Maybe this happened so that WE should know what it feels like." Hashem has shaken the world: our world and the world of the goyim. It is a wakeup call for us to do teshuva. I pray that we all have the courage and strength of character to recognize this and act upon this realization.

May Hashem grant Klal Yisroel a healthy, healing, and productive Shana Tova.

*

From slichos of Tuesday morning:

She, who is of pleasing appearance,
Has become blackened by hard labor,
Her sore festers without healing.
The day of vengeance - its path is yet closed;
The day of redemption - the window is yet sealed.

Our endurance is weakened by the burden;
Crippled and lame are the survivors of death.
Without rest they stray and wander...

Each occurrence of trouble is followed immediately by another....

They flee in panic, as pursued by the sword...

Spare the remnant from being crushed as [olives] in an oil press.

*

Let's not allow the passage of time to dampen our resolve to adopt a more aggressive strategy against the real threat of the 21st century - terrorism.

One of the good things that should come from this event will be a greater appreciation of the difficulties Israel has been going through over the past year. Most of the world hasn't experienced suicide terrorism first-hand, and condemns Israel's responses all too quickly. Now maybe they will understand. But this will not be easy to translate into action. The American way of life is about to be questioned in the name of public security. Let's hope that America can follow through on the words of its leader.

We wish everyone a joyous Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and holiday season.

*

I'm in Washington DC working at Washington Hospital Center. Things were very chaotic yesterday. All medical staff were assigned emergency roles. I was tasked to run a combined medical and surgical floor and to discharge as many patients that I could in order to make room for any number of anticipated casualties. At one point we were aware that there was a total of 4 hijacked planes of which 3 were accounted for. The fourth was rumored to be headed for DC and we were expecting the worse. Our hospital accepted many of the burn victims from the Pentagon. It was a horrible day. I hope that everyone remains on guard in Israel.

*


As a public service, I have set up a page on our shul's Web site where people may list names of those injured in today's cowardly attacks in New York and Washington, so that all of us may say prayers and tehillim on their behalf. The page may be found at:
http://www.yinhp.org/names.htm

If anyone has a name (Hebrew name and mother's Hebrew name) to add to the list, please e-mail me at webmaster@yinhp.org.
Thank you.

*

B"H, everything is fine with me and my family. However, as a life-long Manhattan resident it is extremely frightening and depressing to look out of my window and see a cloud of smoke in the spot where the towers once stood. I can no longer believe that I actually felt "safer" upon my return from Israel. Even during the worst periods of terror there I was never as scared as I was yesterday in New York.

*

The irony that many Jews forgo aliyah out of safety concerns is tangible now. But it is unconscionable to blame them for a fear that anyone could have in olam hazeh. Let us all stop the accusing of each other and begin the unconditional loving of each other.

I have also discovered that the safest place in this world is no place at all but rather the moment wherein the individual recognizes that Hashem is with him or her, that He is an Av Horachaman, our Father, cradling us in His arms so to speak, and bestowing kindnesses upon us. Let us have these moments and expand them the length and breadth of our lives. Hashem runs this world, not Arab terrorists.

I wish our beloved rabbonim and chaveirim in Eretz Yisrael a good gebentched yor, shana tova u'metuka. We are looking forward to seeing you all again b'chaim tovim u'lshalom.

*

I'm not sure quite what to say. I'm fine. Its just this weird quiet feeling here- a lot of normal everyday life has stopped here and the entire US. Its kind of almost like the whole city and the whole country is sitting shiva - it just has that same sensation of normal life just stopping. There is not a plane in the sky aside from the occasional helicopter and fighter jet its just eerily silent. The wind shifted tonight so I can actually now smell the debris up here, 4 miles away.

A lot of eyewitness accounts floating around here - people who were standing outside watching the entire thing happen, people who were inside and made it out.

And then I also heard of people who called from the top floors to say goodbye.....

There are many accounts of people who should have been there but were not - they were running late, they were out sick - even someone who was unexpectedly fired from an office on the 107th floor Monday night.

Besorot tovot,