23 Elul 5781
As Zaidy pointed out in the comment he left on the previous blog post, today is the Hebrew date anniversary of 9/11. It was a Tuesday then as well. They say that this event, like the assassination of JFK, was so traumatic in nature that everyone remembers where he was and what he was doing when he heard the news.
I was taking a break from work in my office at one of the Tech businesses in Har Chotzvim, sitting on the terrace outdoors, visiting with some of my children who had stopped by. My officemate told us something was going on, reports on the internet. My kids left to go shopping and I got back to work, glancing now and again in disbelief at the reports coming across my computer screen.
Where were you and what were you doing when you heard the first news about the attack on the Twin Towers? Leave a comment.
PS: Regarding the assassination of President Kennedy, I was in fourth grade, walking home from school. A boy riding his bike down the street towards me shouted out that the President had been shot in Dallas and was dead. I didn't believe him, but when I came through the door and found both my parents glued to the television, my mother weeping, I knew it was true.
I was in Los Angeles driving to shul for shacharis when I heard some of the news on the radio about a plane hitting the WTC or something like that. It was hard to tell what happened in those few minutes, but it sounded bad. I did not stay glued to the radio and went to daven. When I got out, the buildings were already down, and I heard the rest of story.
ReplyDeleteI still remember, literally a day or two later, seeing the news breathlessly reporting about Mohammed Atta's passport being found intact in the rubble, with barely a scratch on it. I was much more naive and in the dark then, but even in those circumstances, without understanding what I was seeing, I knew it was odd and nefarious.
I had made aliyah in the early 90s, but was back in LA for a time. This happened soon before our planned return to Israel after the chagim. B"H, the airports reopened and we made it, but it was jarring to see the ridiculously long security lines as well as the armed and uniformed National Guard all over.
Amazing! Glad you made it back. Thanks for sharing, Shimshon. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt was 1am in Sydney and I woke up suddenly for no apparent reason, kids were asleep, I turned on the TV and there was a ridiculous movie with a plane flying into a tower, changed channels... same movie.... changed channels again... and realized this was actually happening.
ReplyDeleteWow, Devorah! What an unbelievable thing, right? Thanks for sharing that.
ReplyDeleteI was walking around near Yaffo and King George in Jerusalem. I thought it was a hoax or rumor.
ReplyDeleteOne friend was getting married that day. Another friend was making a bar mitzva party for his son that day.
E.A., what finally convinced you it was real?
ReplyDeleteI had read that the infamous Oslo accords were signed on the 23rd of Elul also.
ReplyDeleteJFK 2nd Grade in Hawaii. 9/11, Los Angeles was suddenly on High Alert with Guards in Public Buildings but not on the Subway or Buses. The local Radio Host took over for Rush Limbaugh who's plane was grounded as were all American flights that day.
ReplyDeleteNot sure. I guess seeing it replayed 24 hrs a day.
ReplyDeleteAnon@4:01PM - Nope. 13 September 1993 was the 27th of Elul.
ReplyDeleteYakov B. - It must have been really early in LA when it started. What, about 6 am?
I was on my way to work on 9/11 and heard it on my car radio.
ReplyDeleteI was outside in the schoolyard, in 2nd grade, when I heard about JFK.
Both times, I was living in the Eastern time zone.
Thanks, HDG. I guess they are right about remembering where you were and what you were doing when you heard really big news on such a large scale. I could not think of another comparable event.
ReplyDeleteWhen JFK was assassinated I was in high school in Dallas, Texas. I wonder what "Big" event is in store for me now that I live in Tzefat...
ReplyDeleteI was a student in elementary school at the time of 9/11. Heard the staff discussing something at recess - but it really when I came home that I found out what happened and went next door to the neighbor to watch TV.(We didn't have one...)
ReplyDeleteJFK event was before my time... :)
HR
I had just come back from giving my sister a ride to the yeshiva she worked at and I was pulling up in front of my parents house with my toddler in the backseat and the DJ came on the radio station and announced it minutes after it hit the first tower. I will never forget the shock and disbelief in the DJ's voice. I rushed into the house and both my parents had turned on a TV set and we all watched the second plane crash into the second Tower. It was surreal.
ReplyDeleteThank you to everyone who shared your experiences. Zaidy and all, I hope the next "Big event" we will all remember in minute detail will be the revelation of our righteous Mashiach, it should even be TODAY!!
ReplyDeleteIn my case came home from school early in the afternoon, only for my sibling to follow later and tell me about the attack after turning on the TV and putting it on the news.
ReplyDeleteI was on the phone with my friend and she said, "Hang up with me and just go turn on the t.v"
ReplyDeleteI went in to turn on the t.v and immediately fell to the ground silently screaming No No NOOOOO. I didn't want to scare my young children.
It was insane to see this. The world changed in an instant.
Devorah Chayah from Anon @4:01 pm.
ReplyDeleteThis was at the time of the actual 'signing' of the Accords, and it was an article written by Moshe Feiglin and he was showing something about the same Hebrew date for a number of negative events and I remember he wrote the signing 'actually' took place on the Hebrew date of 23 Elul but the presentation at the WH Lawn was on the date as you note above.
I had just left my Beit Knesset from Shaharit and turned on the radio in my car as I heard the news. My immediate reaction was that this sounds like a Tom Clancy novel. But it was all too real. I drove to work and at the office, they set up a TV in a conference room so that people could watch the news. Not much work went on that day, to say the least. I saw the towers fall live. I'll never forget that horrific day.
ReplyDeleteEven though we all witnessed the same event, each person's experience of it is uniquely theirs. Maybe it is a good idea to keep this in mind about everything in life. No two people experience life the same way.
ReplyDelete