Local

The Wall Street Synagogue stood only several blocks from the World Trade Center. It existed in large part because Jewish men and women working downtown needed somewhere to daven, say Kaddish, observe a yahrzeit, or simply step out of the financial district and into a shul. It followed traditional Orthodox practice, with separate seating for men and women. Its weekday congregation included Jews ranging from secular to fervently Orthodox. September 11 brought devastating losses to that congregation.

September 11 did not end for every family when the fires went out. For some, illness and death came years later.

We also remember the Jewish victims listed below. While we may not know the details of how each person lived or practiced their Judaism, their lives and memories are no less worthy of being honored here.

Rabbi Dr. Alvin Kass, z”l

Rabbi Alvin Kass served the NYPD for nearly six decades, becoming the longest-serving chaplain in department history.

At 8:48 a.m., Rabbi Mechel Handler was beside the base station in Hatzolah’s Brooklyn office when the radio came alive with a report of debris falling from the World Trade Center.

For some families, there was no body and no grave at which to stand. Sometimes there was only a final telephone call, a husband’s office high inside one of the towers, and the knowledge that the building itself was gone.