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.

 

Herman Sandler, Hy”d, 57

Herman Sandler was a co-founder of Sandler O’Neill, the financial-services investment bank located on the 104th floor of the South Tower. A former U.S. Army captain who served in Vietnam, he was known as a demanding businessman who helped build the firm into a successful Wall Street company.

He was also a major supporter of the Wall Street Synagogue. Rabbi Meyer Hager remembered “Chaim Shlomo” for his philanthropy and devotion to Jewish causes and Israel. Sandler gave generously to organizations including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and served on the board of the Rainforest Foundation.

Colleagues remembered that despite his tough manner at work, Sandler was generous and willing to help. Even his boat reflected a phrase he was known for using when someone asked him for assistance: “No Problem.” He was among the Sandler O’Neill employees killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

 

Eileen Greenstein, Hy”d, 52

Eileen Greenstein worked in the claims department at Aon in the World Trade Center and had a longstanding connection to the Wall Street Synagogue. Rabbi Meyer Hager remembered that she came for every Jewish holiday and every yahrzeit.

She had moved from Jackson Heights to Morris Plains, New Jersey, three years earlier but remained especially close with her extended family, helping start a cousins’ club and regularly joining relatives for dinner or a show. Her family remembered her as loyal and thoughtful, someone who never forgot birthdays and frequently visited her mother and brothers in Florida.

She was also known for taking in older cats that others did not want. Her brother Howard remembered that she was always looking out for people and animals who might otherwise be overlooked. Three days after returning from a visit to Florida, she was killed at the World Trade Center.

 

 Thomas Glasser, Hy”d, 40

Thomas Glasser was a partner at Sandler O’Neill, but his path to Wall Street was anything but typical. A philosophy major and track athlete, he had also worked as a stand-up comic, restaurant owner, and bartender before earning his MBA from NYU and joining the firm.

He lived in Summit, New Jersey, with his wife, Meg, and their sons, Dylan and Lukas. Friends and family remembered him as generous and willing to help others, a reputation that went back to high school, when he returned a teacher’s lost wallet. Years later, after witnessing a robbery, he chased the thief and helped recover another stolen wallet.

Glasser and his father, Gerald, had long planned to create a charitable foundation focused on education. After September 11, his father carried out that plan, establishing the Thomas Glasser Foundation to award scholarships in his memory.

 

William Spitz, Hy”d, 49

William Spitz, a New Jersey native, lived on Long Island with his wife and family. He was an avid runner who had competed in the New York City Marathon.

Spitz worked as a bond broker at Cantor Fitzgerald, where his son-in-law, Joshua Aron, also worked. On September 11, both men were in their offices on the 104th floor of the North Tower.

Spitz is remembered at the 9/11 Memorial, where a white rose is placed at his name each year on his birthday.

 

Jeffrey Marc Chairnoff, Hy”d, 35

Jeffrey Chairnoff lived in West Windsor, New Jersey, with his wife, Helaine, and their two young children, Sarah and Benjamin. A cum laude graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, he joined Sandler O’Neill in 1992 and became managing director of its mortgage finance group in 2000. Coworkers remembered him as calm, thorough, and attentive to detail.

Before becoming a father, Jeffrey spent fall and winter Sundays watching football. After his children were born, much of his free time revolved around them. His family nicknamed him “Mr. Clean” because he liked to keep the kitchen spotless, and he became a devoted Food Network viewer, especially because his daughter Sarah enjoyed it too.

Jeffrey liked printing out recipes and cooking with Sarah, particularly making peanut butter pie together. He was killed with his Sandler O’Neill colleagues at the World Trade Center.

 

David T. Weiss, Hy”d, 50

David Thomas Weiss was vice president and deputy general counsel of Cantor Fitzgerald and eSpeed. Colleagues and family remembered him as a brilliant attorney whose professional life was marked by integrity, discipline, and high standards.

Outside of work, Weiss was a private and thoughtful man with a strong interest in spiritual growth, intellectual understanding, and music. His family described him as kind, generous, and deeply devoted to those closest to him, especially his wife, Marcia, and daughter, Gina Rose.

 

 Lloyd Rosenberg, Hy”d, 31

Lloyd Rosenberg was raised in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and later lived in Morganville, New Jersey, with his wife, Glenna, and their three daughters, Samantha, Kaylee, and Alyssa. He began working for Cantor Fitzgerald in 1988.

Family and colleagues remembered Lloyd as kind, generous, and someone who rarely had a bad word to say about anyone.

More than anything, Lloyd loved being a father. His wife remembered Saturday mornings when she would find him reading to the girls or playing with them. After his death, she saw pieces of him in each of their daughters - in their expressions, personalities, and mannerisms.

 Wall Street Synagogue also preserved a remarkable story of survival.

Yuri Ocean ordinarily left morning davening around 8 a.m. and walked through the World Trade Center plaza on his way to work.

On 9/11, he and fellow congregant Michael Kaplan stayed behind arguing over a point in Gemara. The discussion delayed Ocean by several minutes.

By the time he reached the World Trade Center area, debris was falling and emergency workers were turning people back.

Kaplan later believed that those extra minutes spent discussing Gemara had saved his friend’s life.