This week, a Jew who miraculously survived the infernal attacks at the World Trade Center in New York ‘Twin Towers’ passed away 21 years ago. The influential Rabbi Mailach Biderman told what he heard from his family members. How was he saved by keeping his eyes on the train?
The influential Rabbi Elimelech Biderman said this week that an old man and disciple of the Rabbi Shmuel Katz zt’l had just passed away in New York, Rabbi Mailach said that he heard from his sons that their father was a slave in the ‘Twin Towers’ in Manhattan on the fifth floor. 85 in the building that was the tallest in the world.
Rabbi Shmuel used to come to pass through Manhattan on the train, but because in the early hours of the morning the train was full of people and packed to the brim, and it was almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open, therefore he was able to obtain a special permit from the manager who could arrive two hours late every day more and would complete the work hours later at the end of the day.
And here it is, twenty-one years ago, on Tuesday 23 Elul 5571 (September 11), at 8:45 in the morning, the two towers collapsed after a pair of planes crashed into them as part of the operation of the Islamist terrorists from the al-Qaeda group, led by Osama bin Laden. The planes, which were loaded with a large amount of fuel, hit each of the two towers and caused a fire that weakened the steel skeleton of the building – something that eventually caused it to collapse and crumble into dust.
2,977 civilians, passengers and crew of the four planes, perished in these attacks, and more than 6,000 were injured. The 19 terrorists who hijacked the four planes were also killed, including those on the 85th floor, but Rabbi Shmuel, who was not at the scene of the danger, was saved, because as was his custom, he would have arrived later… and remained alive for another 21 years in the land of the living, and was blessed with the honor of all his descendants, thanks to He made sure to keep his eyes open.