Remembering 9-11
Dealing With Disaster
Bringing comfort to families of Sept. 11 victims alters the lives of Jewish Detroiters.
closure; in many cases, there is no
body. It's very difficult to reconcile the
pain and the destruction and the `pub- ;
avid Techner remembers
licness' of it," he said. "I hope we
speaking to a group of
never have to deal with this again ; but
families in a condominium we're really on new ground here and
complex near the World
nobody knows how to deal with it."
Trade Center shortly after Sept. 11.
When a Birmingham Temple member
Of the 16 families who lived in the
lost his son in the Sept. 11 attacks, the
converted warehouse, 11 women,
grief was so total it went beyond the
mostly younger than 30, now were
comfort that Rabbi Sherwin Wine could
widows, he said. Of those 11, five
give. But Rabbi Wine said he has spent
were pregnant and three had 11.bies
the year trying to console the close-knit
younger than 3 months.
Farmington Hills congregation.
, "To a certain degree, it was like it
He sees three responses coming
might have been for people who sent
from his congregants. They are fright-
their loved ones off to World
ened and they aren't doing
War II and they had been
things they did before, such as
killed, and how many people
traveling. They are in denial —
didn't know their dad," said
they've forgotten and are just
Techner, director of the Ira
going on with their lives.
Kaufman Chapel in
It's the third group he
Southfield. "But this was not
admires.
a war, this was sending some-
"They say, 'I'm still a little bit
body off to work."
scared, there's terrorism in the
Techner drove to New York David Te c hner world. America has changed
City with Doreen Hermelin,
and it will never be the same as
whose nephew, Ian
it was, but I'm not going to •
Schneider, died in the Cantor
surrender, because that's the thing the
Fitzgerald offices in the World Trade
enemy wants,"' the rabbi said.
Center.
"It's the third response I try to
Credentialed as a disaster counselor
encourage," he said. "Yes, it's a fright-
since the crash of Northwest Airlines
ening world and, yes, exactly what the
Flight 255 in 1987 outside Detroit's
enemy wants is for us to be frightened,
Metropolitan Airport, Techner registered so we can't do that. We have to resist
at the New York City medical examiners' it. We have to be cautious, but we also
office when he arrived. He
have to be courageous."
spent a week providing corn-
Rabbi Wine remains affected
fort to those in mourning. He's
by the New York Times daily
kept in contact with many of
obituary section for the vic-
them through e-mails and
tims. "One has this sense of
phone calls.
incredible loss, and there's a
The cataclysmic events of
level of grief that will always
Sept. 11, 2001, took a toll on
be there," he said.
all Americans, he said, but
As the anniversary of 9-11
those Jews directly involved
approaches, Techner's thoughts
are dreading the first anniver- Rabbi Wi ne
turn to his experiences in New
sary, which falls between Rosh
York soon after Sept. 11.
Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
"I remember being in a car
"A lot of [victims' family members] I and talking on the cell phone when we
talk to can't wait for Sept. 12, because
pulled up to Ground Zero," he said. "I
they want to get past their first Sept.
ust opened the door and the smell
11," Techner said.
was overwhelming. I can still put
The difference, he said, is that most
myself in that day — it was so power-
Americans look at these events as a
ful. The scene was enough, but getting
national tragedy, but those mourning
out of the car and seeing it — blocks
and blocks of people with looks on
a loved one live it on a daily basis.
their faces like I'd never seen before.
"They have no sense of peace about
it. In many instances, they don't have
There were people searching. I
HARRY KIRS BAUM
Staff Writer
D
.
9/ 6
2002
20
remember driving along very slowly
and thinking, 'Did they lose a hus-
band, wife, father?' There were vol-
umes of tragic stories."
Looking back, Techner says one
thing that's changed for him since 9-11
is that he has an understanding of "the
deep hatred of democracy and what we
perceive as being good about our lives
by the people who want to destroy it,"
he said. "That's powerful stuff. I knew
there was disdain, but I didn't realize
how deep-rooted it was."
could see smoke coming out over this
building," he said.
They headed downstairs and toward
the World Trade Center. Then they
saw the second tower coming down.
"It was an amazingly haunting expe-
rience to see people dressed in busi-
ness suits and dresses, covered in
dust," he said.
With his clergy ID tag on his coat,
the Dubovs entered a hospital near
the World Trade Center. Christine
gave blood, while Cantor Dubov tried
to comfort six people sitting in the
emergency room with minor injuries.
Life Altering Experiences
When the Dubovs left, people out-
Betsy Kellman, director of the
side the entrance were already
Anti-Defamation League-
showing pictures of missing
Michigan Region, was in New
loved ones, and asked the can-
York last Sept. 11 on a busi-
tor if he had seen them. He
ness trip for her previous job.
read them the names of the
"It was really life-altering
people he had spoken to.
for me," says Kellman, who
On Sept. 12,4e was invited
afterward decided to leave a
by another cantor to sing at a
22-year career in cable televi-
service of hope and healing at
sion, where most recently she
Betsy Kellman
the Stephen Wise Free
worked as a vice president of
Synagogue in New York.
marketing.
"Many of the families of peo-
"I could not get home from New
ple who didn't come home .that night
York and I spent many days dealing
were there," he said. "When I was fin-
with the same kind of grief many New
ished, I sat next to a little boy with
Yorkers felt. Being part of the New
his mother and sister. He said, 'My
York experience changed me," she said.
daddy's coming home, isn't he?'
"I needed to do something that
"I said, 'Well, wait and see.' I didn't
contributed more to humanity. I per-
know what to say. I later found out
sonally needed to do something
his father was the maitre'd at
important and this was the
Windows on the World
impetus to do something in a
[restaurant atop the World
substantial way that con-
Trade Center]. That kind of
tributed to humanity and
got me."
-
included the Jewish commu-
Cantor Dubov said the
nity," she says.
experience gave him the
Cantor Stephen Dubov
impetus to make a major
travels to New York City five
change in his life — to form
times a year for voice lessons
his own congregation, Chaye
— and has for years.
Olam.
As is his habit, the cantor
"Jews have been through
made a room reservation at
many catastrophic events," he
the Marriott Hotel in the
said, "so we should all be
World Trade Center. This was for
looking for more positive time and a
Sept. 9. But his wife, Christine, who
better age, and each of us has to get
traveled with him this time, wanted
there on our own."
to stay uptown so they didn't have to
He said the lessons learned from
take so many cabs; she convinced him
Sept. 11 are the same as the lessons
to change the reservation.
learned from the Holocaust.
On the morning of Sept. 11, he was
"We have to say, All right, it was a
watching television in their midtown
terrible event, but now what can we
Marriott Hotel room.
do to ensure that it won't happen
"I looked out my window and I
again."' ❑