In his drash, Rabbi Stein
spoke about the randomness of that morning’s shooting at the Empire StateBuilding and the role of fate and mazel in
our lives. Later in the service, Terry was
especially struck by this particular passage in the siddur: “There is evil enough to break the heart, and there is good
enough to exult the soul." During
our “debrief” over dinner, she also told me how much she enjoyed the service,
the music, and all the congregational participation.
Fast forward to Saturday at about
6:40 p.m. as we made our way around the beautiful fountain footprints of first the
South Tower and then the North Tower of the 9/11 Memorial—our fingers gently
touching the letters comprising the names of so very many souls lost on that
day. One in particular—Michael
S. Costello—the boyfriend of one of her husband’s cousins, gave us special
pause. Terry told me he was "loud, fun-loving and a good guy." We also talked about Neil David Levin, who,
although we neither saw his name nor knew him personally, was a fellow alum of
our beloved Lafayette College and, at
the time of his death on 9/11, the executive director of the Port Authority.
As dusk fell and the names became
illuminated by the soft lights below, we talked more about fate, mazel, chance, and fortune, and also about the words from Mishkan T’fila that had caught Terry’s eye.
May Stitch Costello, Neil Levin and the other
2995 completely innocent souls killed on that awful day rest in peace, and may 5773 usher in a time in which the good that exults our souls far
outweighs the evil that breaks our hearts.
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