Today is 9/11/2024, and it feels like another lifetime when I was living in the Boston area and working downtown. The news started to spread, and my wonderful colleague, Bonnie Hausman, said, “Let me drive you home to Cambridge. We’ll pick up your kids at pre-school on the way so you can all be together. Who knows what the rest of the day will bring?” She knew my husband was in London at the time. And so she did—bless you, Bonnie. The rest of the day is a blur, trying to entertain two pre-schoolers at home while anxiously following the news.
Remembering Bonnie’s kindness and the closeness we felt that day also brings to mind another traumatic event experienced in community: the Boston Marathon bombing. I vividly recall the unity and compassion that spread throughout the city as people came to terms with the shock and looked for ways to help those in need.
My friend and professional colleague, Sarah Blumenstock Girrell, owner and leader of the Goddard School in Reading, MA, shared an incident involving the parents at her school that made me wonder: What motivates this outpouring of help and connection after a tragedy? And how long does it last?
I remember the quote Mr. Rogers is famous for “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
Shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing, reflecting on Sarah’s experience and my Jewish tradition, I wrote a brief reflection for Sh’ma magazine (included below).
I hadn’t thought about that article in years, but when one of my colleagues shared her first-person account of 9/11 today, it came to mind. I found myself reflecting on what motivates helpers after a tragedy and how long that motivation endures. It’s hard to connect with the enormity of 9/11 more than 20 years later, living in a different city, with grown children and work deadlines piling up.
In honor of today, I remember the victims of the Towers and the helpers who gave their lives. Please accept my reflection. Below is a link to the article in Sh’ma magazine.