Memories Of A Tragedy

Were you affected by 9-11? Do you have a poignant memory from the tragedy and its aftermath?
Then the JCC in Manhattan wants to hear your story.
To mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on America, the Upper West Side institution will hold "An Evening of Reflection and Hope" on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 6:30-8 p.m., at Symphony Space, Broadway and 95th Street. The event will feature New Yorkers reading their "thoughts, experiences, memories, sources of inspiration": with some music.
"We didn’t want to do another [religious] service," like those held in the days after the attacks last year, says Rabbi Joy Levitt, the JCC’s associate programming director. "We wanted something that would help people reflect, remember and inspire. We wanted to encourage the community to write their memories" of heroism and miracles, of survival and cooperation.
The JCC is inviting anyone with 9-11 memories, those shared with friends during the past year or stored in one’s heart, to submit them for consideration. (By e-mail: jlevitt@jccnyc.org., fax: (212) 799-0254, or mail: JCC in Manhattan, c/o Rabbi Levitt, 334 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10023.)
The deadline is Aug. 15.
About 20 stories (they should be no more than 500 words) will be read from the many that will probably be submitted, Rabbi Levitt says. JCC staff "will choose a representative sample," she says. "Everything that is appropriate," including stories not read that evening, will be printed in a book to be distributed at the event.
Other local institutions are also personalizing the anniversary of 9-11. "Yahrzeit: September 11 Observed," an exhibit that opens Aug. 29 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, will include journals, photographs and other artifacts with a 9-11 connection. And the 92nd Street Y is planning a program in which survivors of the terrorism will read their stories from a soon-to-be-published book.
The JCC event is co-sponsored by the synagogues of the Upper West Side, UJA-Federation, the New York Jewish Healing Center and The Jewish Week. Admission will be free.