Ari Schonbrun survived 9-11. A series of eerie coincidences led the 52-year-old father of five to emerge safely from the 78th floor of the World Trade Center’s north tower (Tower One) moments before it collapsed, bringing down with it 658 of his 1,025 colleagues at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Schonbrun, who worked tirelessly to rebuild the global financial services firm after 9-11 and now serves as a company director at their new headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, has spent the last eight years since 9-11 grappling with the events that shook his life, the nation, and the whole world, that ill-fated day. Why did it happen? Why was he spared? What is the meaning of it all? He shares with Aish.com some of the answers.
Q1: Tell me what happened to you on September 11, 2001?
My day started late. Normally, I was at my office, on the 101st floor of Tower One, by 8:00-8:30 a.m., but I was helping my son, who was eight at the time, fill out his Scholastic book order. I was supposed to help him with it the night before, but didn’t get around to it. I finally negotiated him down to two books. Strangely, he chose them from a series called Survival. And I left for work.
I got to the office and I was changing elevators at the 78th floor sky lobby at 8:46 a.m. (you couldn’t take one elevator all the way to the 101st) when a blast threw me off my feet and the hallway filled with smoke. At the time I thought it was a bomb. Only afterwards did I realize it was the first plane striking the building. If I had been there a few minutes earlier, I would have been on the elevator going up to the 101st floor.
Virgina DiChiara, a coworker at Cantor Fitzgerald, was on that elevator and had to jump through fire to get out of it. I ran into her on the 78th floor. She was burned very badly, with third degree burns on her arms and back. She asked me to please stay with her. I sat her down and got her something to drink. Then the fire warden helped us to the stairwell.
If we wouldn’t have heard that voice, we would have been under the building when it collapsed.
We got down three flights when my cell-phone rang. This was one of the biggest miracles of the day. There was no reception anywhere; all lines were down. It was my wife. She had heard what happened and was terrified. This call was vital. At least she knew I was alive.
When Virginia and I finally got to the ground floor, a fire warden told us to keep going down and exit through the garage. As we went down, a voice called out and told us to come back up and exit from the ground floor. If we wouldn’t have heard, we would have been under the building when it collapsed.
Q2: How did you get away from the building before it collapsed?
Initially, I wanted to take the West Street exit, but we ended up taking the Church Street exit instead. Fortunately, this spared us from seeing the horror of people jumping from the building.
There was an ambulance across the street, in front of the Millennium Hotel. Virginia got in. I wanted to stay close to the building, but she insisted that I come with her. So I hopped into the front of the ambulance. If I wouldn’t have done that, I wouldn’t be talking to you today.
It never occurred to me that the towers would collapse the way they did. I saw the fire and the damage, but I didn’t think they would come down. I saw it happen from the entrance to St. Vincent’s Hospital.
When I look at that day, it’s such a miracle. It was like my own personal Purim story; a whole series of coincidences that when you look back, you realize were not coincidences, but instead were the hand of God.
Q3: What’s your personal take on why 9-11 happened?
On one level, the terrorists did it because they want the entire world to be subservient to Islam. If you’re not a Muslim, you’re an infidel.
But on another level, I believe that God was sending Wall Street a message. That world is driven by greed, where everyone is measured by their possessions. I believe this was a wake-up call. God was saying, “You’ve got it all wrong. This is not what it’s all about.”
Q4: Why do you think you were saved?
There are two reasons, I believe. The personal one is that when my wife was pregnant with our third child, she had an ovarian cyst that caused her to lose the baby. Then, after she gave birth to our fourth child, the doctors told her she would not be able to conceive again. After 9-11, she miraculously got pregnant with our fifth child. We went to a Kabbalist who told us that Yoni, who is now 6, was the soul of the baby we lost; a soul that needed to come into this world. So when you ask me why I survived 9-11, my first reason is that this soul had to come down.
The second reason I believe is to use my public speaking skills to convey a message; to inspire people of all faiths to re-prioritize; to have faith in God; to give a little bit more charity, be kinder to people, and not speak ill of others. It doesn’t matter where you’re at, what matters is that you are moving forward. You want to know how to change the world? One person at a time. One mitzvah at a time.
Q5: How has the experience changed your life?
My life has changed in so many ways. I spend a lot of time public speaking and spreading the message. I have done speaking tours in the U.S., U.K. and Israel, to all kinds of groups: universities, high schools, different organizations.
Some people have come up to me and said, “You have changed my life.” That is so powerful. I have been given this ability, and I have to use it. I am not nearly done. There is so much more to do, so many more people to reach.
Before 9-11, my whole world was consumed by Wall Street. I still work hard, but work is no longer my first, second and third priority.
My personal life has changed, too. Before 9-11, my whole world was consumed by Wall Street. I still work hard, but work is no longer my first, second and third priority. I spend more time with my family. It used to be, “Daddy can’t make it to the school play or the class trip because he’s working late,” but now I go. I am there more for my kids than I have ever been.
Also in terms of Jewish observance, as I started talking about what happened, the miracles of the day started to sink in and I started to change. I now take time to learn Torah and to perform more mitzvot. For instance, at the office I started gathering a daily minyan for Mincha. I have also tried to be more careful about the types of words that come out of my mouth, to stop cursing.
I am trying to become a better person. People who know what I have been through feel that I am a bit different.
Q6: How do you respond to conjectures that 9-11 was part of an international Jewish conspiracy?
If Jews were in on 9-11, then how come I didn’t get a call? Many of my Jewish friends and colleagues were there. You know how many people who died in the towers that day were Jewish? Israelis, too. The whole thing is ridiculous.
Q7: What do you think of efforts to memorialize 9-11?
It’s horrible that there is a 9-11 memorial in Israel and we still don’t have one in New York. The whole thing has become political, with a lot of infighting, with people who are making decisions who should not be involved at all. It’s the families of the victims who should be the ones making the decisions. It’s their loved ones being memorialized and yet they are being left out.
Thankfully, the idea of randomizing the names was withdrawn, as well as the idea of building the memorial on the footprint, which is the burial ground for a lot of people who were never found.
There is the annual memorial ceremony, carried by every network. But I am fearful that memorial day for 9-11 will become like Memorial Day in the U.S., marked by shopping and picnics and parties. Although the day is being memorialized, it is also being forgotten. It’s not being taught enough. People don’t want to talk about it. They want to move on and I think that’s a mistake. To move on is to let the terrorists win. 9-11 needs to be remembered. We cannot forget.
(22) Anna-Brenda, September 15, 2013 3:31 PM
lmfaoo
ummm, i have nothing to say about this, only that...i am glad you are okay.
(21) Bobby5000, September 5, 2011 1:20 PM
The Nazis weren't Moslem
9/11 was a horror and there is an Islamic threat which must be taken very seriously. That said, one should not overgeneralize to say that Islam is inherently wrong or anti-semitic. The Nazis and their followers were generally Christian; Jews enjoyed prosperity and religious freedom in Spain until the Inquisition. During the Inquisition, the Christian religious leaders created a system of torture and suffering. No one said the Jews killed Muhammed but Mel Gibson says differently about the leader of his religion.
Anonymous, September 10, 2014 9:10 AM
Read the koran
Jews must be wiped out when all the world is conquered, until then they must be treated as second class citizens with hardly any legal rights and double taxation. Their women are free to be use and exploited, etc. Please read the Koran
(20) Anonymous, February 14, 2010 5:54 PM
Don't adopt their ways
Non-Jews may remember their dead with a some what celebration, shopping and dinners. We may not understand their ways, on doing this, but let's never adopt their ways of remembrance. You are doing a great Job, you have turned your near death experience around to something good. Don't ever let people forget what the terrorist did on 9/11.
(19) Yohanan, February 12, 2010 8:03 AM
Thiefs screms "Catch the thief!"
How come Islamists blame 9/11 was Jewish plot, and no moslem was in the Towers that day?( Except those suicidal murderers) Palestinians were dancing on their streets enjoying watching jumping people from Towers. wishing each other "Happy Nakba".
LADYDI, September 12, 2011 2:13 PM
Yes they were dancing and celebrating in the streets as they watched people jump to their deaths.......we should turn palestine, iran, iraq, egypt etc all the muslim countries into parking lots - NEVER FORGET, NEVER FORGIVE!!!!!
LADYDI, August 28, 2012 6:10 PM
ANOTHER THOUGHT
Just have to add something...... I have (had) Muslim friends and they were elated that the towers went down and thousands killed. To this day, I will NEVER forgive their religion for this slaughter. Its a religion of hate, not peace as they claim. Kill kill kill is their motto.
(18) Beverly Kurtin, February 8, 2010 8:44 PM
I Forgot
It was Judaism that brought the concept of a G-d-given universal moral law into the world...the Jew carries the burden of G-d in history (and) for this has never been forgiven. The Reverend Edward H. Flanery, National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Preface to "Why the Jews" 1983-2003, Touchstone Press. Hitler was among those who never forgave the Jewish people for bringing Morality into the world and Hitler's cohorts, the Arabs, similarly loath us for exactly the same reason. Hitler and the Arabs wish to be pagans, and in fact have already proven that they are well on their way to achieving that most disgusting frame of mind. They kill wantonly, for no other reason than they can. Yesterday (2-7-10) sixteen innocent children were playing soccer in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico when automatic machine gun fire cut them down for no other reason other than the beasts that performed that horrible series of murders could do so without fear of retribution. This is what wanton paganism brings to the world. There is not a molecule of decency in the pagan world, NONE. And that, my friends, is why the homicide bombers around the world attacked the Twin Towers and the other places. They knew there would be no punishment or retribution for them. Of course, they forgot the true Judge; the One who judges us all. The world wishes to be Judenfrei for one reason and one reason only: So vile paganism can once again be the rule and not the exception. There is only ONE THING standing between the blackness of paganism and the bright, white light of law: We Jews and some American Christians who have chosen to join us in our fight against paganism. I said "American Christians" because in Europe, the old yearnings to be free of law and order are again raising the stench of rot. I feel as though it is the 1930s all over again.
(17) Beverly Kurtin, February 7, 2010 11:39 PM
Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!
The heinous attack on not just the Twin Towers but on the Pentagon and in Shanksville, PA were a wake-up call for the world. It was the international declaration of war against the West by Islam; ALL of Islam. For centuries Islam has slept and dreamed of the day when they would take over the planet. They will fail and fail miserably. I was thrilled to read about Ari's miraculous deliverance from the mayhem wrought by the cowardly Arabs who were HOMICIDE bombers, not suicide bombers as they are so often mislabeled. Contrary to some naysayers, 9/11 will go down in history as Pearl Harbor has: with sadness and dismay that it was permitted to happen. Permitted? Yes, Israeli intelligence tried to warn the Bush administration that an attack was coming. The CIA had warned the administration that an attack was imminent. Yet nobody took precautions of any kind to attempt to thwart the attacks. Pearl Harbor could also been prevented, but the Administration had decided to force Japan's hand; and they attacked like an angry swarm of hornets. It all boils down to a tragic needless loss of human life. The Bush administration decided to retaliate by attacking the one country that had nothing to do with the bloody attacks of 9/11. How many thousands of lives has that error in judgement cost to date? Nobody really knows. Had Israel done what the United States and its allies have done in killing and wounding tens of thousands of innocent civilian lives, the world would have already pounced on Israel like a duck on a June bug (Texas saying.) The world is being slowly taken over by Islam and their barbarous ways. They want all of us to live like them; I for one will fight to the death to prevent that from happening.
(16) Anonymous, February 6, 2010 10:02 PM
God's reason
Yes, God had a reason for 9-11. His reason was to show the people of the world just what Muslims will do to destroy other cultures and other religions. Out of any tragedy comes some good and the author, Ari Schoenbrun, is a sign of that "good." He has changed his life, doing good works and that is ..."good." I, a Christian, think that 9-11, just as the holocaust must be kept alive, taught to our chldren and that mankind never be allowed to forget it.
(15) AF, February 4, 2010 5:47 PM
re #14 FIGHT TO REMAIN STRONG " Fight for democracy, against Islam." They cannot coexist"
Jews advocating a holy war against Islam feeds into the conspiracy theories of the enemies of Israel and antisemites. I There are radical forces within Islam that I think must be defeated if powerful enough to threaten [Iran] or if less powerful at a minimum kept under control.[Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt] This is also the case with zealats within the Jewish,Christian and other communities as well. At present those in Islam are to my mind most dangerous as they have power and money but that is not the only way of Islam any more than the Crusaders are defin es Christianity or the holocaust is defines Germany. Our sages do not tell us Islam as a religion is evil and that it should be erradicated.The majority of Muslims in the US and other democratic cultures do coexist. If we remain strong there is hope. If we show weakness the radicals gain strength.
(14) Anonymous, February 4, 2010 1:44 AM
God wasn't sending us a message on 9/11
That God was sending us a message about our lifestyle or Wall Street via Muslim terrorists is nonsense! The message was being sent by Muslims - that they want Islam to take over the world. They want to destroy our trade, our democracy, our relgions, our freedoms. That's the message. This is Jihad, and it's happened here again; it's happening against Israel, and it's happening within several countries of Europe. So what am I doing in light of the message? I've begun a writing campaign (CAMERA and HonestReporting) to all the reporters, publishers, news media people who use their jobs to spew hate against Jews, Israelis, and Zionism. I use facts to dispel their myths. I especially try to dispel the myths written or spoken by Jews...anti-Israeli Jews, anti-Zionist Jews...so many of them. They are a disgrace to us, but they maintain they're Jewish. Please readers, do what you can do to save Israel and America from Islam. Know what you're up against; read more about Islam. Listen to online lectures about Islam by Dr. Bill Warner; hit the website "Religion of Peace" and realize what Islam really stands for! Fight for democracy, against Islam. They cannot coexist. Thank you.
(13) KarenV, February 3, 2010 5:15 PM
I'd like to know how many Muslims and Jews were killed
It still surprises me that no one has counted, or at least estimated from surnames the number of Jews killed in the WTC crash. It might produce some ammunition against the fairly universal Muslim belief that the crash was a Zionist plot (carried out by Muslims?) It would also be useful to know how many Muslims were killed to enhance divisions between the terrorists and more moderate Muslims. But I have never seen numbers.
(12) Daisy, February 3, 2010 4:26 AM
responses
it is not up to us to decide why G-d did the things He does. it is only our job to learn from them. we don't know the whole picture. we are like looking at an upside down needle point. after 120 we will see the beautiful picture that each incident helped to create. now its up to us to try to be better before it is to late!
(11) Dvirah, February 2, 2010 3:38 PM
Accusations
With respect, I'd like to respond to those who reply to accusations of Jewish participation in terror by responding that Jews were killed also. The Arab/Palestinian/Moslem terrorits have stated many times, and demonstrated in their actions, that they have no compunction about killing their own people - as many as are there - in order to kill even one Infidel (Jew or other enemy). I'm sure Moslems died in the 9-11 attack as well. This did not stop and does not stop other Moslems from terrorist action. So, with such a precedent, arguments that "our own" are killed are not convincing. If just demonstating our belief in the sacredness of life were enough, there would not be any such accusations - the Jews have been demonstating this belief for over 4000 years!
(10) Andy, February 1, 2010 4:27 PM
Thank G-d he was saved but can't see any evidance at all for his conclusions
Terrorists did this cause they wanted whole world to serve Islam, or God allowed the terror to succeed because Wall Street too greedy? Where is evidence? Same goes for surviving because the soul of his departed child needed to come into this world . All this may be true and a true kaballist may know that a baby is the reincarnated soul of whomever, but is there any evidence? People believe they survived for many reasons, but there is no proof as to why.I can't be sure that someone who claims he survived because he wore his lucky socks is mistaken but it's not based on anything that makes sense to me. Helping his burned coworker and accompanying her to the hospital saved his life amd that to me is powerful. On the other hand if helping her cost him his life[as similar action did with others] that action I believe would still have been the right decision. It seems to me we cannot nor are we meant to understand Gods ways in the world. . We have been reading in the bible these past weeks about a time in history when God performed obvious miracles for all mankind to witness, but even then he did not reveal why some seemingly righteous suffer and some wicked prosper. To use it as a wake up call and live a life more focused on learning what is right and acting on that knowledge seems to me to be the best response and the article states that Ari Schonbrun is doing that . To know why something happened and why one survived I think is impossible. I think Moses asked that question and was told one can't know and live.
(9) GEORGIA, February 1, 2010 4:27 PM
A Second Chance
Not everyone is given a second chance at life. Everyone has a birthdate and a date to meet death. That is why we should be ready to meet our Maker at all times for we never know by what tragedy or illness we are taken from this earth. There will always be liars against Israel, but victory will be for Israel in the end.
(8) Anonymous, February 1, 2010 1:45 PM
G-d,s wake up call
"But on another level, I believe that God was sending Wall Street a message. That world is driven by greed, where everyone is measured by their possessions. I believe this was a wake-up call. God was saying, “You’ve got it all wrong. This is not what it’s all about.”" I think it is true. And it indeed was a wake-up call for many peoples who forgor what was happening outside and who forgot the tragedy that had befallen a billion people mostly muslims due to the evil cult of Islam. We acted without mercy while these innocent Muslims and non-Muslims were tortured by islam for hundreds of years.
(7) Xeon_Laura, February 1, 2010 8:58 AM
anti jewish and anti israel conspiracies
its their hatred towards jews that makes them to propagate and believe in such things. few days before i saw a youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQM6-lLlrM watch and u will understand how even in the 21st century there are still people like him telling israelis are there in haiti to steal the organs of haiti people. from media to UN they all are biased against israel.
(6) muman613, February 1, 2010 7:08 AM
Baruch Dayan Emet
My brother Jonathan Uman worked for Cantor Fitzgerald and was in the building at the time the 1st plane hit WTC tower #1. He perished in the devastation. He was a Jew and it bothers me when I head the antisemites trying to say that Jews did 9/11. We cannot allow the country to forget those who died on this day. The political tides are changing here and unless the Jewish people stand up against this new antisemitism we are destined to end up like we did in Germany. Bless Hashem who is the ultimate judge who will provide his people Israel with rest, and with eternal life. Sing Hashem songs of thanksgiving that you are alive today to testify to the miracles. My brother was a victim of the evil free will of terrorists who will suffer in the world to come. Terrorists will be destroyed, I have faith in Hashem.
(5) Rose Glasser, February 1, 2010 5:50 AM
Wonderful email !
I was on a bus with my Hadassah group from West Hempstead, L.I. going to the Jewish Heritage Museum on 16th Street in the city, when the first tower was hit. We were stopped at the entrence of the Tunnel- which was lucky -for if we had gone through,we would have had to remain in the City for three days. We were delayed leaving because 2 members came late.- it was B'shert. I am now living in California & people here have no concept of what went on that day. We smelled the smoke for many days after the tragedy- even living many many miles from the city.
(4) Martin R, February 1, 2010 5:39 AM
What about those that were killed?
This man was saved, as were many others, that day. I used to ask myself why Hashem did not save those who died in such a terrible way. What made him choose between those who died and those who lived? They all had loved ones waiting for them at home. Some were there the sole providers for their families. Some were very young and excited about the future. Only Hashem knows the "big picture". But it is sometimes hard to believe that everything He does is for the best, especially in situations such as 9/11 which seem so senseless and arbitrary. May Hashem bless us with understanding one day, and may those that perished be at peace.
(3) ruth, January 31, 2010 11:11 PM
contemplating the miracle of being alive
I can see there are many reasons this man has remained alive, and I believe there has to be great humility in surviving something like this, and no possible way to say the others did not have reasons to be alive, because we simply cannot go backwards into the lives of those who are gone, and into the despair and loss encountered by those who remained. So I think, in contemplating such miracles, it's not possible to make statements about those who perished but yes, we can say, the hand of God stayed our time of departure. Humility is the key. I see two sides to all of this, and for me, there must be another side we cannot see, to justify such devastation and loss, and the terror, yes, is that we cannot allow ourselves to forget, everyone, here and "there", because it's about humanity, compassion and love.
(2) Tsvi Aryeh, January 31, 2010 10:45 PM
Parallels to other Jewish Tragedies
The parallels to observance of Yom Hashoah and other Jewish tragedies comes through as we attempt to avoid trivializing catastrophes. The author's emphasis on study and mitzvot is well taken. Perhaps our memorial aim will be more in the spirit of Tisha B'Av or Tsom Gedalia rather than the way too many Americans observe Memorial Day or Labor Day.
(1) name, January 31, 2010 9:55 PM
"But on another level, I believe that God was sending Wall Street a message. That world is driven by greed, where everyone is measured by their possessions. I believe this was a wake-up call. God was saying, “You’ve got it all wrong. This is not what it’s all about.”" This would surely have been done by means other than murder It is hard to wake up when you are burning to death