The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

The book’s title expresses a central theme to which the book repeatedly returns. People from all over the world came to Gander on September 11, 2001, brought together by unprecedented and unanticipated events. The experienced changed their lives in ways they could never have expected.

The experience of Rabbi Levi Sudak exemplifies this in a powerful way. He shared that he was housed at the school, where officials hung a world map and invited passengers to pin where they were from. Eithne Smith noted that 40 different countries had pins, meaning that the people staying at that school alone represented 40 countries, filling the halls “with the sounds of different languages” (102). Rabbi Sudak added that Gander was home to only one Jewish person, and no one thought to request kosher meals in advance, so the Orthodox Jewish passengers had not eaten for more than 24 hours. When a passenger informed Smith of the problem, she arranged for the delivery of kosher meals and for the Orthodox Jewish passengers to have access to the school’s faculty lounge, which had a refrigerator, sink, and stove; Rabbi Sudak transformed it into a kosher kitchen.

Rabbi Sudak was traveling from London to New York to visit the grave of Lubavitcher movement leader Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. After praying and remembering those closest to him, he intended to return home the same evening. In London, Rabbi Sudak worked with “disenchanted young people” (163) who had become entangled in drugs and crime. In Gander, he saw young people volunteering alongside their parents, which was the essence of what he understood as community. As he reflected on what he saw in Gander, he understood that despite the presence of tragedy, the world had good people, and “he was among some of them now” (163). Gander reminded him of his core values in a profound way.

When his flight was rescheduled for Friday, Rabbi Sudak was obliged to stay behind because he could not travel on the Sabbath. He felt certain that it indicated that some other reason or lesson was meant for him in Gander. That reason became manifest on Saturday afternoon, when 70-year-old Eddie Brake, a 40-year resident of Gander, came to the school to see the rabbi. Brake was born to a Polish-Jewish family around 1930. To get him out of harm’s way, his parents arranged to have him smuggled to England, where a Catholic family adopted him; however, they did not allow him to speak about his Jewish faith, and “became enraged, even violent” (185) when he did. He never spoke about it as an adult, only revealing it to his wife 10 years earlier, and she did not like him to speak about it. Sudak encouraged Brake to share his story in Newfoundland to educate people about the Holocaust and antisemitism, but Brake demurred, feeling at peace that he got to tell his story to the rabbi. Stranded far from home, Rabbi Sudak encountered a man who had been holding a secret for most of his life and became the means to lift that burden. The experience transformed them both.

Speaking to DeFede for his Afterword, Rabbi Sudak affirmed that he continued “to find meaning in his detour to Gander” (211). His experience changed how he looked at people and inspired him to see the good in them in a more conscious way. Calling Gander’s message “sacred,” Rabbi Sudak explained that he continued to draw on it as an example of what is possible, and he remained in touch with Eithne Smith and her husband, visiting with them when they came to London for the opening of Come From Away on the West End.

Rabbi Sudak’s transformative experience echoes in stories throughout the book, including those of Baldessarini, Captain Knoth, the O’Rourkes. Each person who lived through the experience affirmed its impact on their lives and relationships. People from all corners of the world all left Gander feeling that they had participated in something special, transforming a bleak and frightening time to one they would not forget.