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"They All Had Faces Of Angels": Father Mourns Seven Children Killed In Midwood Fire
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 23, 2015
Modified Mar 23, 2015
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 23, 2015
Modified Mar 23, 2015
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The father who lost seven children when a malfunctioning hot plate sparked a house fire told thousands of mourners yesterday, "They all had faces of angels. Hashem [God] knows how much I love them."
Gabriel Sassoon, who had been on a retreat when the fire broke out in his Midwood home, sobbed, "People forget what’s important in life. My children were unbelievable. They were the best. But the truth is, every child is the best. Every child is the most beautiful child there is in the world. Every child is like that."
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish family had a hot plate on overnight, in order to keep food warm during the Sabbath (when they are not allowed turn on electrical appliances), but, after midnight, the hot plate malfunctioning, sending the Bedford Avenue home in flames. Sassoon's wife, Gayle, 45, and 16-year-old daughter Eliane were able to survive by jumping out of a second floor window, but Siporah, 15; Rivkah, 11; and Sara, 6; David, 12; Yeshua, 10; Moshe, 8; and Yaakob, 5, all died inside the house.
A neighbor said, "I heard a child yelling, ‘Mommy! Mommy, help me!' I looked out the back window, and I saw flames, smoke... The smoke and the flames were horrendous.”
Over 100 firefighters battled the fire. There was only one smoke detector in the home, in the basement, and it's unclear if it even went off. According to the Post, Gayle Sassoon is "fighting for her life in a hyperbaric chamber at Jacobi Medical Center in The Bronx. The daughter was at Staten Island University Hospital North."
The NY Times reported on Sassoon's laments at the funeral:
"The second year that we are in America!” Mr. Sassoon wailed, alluding to his family’s move from Israel to the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, where his wife grew up. “There’s nothing to say! There’s absolutely nothing to say!”
He was left to speak his children’s names, once and then again.
“Too many names!” he cried. “The seven. Complete beauty!”
...Mr. Sassoon began to speak just before 3 p.m., the scheduled start time, his torment seeping out after a day of more private grief. Choking on his tears, he remembered each child in turn:
“Rivka! She had so much joy! She gave joy to everybody!”
Yehoshua: “Always tried to make others happy.”
Moshe: “He tried so hard.”
Yaakov: “He just wanted everyone to be happy.”
“There’s nothing to say,” he said. “There’s nothing to say. There’s only one way to survive this: complete and utter, total surrender. Surrender. That’s it.”
Still, toward the end of his eulogy, which lasted over 14 minutes, he spoke of the guilt that pulled on him after his seven children perished alone in their bedrooms.
“I want to ask my children for forgiveness,” he said. “I did my best and my wife did her best.”
State Assemblyman Dov Hikind said
that Gayle Sassoon had planned to go to NJ for the weekend, but the Friday snow changed her plans.
The children's bodies, in the seven wooden coffins, were flown to Israel, where they will be buried.
Tagged
fire
Gabriel Sassoon
Gayle Sassoon
hot plate
midwood
sabbath
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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