Train Crash Victim Ellen Brody Was Loving Mother and Selfless Community Member
Ellen Brody, the 49-year-old mother of three whose SUV was at the center of a fatal Metro-North train crash on Wednesday—in what is being called the worst accident in the train line’s history—is being remembered by those who knew her as a loving mother and friend, and an active and selfless community member. Five other people lost their lives in the accident.
“Ellen was everyone’s best friend, and she was always volunteering,” said Rabbi Benjy Silverman, co-director with his wife, Hinda, of Chabad of the Rivertowns in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. “Whenever she came to Chabad, she talked to everyone and made everyone feel comfortable. She would make me feel at home in my own synagogue,” he said.
Since the founding of the Chabad center 12 years ago, Brody was an important part of Chabad of the Rivertowns, along with her husband, Alan, a journalist and author, and three daughters, Danielle, Julia and Alexa, ages 14 to 22.
“We met when she and her husband enrolled their girls in our Hebrew school,” recalled Rabbi Silverman, who noted how she was active in the synagogue, community projects and the school.
Hinda Silverman told of how she and her husband once sought to arrange a “mock wedding” at the Hebrew school to show the children how a Jewish wedding is conducted. Upon consideration, they thought to make it that much more poignant for the community if they’d offer the opportunity to a couple who didn’t have a complete ceremony first time around. The Brodys immediately came to mind, and they eagerly volunteered to be the bride and groom. Silverman was pleasantly surprised when Ellen Brody arrived joyously bedecked in a traditional wedding gown and veil. The ceremony was an authentic Jewish marriage, from the signing of the ketubah (wedding contract) to the giving of a ring with the proper blessing (kiddushin) and the breaking of the glass under the chupah (canopy).”
The ceremony had a lasting impact on the family, added Hinda Silverman. While visiting with them last night, she noted that “the girls recalled the ceremony, which was many years ago, and it brought them to tears.”
Brody always took pride in and was close with her daughters, said the rabbi. “She always talked about how her girls were doing. And they admired her as well, adored her.” Silverman noted that two of her daughters had recently returned from a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip, and the Brody family was set to attend a Shabbat dinner at Chabad this Friday night.
“She was passionate about Judaism; she was passionate about her kids; and she did a great job of fulfilling the values that were important to her,” affirmed the rabbi.
Passionate About Family, Friends and Judaism
Brody lived in the Edgemont section of Scarsdale, N.Y., and worked at a suburban jewelry store in Chappaqua. Her friends at the store were preparing to celebrate her 50th birthday in March. Whoever she met “always left smiling,” Virginia Shasha, a co-worker at the jewelry shop, told WABC-TV.
“They are a very prominent Edgemont family,” Bob Bernstein, president of the Edgemont Community Council, told the Journal News. “What a terrible tragedy.”
“It’s not just a tragedy for the town. It’s a personal tragedy for me,” said Paul Feiner, supervisor of the town of Greenburgh, who said he has known the Brody family for years. “She was an exceptional … super, super nice (person),” he said.
Her rabbi agreed: “She was very in tune, very warm, and passionate about her family, her friends and Judaism.”
