A yahrzeit fraught with meaning - The Jewish Standard

A year ago, on Oct. 25, just a few blocks from our offices in Teaneck, a police officer named John Abraham was killed when his car careened out of control and hit a pole on Teaneck Road.

Ironically, only a few hours earlier, Abraham saved the life of a man in a kosher restaurant who was choking on a piece of steak.

That Abraham is not Jewish, or that the man that he saved was, or that the accident took place in Teaneck, or that this was a single-car accident, or many other “thats” are all irrelevant.

What is relevant is that this was a fellow human being who arose each morning, donned his uniform and shield, said goodbye to his wife and son, and went out to risk his life to protect ours.

Whenever a police officer, or a fire fighter, or an EMT loses his or her life in the line of duty, it is a loss for us all. It is just as much of a loss if the police officer is in Wayne as it is if he or she is in Teaneck.

We mourn for Officer Abraham, and our sympathies continue to go out to his wife Martha, to their autistic 6-year-old son Jake, and to the men and women of the Teaneck Police Department with whom he served and who called him “brother.”

We urge our readers to make a contribution in his honor to the Jacob Abraham Fund, c/o the Teaneck PBA, P.O. Box 12, Teaneck, NJ 07666.

comments