May 20, 2008
The Rutgers Jewish community is in mourning for a first-year student remembered as a young man devoted to Jewish learning and practice who always seemed to have a smile for everybody.
California native Arieh Diamond, 19, who died May 4, was a regular at the campus Hillel, where he often served as hazzan, or prayer leader, chanted Torah at its Orthodox service, and participated in many of the organization’s events.
Diamond was remembered the evening of May 5 at a Hillel gathering that attracted more than 300 students.
An e-mail sent out by Hillel that day described the gathering as “an evening of singing, comfort, and remembrance.”
“Our community really came out strong,” said Rabbi Yisroel Porath, codirector of Hillel’s Jewish Learning Initiative. “We sang some of his favorite songs. We spoke of our memories about him and told stories from the beginning of the year. It was a very emotional evening.”
A few days after the tribute, Eytan Morgenstern, a senior from Montgomery, Ala., recalled Diamond as “very positive person.”
“He was always very excited about Judaism and was always trying to get others involved and excited as well,” said Morgenstern. “When he greeted you, he was always positive and smiling.”
Yonaton Yares, a sophomore from Cherry Hill, described his friend as “caring,” and noted “he had great pride in Yiddishkeit.”
“When he layned Torah the words had true meaning for him,” recalled Yares.
Yares said the two bonded over their backgrounds — both were raised in Conservative homes before becoming drawn to a more stringent form of religious observance. Diamond also insisted the pace of the Orthodox minyan be slowed down so those involved could dwell on the prayers.
“He never let an awkward moment go by without trying to make you laugh,” said Yares. “He could make you laugh about anything.”
That is why Yares and so many others at Rutgers were stunned by the news that Diamond had been killed under the wheels of an incoming Amtrak train at the New Brunswick Train Station. His death was reported as an apparent suicide.
E.J. Miranda, a spokesman for Rutgers, said the university made grief counseling available to students and identified those who it felt may be at risk or under stress as a result of the incident.
“We are keeping in contact with them,” he said. “We are working with Hillel and Chabad House to support the religious communities in which Arieh was a part by providing counselors and advice. We provided assistance to Arieh’s father when he came to campus. Certainly, after all suicides we offer counseling and do what we can to reach out to students who may be particularly troubled. We monitor them and keep in contact with them.”
Porath said he brought in a psychologist and invited to campus Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, who spoke with students to “help them move on.”
Porath said he was very close to Diamond and the two held a learning session together each week.
“We got to know so many sides of Arieh,” he added. “So many discussions have been started because of this as we try to understand.”
According to an obituary that appeared in the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, Diamond was a 2007 graduate of New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, Calif., and a 2003 graduate of Kadima Academy in West Hills. A memorial service was held May 8 at Temple Ramat Zion in Northridge.
Porath said the Shabbat following Diamond’s death was the last of the school year. “We wanted to make it an uplifting Shabbat — a Shabbat he would have wanted,” he said.
“He was full of life,” he said. “He was a sweet person who would never hurt anyone. Anyone will tell you he was a very pure soul.”
Morgenstern recalled that many in the Hillel community came to know Diamond through an open mike night in which he performed a routine, “Dark and Stormy Night,” in which he recited the opening line to a novel in 10 different voices.
“Apparently, it was a routine he knew for some time because his friends back home knew about it,” said Morgenstern, noting some good had come out of the tragedy.
“It was very shocking for us at Hillel because we’re very young and not used to such situations among our peers,” he said. “But since this happened, the Hillel community is trying to be nicer to each other, more positive to each other.”
Yares, who is also vice chair of the university’s student body, said Rutgers coincidentally had been working on updating its mental heath guidelines, a process that will continue in earnest over the summer.
“I was not on the original task force, but I’m now working on this post-event,” he said. “There will be more public discussion about this. You can get wrapped up in the sadness and tragedy of this or you can learn from it and go forward.”
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