Jewish midshipman was youngest Amtrak victim

A lavaya for Amtrak train derailment victim Justin Zemser, 20, took place last Friday in Hewlett at Riverside-Boulevard Chapel on Broadway.

Zemser, of Rockaway Beach, was the youngest of eight people who died in the crash on May 12.

A sophomore at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Zemser was heading home to visit his parents when the train went off the tracks. 

The Jewish Press on Wednesday described Zemser “as a promising soul who had just recently begun to immerse himself in the world of Torah learning.”

Rabbi Mordechai Beer, Torah Mates coordinator at Oorah, said that after helping to teach Justin to read Hebrew at the time of his Bar Mitzvah, he stayed in touch. While Justin expressed interest in studying with a Torah Mate, the boy’s busy academic and extra-curricular schedule at Beach Channel High School always seemed to preclude it.

Sandy Eller reported in the Jewish Press:

“Justin’s acceptance to the United States Naval Academy may have been a positive development for the teen who aspired to become a Navy SEAL, but it was exactly the opposite for Rabbi Beer, who longed to introduce the teen to the world of Torah.

“ ‘I figured his childhood dream had finally come true but I lost mine, to get him a Torah Mate,’ said Rabbi Beer. ‘The schedule at the Naval Academy is so rigorous that I knew he wouldn’t have any free time.’

“Ever the optimist, Rabbi Beer continued reaching out to Justin during his first year at Annapolis, but the answer he received was exactly what he expected to hear. The freshman simply had no free time.

“But seven months ago, Rabbi Beer was shocked to get a phone call saying that Justin, who was now serving as the vice president of the Naval Adademy’s Jewish Midshipmen’s Club, wanted to take ona Torah Mate.

“ ‘He said he wanted to learn to understand Hebrew, that he would love to learn Chumash and to understand the weekly Torahy portion,’ said Rabbi Beer.”

Justin and his Torah Mate Tzvi Aryeh Rubinfeld started with Bereishis last October and continued learning, Justin’s schedule permitting, Eller reported.