By Ben Sales, JTA & Andrea Jacobs, IJN
Max Solomon Lewis, 20, a Jewish student at the University of Chicago from Denver who attended Kent Denver for six years, was shot in the neck by a stray bullet while riding the Green Line train in Chicago, Thursday, July 1.
Lewis, who was paralyzed from the neck down, was taken off life support on Sunday, July 4, reported JTA.
The funeral was scheduled for Thursday, July 8, at Emanuel Cemetery, with Rabbi Yossi Brackman of Chicago officiating. Feldman Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Lewis was not believed to be the intended target of the bullet that crashed through the train, according to police. No one is in custody.
Lewis’ death devastated the Jewish student community at the University of Chicago, which had already suffered another gaping loss — that of Ilan Naibryf, 21, who disappeared in last month’s Surfside, Fla. building collapse.
In Chicago, Rabbi Anna Levin Rosen has counseled Jewish students at the University of Chicago through crises before. But she says the last two weeks have been “devastating.”
Naibryf had been visiting Surfside with his girlfriend, Deborah Berezdivin, whose family owned two units in the building; neither of them has been found as of press time.
Levin Rosen, who is the rabbi of the university’s Hillel, visited Lewis’ hospital the morning he died, standing in a circle with 15 of his family members and friends and leading them in reciting the Shema and singing Psalm 121, which is about trusting in G-d during hard times.
“The fabric of our community has been irreparably torn through these tragedies,” she said.
“There’s a combination of unimaginable devastation for all who knew them, especially those who were friends with both, and the desire to be present for each other and support each other knowing that that’s the best thing we can do to give honor to what matters most to them.”
Both Lewis and Naibryf were prominent members of the University of Chicago’s Jewish community, which numbers around 800 among an undergraduate student body of about 6,700.
Naibryf, a rising senior, was president of the Chabad Student Board and an outspoken advocate for Israel.
Lewis, a rising junior, was the president of the campus chapter of AEPi, the Jewish fraternity.
Baila Brackman, who runs the university’s Chabad center with her husband, Rabbi Yossi Brackman, said both students were inquisitive, caring and energetic.
“They were precious young men whom we cared about deeply and loved deeply,” she said.
“Both of them always had a huge smile. Their smiles just brightened up the room. They were very happy, kind, caring and giving. Not once did I hear them say a bad word about someone.”
Lewis’ best friend and roommate Zach Cogan said Lewis was an avid runner and car enthusiast, the kind of person you could talk to about anything, “the most kind person.”
Cogan recalled that during the pandemic, Lewis stayed on campus to make sure he was there for other AEPi brothers.
“For Max, there was nothing bad you could possibly say about him,” said Cogan. “He was the best of us. He was so caring and selfless, and he never asked anybody for anything.
“Lewis was known among friends, peers and classmates for his kindness, goofiness, grit, impeccable work ethic and most importantly, his unfailingly genuine soul,” Cogan said.
“The past few days have been “extremely difficult and taxing,” Cogan said. “I’ve gone to text him several times and realize he’s not here, and it’s crushing.”
A fundraiser in Lewis’ memory, set up by Cogan and another friend, has raised $67,287 as of Tuesday evening, more than triple its $20,000 goal. Cogan was also helping students go to Lewis’ funeral in Denver, and many as 70 or 80 were anticipated to go.
Denver Kent Head of School Dr. Rand Harrington sent the following statement on behalf of the school:
“The entire Kent Denver community is heartbroken over the tragic death of Max Lewis, Class of 2019, and our deepest sympathies are with Max’s family, friends and loved ones.
“Max touched so many lives at our school and made a deep and positive impact on all he met. From the moment he arrived in sixth grade, he was known for his intellect, kindness and generosity of spirit.
“Over his seven years at Kent Denver, he grew into an exceptional scholar full of good humor, curiosity, drive and a deep passion for technology . . .
“He had so much to offer the world, and he will be deeply missed.”
Lewis was a double major in computer science and economics at the University of Chicago.
Brackman said that Naibryf became active in Chabad as a freshman and that she and her husband came to view him as a family member, “almost a sibling” to their kids. When the pandemic hit, she said, he came up with ideas for Zoom programs to keep students engaged.
“He was unapologetic about Israel and how much he loved Israel, and he wanted to make sure that students had the history of Israel,” Baila Brackman said.
“He worked very hard to make sure there was a lot of Jewish pride on campus. He would just come into the Chabad house, just smile and say, ‘What can I do and how can I help?’”
Said Cogan, “With the loss of Ilan in Miami and Max with this horrific senseless shooting, it is super unfortunate for the Jewish community of UChicago to have lost two incredible people.
“There are people who, in your first encounter with them, you kind of know — ‘Wow, that’s a great person.’ And Ilan and Max both had that effect.”
Now, Levin Rosen and the Brackmans are figuring out how to comfort their students over the summer and once school restarts in the fall. They held a joint Shabbat dinner for students and Lewis’ relatives on July 2.
They’re helping students access professional counseling and are reaching out to Lewis’ and Naibryf’s friends to check in.
The Brackmans hope to memorialize both students, perhaps dedicating a portion of the Chabad building in their memory.
But they’re also struggling with what Brackman, who has worked on campus for 20 years, called “one of our most difficult weeks.”
“Why????????” the Brackmans posted Sunday, shortly after Lewis’ death, on a joint Facebook account. “There’s no answer. Our hearts just break, again.”
Max Lewis is survived by his parents, Dr. Rebecca Rivkin and Mark Lewis; one brother and two sisters.
