WATCH: Ultra-Orthodox Pilgrims Survive Plane Mayday
Image by YouTube
By Dan Friedman March 20, 2017
An emergency cabin depressurization on a Titan Airways flight left a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews fearing for their lives on March 19.
The plane was flying from London to Rzeszow in Poland when a Mayday signal was sent out, the cabin lost pressure, and oxygen masks came down.
The ultra-Orthodox Jews were flying to visit the grave of a famed rabbi to pray for success and happiness. Also known as “Der Hilger,” Rabbi Elimelach of Lizensk is of singular significance to Hasidic Jews. As well as for his own personal righteousness, he is known as the author of the venerated book, “Noam Elimelech.”
This year is the 300th anniversary of the rabbi’s birth and is, as a consequence, there is a particularly big pilgrimage.
On hearing the emergency, the passengers put on the masks and many of them read the “Ani Ma’amin” (“I Believe”) prayer. It’s a statement of faith, used in many songs, but also used in moments where the reader fears for his life — famously during the Holocaust.
Thanks to prayer and excellent emergency protocols, all 262 passengers and 10 crew members landed safely in an emergency landing in the Netherlands.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
