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.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
