[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]
As news of young Aaron Sofer’s disappearance in Israel and the subsequent, search goes international following a massive press conference in Lakewood, the situation grows more desperate by the hour.
Aharon Sofer is a yeshiva student from Lakewood, New Jersey, who went missing on Friday afternoon while walking with a friend in a wooded area in Jerusalem, where he was studying.
As the days go by and the clues as to his whereabouts remain nil, the search grows increasingly frantic.
It is impossible to adequately underscore the urgency of the situation, as each passing day with no new information diminishes the chances of a positive outcome. The Israeli police and Shin Bet are working on this case to locate the missing student and have just recently reeleased a video of Aaron Sofer taking the Light rail to his hike. Hours later he would be declared missing and the world would be davening for the safe return of Aaron Ben Chulda.
אהרון סופר, החיפושים וחבר from חרדים 10 on Vimeo.
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13 Responses
Does not look like someone planning a day of hiking in the forest, but again, this has been a strange story from the beginning.
Didn’t the friend have anything to contribute? Where did they part company? The whole story shmecks….
Hakaras/t Hatov to the Police
gadol hadorah why do you always have such a nasty comment to say? Why are you always so suspicious, especially of anyone chareidi?
“kol haposel, b’mumo posel “
Where was his hiking partner in this picture?
For the life of me I cannot understand how 2 people go into a forest together and only 1 comes out. There is something very strange about this. Why did they separate? How could something have happened to one without the other knowing?
I’ve hiked thousands of kilometers in israel in the army and I never would have dreamed for a second of leaving the company of my partner.
I am praying for this innocent kid, and am by no means implying that chas v’sholom he deserves any harm just because they were irresponsible. Chas V’shalom. I hope he is well and that every single person in israel searches for him and he is found safe and sound.
But I think suspicions might have to made much closer to home. Who goes on a hike in a remote forest in the midday sun with a black hat and jacket, no water bottle, and no cell phone? (And then leaves their partner in the forest?)
Even if number 1 was looking to make constructive comment about proper hiking gear, this is not the appropriate thread and quite frankly it is not the appropriate time.
Even if you think your $0.02 is so important to share with the entire world, please consider the family members who are likely reading this. Insensitive and irrevelant comments can cause a lot of pain to those who are already suffering. Every thought that crosses your mind doesn’t need to be typed out to live on in cyberspace forever. Remember that you are accountable for pain caused by your comments. Please think twice before sharing your brilliance.
Reply to No. 6
Again, you miss the point. The bochur in this photo (assuming it is Aaron Sofer) doesn’t look that he was heading out for a day of hiking in the woods. Maybe that suggests the police should consider other places where he may have gone. This has nothing to do with his being Chareidi, Chassidish, MO,or whatever.
The yeshiva/School he is in is very very religious and considered towards the top of all yeshiva. Hardly any student is seen walking in public without a hat or jacket no matter where they are going…even if he was on the way to the beach he would still be wearing his hat and jacket…further more I beleive in that particular school most students do not have cellphones to avoid distraction. I am not 100% sure about that but It is definitely not uncommon for students there not to have a cell phone.
Gadolhadorah and proud Zionist.
Sometimes yeshiva boys like to go on hikes in their hats and jackets. During the hike Aharon said he didn’t feel well and was going to head back himself and his friend continued the hike. If you can see Aharon had a bag. He brought with 3 liters of water.
Many yeshiva boys here go hiking with their suits and hats.
Which is why the police asked the volunteers to dress appropriately because of the heat, because they know the way these boys dress. One of my grandsons who joined in the search said they found his jacket. Not having a water bottle is really tragic. Not having a cell phone is normal for certain boys. His friend told the police that Aron wanted to go down a path that he didn’t want to take and they decided to meet on the other side.
So, the friend who says they got separated in the woods is lying? Making up a story?
I think that all of the above are valid questions:
what in the world is a bochur going ‘hiking’ in a hat and jacket and no water bottle.
The answer is very simple. For those that haven’t been to the Jerusalem ‘Forest’: through out the forest are roads, used constantly to go from Har Nof to Givat Shaul. Along these paths are picnic tables and playgrounds.
At any point on the road, you are at most 10-15 minutes from a cold drink and a schwarma. The way the main road runs (almost in a loop) you can go in the forest on one side of the street (near Kanfei Nesharim by the gas station) and come out an hour later on the other side of the road (by Beis HaDfus). Look it up on Google Maps.
The walk is not any more intense than walking in Central park from Columbus Circle to the Upper West Side. Only that Central Park is more dangerous. Granted that there are extended paths in the forest taking you up to Yad V’Shem and Har Hertzel, but it does not seem like this was where Sofer was walking.
Hopefully we should hear good news fast.