33 Responses

1. I hope everything worked out for everyone.

   the State Police is looking for Frum familes and will pick you up and take you to Lakewood

   Can one travel with a goy in a car on Shabbos?

2. I had the pleasure of being stuck in this backup for over 2 hours prior to getting home 5 minutes before lich bentching. I just wanted to thanks

   -NJ State Police
   -Lakewood PD
   -All Rabbonim, Askanim, and News Agencies, involved in coordinating contingency plans.

   -Last but far from least, the kind gentile who went out of his way to personally guide me home through back roads in Freehold in Howell, so that I don’t get lost and miss the zman! Thank You & May you be blessed!

3. Once again people jump to colclusions and are never don lechaf zechue.

   So here it is. In angry, blatant english:

   THE PEOPLE WHO WERE STUCK IN TRAFFIC LEFT NY TO LAKEWOOD FIVE HOURS BEFORE SHABBOS.
   EVERY SINGLE ROUTE HAD MAJOR ACCIDENTS AND THE HIGHWAYS WERE SHUT.

   Get it?

4. #3 Many travelers happen to people who live in Lakewood and work on Fridays such as myself. Im sure most of these people do know the back roads and would have taken advantage of it had they been able to.I was fortunate enough to bail out at Exit 105 to RT 18 and make it home in time. If you were past Exit 105 you were trapped.

5. flatbusher,

   …..perhaps I left @1:30 for what would ordinarily be a 40 minute drive. And perhaps I was a qaurter mile behind the accident. And perhaps the accident happened just ahead of where I was when I was already there (emergency personell hadn’t even arrived yet). And perhaps it was only 2:00 at the time. And perhaps you were simply stuck there till 4:00+ while behind you people were being routed off the parkway at Exits 105 and then some. And perhaps some people have no choice but to do this on Friday. And perhaps most others were the same “oiness” I was…

   Just a thought, flatbusher…

6. #3 is 100% right. We do leave too late, always assuming everything will go right.
   I was stuck on it right after exit 105. I had to wait till i got to 102. I didn’t know what to do from there but somehow i hit the 18. I made it home with very little time. it was scary thinking that I really might not be home for Shabbos. I really should have given myself more time.
   #3 you are right. Had I left earlier it wouldn’t have been a problem

7. What time did this accident take place? I was there at 1:45pm and I saw a bashed up Jeep (GC) hanging on the guardrail with on e state trooper and 2 tow truck son site. Was there another accident? Did something else happen?

   BTW, to #3, why does there always have to be one idiot who posts their “briliant” comment? I travel to NY M-F and there are gaps in the GSP that you can get stuck and can’t make an illegal u-turn, exit etc.

8. #7. And what time did you leave and from where? People who left Brooklyn 12:45pm and 1:00pm told me they barely made it to Lakewood.
   I left 12:30 and must have missed it by a few minutes? Leaving myself close to 4 hours isn’t enough? Without traffic I make it home in 1 hr 10 minutes (that leaves me an extra 2 hrs and change!)

9. Wow! I am I glad I changed m plans not to go to Lakewood this shabbos!!!

10. #9 I left SI at 1:45. Because of work there is nothing I can do. But the point of number 3 is still true. We don’t give ourselves enough time. Perhaps the va’ad shlita should make a takana that anyone who travels after chatzos on Friday will not be allowed to have their children return to school on Monday

11. WOW! Mi Keamcha Yisroel!

12. That’s why I leave myself at least 3 1/2 hrs for traveling back on Fridays. You think my boss is thrilled? Probably not, but since I work hard enough during the week and nights/weekends, he has to live with it.

    His point was directed to you. He is right that YOU don’t leave yourself enough time. My point was that I know 3 cars that did leave themselves enough time and still just made it back.
    I missed it by minutes, and I left over 3 1/2 before Shabbos. Poskim say that you should give yourself double the amount of time it takes to get to your destination.

    Gut Voch

13. i left nyc at 12:45 got stuck , made it home 10 minutes before. how? GPS . small investment great piece of mind………

14. when will people learn to use public transit? so to save on gas, minimize traffic, most important in such situation the company will them through back roads. or perhaps arrange for police escort.
    gut voch

15. THANKS RABBI “SHENKY” ONCE AGAIN AND DEPUTY MAYOR FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK ……..

16. I live in Deal nj and we were zoche to have the Skolya Rebbe in town with us along with numerous people. EVERYONE left at reasonable times that under normal circumstances would have got them to lakewood at a reasonable time.
    On a side note we must thank the many Frum Deal families for hosting people. Rabbi Jackobowitz of Long Branch really gets a lot of credit for spearheading this effort and placing everyone!!

17. It’s really amazing how the Rabbonim and frum families through out have made a true kiddush Hashem. I’m sure a lot of people’s menuchas a nefesh were put at ease do to some quick thinking. Barauch Hashem that we have people in the Lakewood police force who can be so helpful (my brother-in-law wasn’t so lucky when the state trooper threatened a ticket if he were to do anything outside his lane) to the Yidden. & My sympathy for those who had to have last second changes in their Shabbos arrangements. Yes we need to plan ahead but lets face it, most of the people on the road probably didn’t have the luxury of leaving before 12.

    Edited by Moderation Panel. (#11 was JOKING)

18. Somehow we did better than alot of people. We left flatbush about 1:15, got to the backed up area of the GSP by 2:30 immediatly got off at exit 102. We then took route 16 to 547 straight into LAkewood. We were coming in for a simcha and all of our cars followed us and made it with 50 minutes to spare. And why does #8 feel the need to start name calling on a frum site? Happy travelling.

19. shkoyach to e/o who helped and shkoyach to yw for texting e/o right b4 shabbos(e/o should get texts from yw there gr8)

20. Why not make these posts about WHAT A KIDDUSH HASHEM was made by the Deal community instead of what time everyone should have left.

21. A very special YASHER KOACH goes to Rabbi Shenkolevsky for being there once again, when the oilam is in a REAL JAM!!! And of course to all the State and City Officials who got involved in assisting travelers stranded due to religeous constraints- THANK YOU!! And thank god for the shoulder… we made it home in the nick of time!!

22. #19. Don’t u see? U said 50 minutes to spare. that is nothing when u see how people could get stuck!! Perhaps leaving Flatbush at 1:15 is really too late. many people chance it very often to the last minute.

23. My brother lives in Lakewood and by following someone who has GPS he was able to make it. He went straight to shul and made it there literally a minute before shkiah.

24. I left NYC at 1:00 PM and made it right down to exit 85 on the GSP in a little over an hour, no traffic whatsoever.

25. Whenever I have to travel on a Friday – which I do sometimes due to hospital appointments – I make sure that I have enough time to WALK home, htat way for sure I’ll get home even if I get stuck in traffic. I travel by public transport and it takes an hour so I make sure to leave two and a half hours before Shabbos as that is how long it would take me to walk.

    The Deal community are a marvelous example of Hachnosas Orchim, imagine opening up your home to numerous strangers a few minutes before Shabbos, sharing whatever food you had made – no time to cook more – and sharing living space for the whole o Shabbos! An amazing Kehillo who will surely be richly rewarded up above!

26. I happened to have left brooklyn at 1:10 and I got off at exit 100A at 2:40 and bchasdei hashem with the help of my NAVVY i got to lakewood over an hour before shabbos.

27. Gishmak in Lkwd,
    Unfortunately there are many jobs out there like yours that dont santify the sabbath and dont give us enough time to easily get home for sabbath. You should stage a protest that they should be more considerate for your feelings. Maybe it’s time the Vaad Shlita bans people from working outside of Lakewood!

28. I work off of Route 78 in NJ 1 hr and 15 minutes from Monsey.

    I am fortunate in that I get to telecommute on Fridays from early Autumn until late Spring. in The summer, I leave ~2:30 and no later than 3PM. B’H, I haven’t had a problem and B”Ezrat HaShem no one will ever have a problem . I do know of several alternate routes, however, even giving over 5 hours, I am always nervous. I’ve had flat tires on my commute,

    once while going to the mountains on an erev Shabbos, I gave myself 6 hours, I had a blown hose in the middle of nowhereland (up 23N in Sussex County NJ), I limped into a repair station B’H it was a hose right on top and took only a few minutes to change – once the autoparts store brought it (~30 minutes) – the mechanic stopped what he was doing and fixed it. the point is, it could have been much worse and I am always nervous.

29. I have to say, there is something immensely comforting and special about being part of such a community and living in such circumstances. Imagine anyone else, anywhere else experiencing the type of panic and pressure that sets in when you are stranded in traffic with minutes to spare before shabbos. Here in Florida, no matter how “warm” (pun intended!) and giving the community is, they simply do not have the resources and abilities to pull together in such an efficient, generous, and rather awesome display of brotherly concern. We don’t have an “in” with the police department, we don’t have a Rabbi Shenky, we don’t have a frum deputy mayor, we don’t have this instant and mass outpouring of availability. So although I won’t quickly trade my sunny warm Florida and the sunny warmth of the Florida community, it is remarkable to read about such an event and feel a part of something like this, even from afar. Even with the racial tensions and politics and getting into school issues, Lakewood, and Deal, sound like special places.

30. In Jerusalem it always amazes me how many people are standing at the entrance to the city (the bus stop) looking for a ride out of the city, as little as 30 minutes before lichtzeit.

    I happen to work until about one hour before lichtzeit, since I work with European customers, and we are expected to work Mondays through Fridays. It’s in our own interest (we are an outsourcing project) to do this – if we complain too much, we’re going to be left without a job, so I don’t complain about it.

    And, most importantly: I get home in 40 minutes on foot, if I would be unable to get a taxi (which has never happened yet). That would leave me some time until lichtzeit and another 40 minutes until shkiah, so I’m always going to be fine.

31. 17 and 21 are correct.
    What a kidush hashem by the neighboring Deal community.
    Why does everyone always have to argue on this site what time this one should have left or that one.
    Leaving 4 hrs before shabbat is plenty of time. If boreh olam wants you to get stuck it can happen even if you left at 8 in the morning. Everyone chill out a little.
    Were all supposed to be on the same team in this olam. As we learn from efraim and menashe…it says in the pasuk “becha” by you they will bless…not by both of you but singular you. even though they had reasons to fight they didnt. they stayed as one. thats the only way mashiach is going to get here.
    I propose to YW editor to close comments section when a discussion gets out of hand

32. My relative got stuck in one of those cars. They left before 1 for a trip that usually takes an hour and fifteen minutes. They arrived in Lakewood an hour and half after the zeman- they walked from Howell, NJ until 6PM. B’h when they got back to their car after shabbos, everything was there.

33. My sister left BP at 12:45 and made it home no problem. Yes, ppl are a little too confident with how much time they leave themselves. Regardless of this fact, B’H there was no chilul Shabbos like that terrible story a few yrs ago with the bus. Mi Keamcha Yisroel for all those who helped out. It’s really special and heartwarming to read such stories.
    Maybe someone could give out a map of back roads to take thru Freehold, Howell etc should such a situation arise again.