A couple’s journey from Niagara Falls to Monsey following a peaceful Shabbos Chanukah quickly turned into a nightmare when the family along with their 3-month-old son became trapped in snow on a highway near Buffalo.
Stuck in a deep snowdrift with no escape route in sight, the worried couple called 911 for assistance. But after an extensive wait, it was clear that help wasn’t on the way. So the couple did what they could: they phoned Chaverim of Rockland County and explained their concerning predicament.
Chaverim immediately sprang into action, contacting New York State Police and local law enforcement to urge the rescue of the family, stressing that the young child was in serious danger due to the cold.
Thirty minutes later – after being stranded in their vehicle for 3 hours – the couple and their newborn were rescued by state troopers and transported to a hotel for temporary lodging.
The story doesn’t end there. Once at the hotel, a new problem arose: getting kosher food. Once again, the couple reached out to Chaveirim, who in turn contacted Rabbi Dudi Farkas from Chabad of Olympia (Monsey), who got in touch with a frum doctor in Buffalo, who visited the couple and brought them food.
The couple is still at the hotel, waiting until the roads are cleared to enable their return home. Until then, they know that their fellow Jews are looking out for them.
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8 Responses
Kiddish hashem
This is why Hashem chose us as His children!
My opinion, feel free to disagree!
There is a lot of chesed going on everyday and especially in times of difficult weather, I’m a responder and dispatcher of an org (not gonna say which or where)
I was on primary dispatch Friday afternoon when the winds were terrible and multiple people were losing power including elderly people on home bound oxygen, I was answering calls on the first ring, and had units responding within seconds of putting it out.
We don’t have to publicize everything we do, it takes away from the preciousness of the mitzvah/chesed we just did!!
Kugs you said feel free to disagree well I disagree. When we do a mitzvah in public (any mitzvah for that matter whether people are gonna say wow! Or not) it’s a kiddush hashem. The more publicity it gets the greater the kiddush hashem. So if you keep it secret your minimizing the kiddush hashem. Nothing good about that
AND WE DO NOT HAVE TO VISIT NIAGRA FALLS WHEN A BLIZZERD IS EXPECTED. THIS WAS NOT A SURPRISE BLIZZERD. ON WHOS CHESHBON DID THIS COUPLE MAKE THE TRIP? ON THEIR NEWBORNS? CH”V
The father of the baby needs to bench “goilom” for taking that risk and acting so irresponsibly. The blizzard was well known to be headed in that direction
That couple are morons.
Take it easy on this couple. Most people didn’t relize, and had no way of knowing that a blizzard is coming. Even if they did, no one (even the government in Buffalo, as well as many in buffalo) didn’t realized it was going to be this bad.
They went to Niagara Falls for Shabbos Chanukah, as did many other Yiden. Most made it back safely. Only a select few got stuck.
Niagara Falls didn’t get hit hard. The blizzard was lake affect which works in mysterious ways and only those in its path get hit. Because the highways were closed, they were forced to take local side roads through Buffalo to get back to Monsey, on which they made a wrong turn and got stuck.
Here is the ending of the story:
Rabbi Laizer Labkowski of Chabad Center For Jewish Life of Buffalo picked them up from the hotel they were rescued to, and brought them to his home and provided food and shelter.
Another couple in Niagara Falls, also from Monsey that was in Niagara Falls for Shabbos, Behasgocha Protis made the connection, and picked them up from the Labkowski’s home, and drove back to Monsey. As of last night, they are safely back in Monsey.
The conditions in Buffalo have stabilized. Most roads are clear and the storm has been gone since Motzoai Shabbos.
Now it’s just politions trying to score political points and keeping a driving ban on the city, as well as keeping the airport closed.