A Bain Hazmanim trip turned deadly this afternoon in the city of Teverya, when the body of a 19-year-old Bochur from Yeshiva Kisey Rachamim, was R”L found by rescue personnel in the waters of the Kinneret, after two hours of searches for him.
According to initial reports, a group of Bochrim from the Bnei Brak Yeshiva had taken a Bain Hazmanim trip up North to Daven at various Kevarim. While in Teverya, the boys decided to take a swim in the Kinneret. It is unclear exactly what transpired next, but while swimming, the boy suddenly raised his hands in sign of desperation, and seconds later vanished under water. A massive search was then launched for in the Kinneret waters. ZAKA, Hatzolah, Police and MDA personnel participated in the search.
After approximately two hours of searches, rescue workers came across the lifeless body of the Yeshiva Bochur.
The name of the Bochur has not yet been released.
(YWN – Lipas)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
25 Responses
Hashem Yishmor!!
torahis1 – There is no escaping the malach hamaves. When each person’s time comes, that’s it!
Hamakom yenachem eschem…..
#1 (torahis1) said: “When are the yeshivas finally gonna step up to the plate and organize the tiyulim themselves – with licensed / professional / armed & trained tour guides?
How many Bochurim have to R’L die – only because they went on these tiyulim on their own – ill prepared for the rigors involved??”
Even if they do arrange it, they have to use some seichel! When I was in seminary, they did arrange a proper tiyul for us, shomrim and all, but it still was dangerous and life-threatening!
Imagine my shock when they took us hiking, and we suddenly found ourselves walking on a narrow ridge in the middle of a cliff! The ridge was so narrow, maybe 15 inches wide, slanted downwards, and at least 100 feet high above a rocky ravine. I started crying and shaking, knowing I could fall to my death, wondering what responsible school would take kids to such a place, and thinking how this could never happen on a school trip in America. I ended up crawling across the ridge instead of walking even though it was embarrassing in front of my friends, because I felt my life was in danger, and I’d rather be embarrassed than dead.
They never told us we’d be exposed to such danger. Every time I read about a bochur R”L falling from a cliff on a tiyul, I shudder at the memory of how the same thing could have happened to me.
The next time we came to a place to “hike” the madrichot remembered my reaction to the first cliff and warned us that this hike would be even more dangerous than the one I cried on. I ended up refusing to go, and the madrichot decided to leave me alone in the desert (the buses had already left). Another girl took pity and stayed with me so I wouldn’t be alone. Believe me, I was terrified to be alone in a desert, but I refused to place my life in even greater danger by walking those cliffs. I just kept thinking of how my parents would feel if something chv”sh happened to me, so I refused to hike.
I hope someone who can do something about this will read my message. Yeshivos and seminaries, please take greater care of the lives of the kids you’re entrusted with!
And #3, you’re right that there’s no escaping if your time has come – but it is clearly against halacha to place your life in danger, let alone the lives of kids placed in our care, and we have to do our hishtadlus to protect our lives and our health. If a person jumps off a cliff, they shouldn’t expect a neis to save them.
HOW SAD, hashem yerachem…
Remember teaching a profession and the skill of swimming is a Gamorah doctrine.
Nothing personal, but you people are ALL sick..
Firstly, there is nothing unsafe about swimming in the Kinneret and davening at Kevarim.
Secondly, how do you know that the boy did not know how to swim?!
How DARE you make such irresponsible, and childish statements?!
Shame on you people.
He could have been trained in lifeguarding for all you know, and died of a sudden heart attack, aneurysm etc etc.
Stop it!
Tragic and sad in the extreme.
As the great Gaon and Tzaddik Harav Avigdor Miller zatzal repeatedly emphasised:
People are completely responsible for their actions in terms of health and safety.
If people take actions that place their lives in danger and b’derech teva something tragic is going to happen then Hashem does not intervene.
Obviously swimming in the kinneret is dangerous, as is swimming or sometimes even hiking, in other areas of eretz yisroel where sudden flash flooding and the like can occur.
Let’s learn the lesson and prevent these horrific calamities, which are totally avoidable!
number 6, you are a 100% right, you took the words right out of my mouth. well said!!!
TO NUMBER ONE SHAME ON YOU THAT YOU COULD MAKE SUCH A COMMENT!! PLEASE BE MORE SENSITIVE!!!
The bochurs name is Meir Zamir, a 17 year old yeshiva student.
His funeral procession will leave Kiseh Rachamim Yeshiva, on Uziel Street in Bnei Berak, at 9:30 PM.
# 1 you are SO WRONG # 6 YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!!
This is NOT a dangerous trip. Nothing wrong for bochurim to take a tiyul after a long zman as long as the trip is not dangerous!!!!
torais1 if thats ur name maybe u should learn how to talk about other people first!!!!
#5,why complain about what #8 said regarding #3’s
reaction to #4? personally i think #7 was worse!!!!
Why can’t we all just have nice things to say?
#17, you’re absolutely right. Whatever happened to siyag l’chochma shtika? (Or, as my parents taught me, if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it.)
Ezer Mizion exemplified Klal Yisrael at it’s best, coming together for a good purpose. The comments on this site do just the opposite. The constant sniping at one another, albeit anonymously, is the last thing Am Yisrael needs right now.
Honestly, if some of you have an overwhelming urge to put your two cents in, please put it in a pushka. At least there it’ll do some good!
remember there are whirlpools in the kinneret.
i know of a bochur who went on an organized trip with his yeshiva with a guide and a security guard. very responsible. they went swimming up north, the kid dived in, and his foot got caught under a rock and he couldn’t come up. his yahrzeit should be soon. so yes, one has to be careful, but it is a nightmare for a responsible rosh hayeshiva sending his bochurim on a tyul. i know one that does, because he believes the kids need it, and he doesn’t want them to go by themselves (plus not the dangerous hitching r”l). but while he doesn’t go along, he doesn’t stop saying tehillim till they come back.
Here’s a suggestion that will help parents sleep better at night especially bane hazmanim (vacation breaks).
A list of sites should be compiled with safety ratings and guidance as to which should only be visited in the company of licensed professional tour guides and which should require soldiers accompanying. A star danger rating system could be used. Here are a few examples:
Kineret **** Professional life guard. Dangerous currents.
Masada *** Climb is strenuous. Stay well hydrated.
Walking tour of old city *
Equally important is to rate the sites as to their suitability for yeshiva bochurim and seminary girls.
17 and 18, why are your posts the exception and not the rule?
According to Arutz 7 news his name was Meir Zamir, and he was 17 year old. Boruch dayan Ho’Emmes
#16 is one of the best comments I’ve ever seen here! 🙂
instead of arguing how about learning or some tehilim for the aliya of his neshama????
Summer vacation is for trips; Pesach bain hazemanim is to help your family get ready for yom tov!
Also, he probably knew how to swim, but drowned anyway. People swimming without a lifeguard at least should swim with a buddy (with good swimming skills) to help you in case of trouble!
#1- Stop blaming Yeshivos- it has nothing to do with them unless the bochurim have no family!
#1 I WASN’T BLAMING YOU I WAS SAYING THAT WHEN R”L A 17 YEAR OLD BUCHOR DROWNED WE SHOULD NOT START MAKING COMMENTS AS TO WHO’S FAULT IT IS AND WHY IT HAPPENED!! WE SHOULD BE MORE SENSITIVE AND NOT GO BLAMING THE WHOLE WORLD!!THATS NOT THE IKOR THE IKOR IS THAT WE SHOULD ALL TRY TO LEARN FORM THE STORY AND LEARN LI’ELU NISHMAS.
To #4 – Bas Torah. I’m so sorry to hear of your experience. Baruch Ha-Shem nothing happened to you. Sounds really scary. I wonder which seminary you went to (I don’t expect you to publicize it). But next year my daughter has to start applying for seminary as she will be a senior I”YH. Anyway I agree with you totally. Even with supervision, things can and do go terribly wrong. I also agree with what you said in response to the person who said “when each person’s time comes, that’s it” YES HA-SHEM HAS HIS PLAN BUT WE ALSO MUST DO OUR HISHTADLUS TO PROTECT OURSELVES. I feel so sorry for that boy’s family. Ha-Shem Yishmiraichem V’Yishmirainu. We should only hear good things.
#16, u rock!
When someone is niftar so tragically, I don’t think it is the time and place to start pointing fingers at Yeshivos, organizations and the like. What is the point? A family is suffering from the loss, and we have to be there for them, not starting machlokes.In such tragedies, we have to be mechazek each other as a klal, arevim ze lazeh.