Three flights from New York – one to Uman, and two to Israel – arrived just in time for Shabbos.
As YWN had been reporting, heavy thunderstorm ripped through the Tri-State area on Thursday evening, delaying thousands of flights in the area. Two of those flights were packed with Frum people, and were delayed for many hours.
Ukrainian Air flight 234 from JFK to Kiev was delayed more than five hours. A passenger on the flight tells YWN that first they sat on the tarmac for around two hours. They were then allowed to get off and sit in the terminal. As can be seen in the video below, the crew had a Frum person announce tobthe entire plane that they should leave all personal belongings behind to enable a quicker re-boarding.
Eventually, they were allowed back on the plane and took off at 10:20PM. A passenger on the fight tells YWN that the pilot initially announced there were more than SIXTY planes shead of them to take off, a reality that would make it impossible to arrive before Shabbos. A community Askan, Tzvi Gluck of Amudim, worked with the Port Authority to have the plane bumped up to third in line, allowing a much earlier takeoff.
The flight landed in Kiev at around 3:00PM on Erev Shabbos. The nearly five hundred passengers then had a three hour drive to Uman, where they arrived around two hours before Shabbos.
Meanwhile, El Al Flights LY08 from JFK Airport and El Al Flight LY26 from Newark Airport arrived in Israel just an hour to Shabbos. Both flights were also delayed due to weather.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri was among those that pulled strings to have the hundreds of passengers rushed through customs. Vans from ZAKA and other emergency organizations were on hand to rush the passengers to their destinations.
Amazingly, the flight from Newark was initially expected to land after 6:00PM local time (as captured in the screenshot below – via the YWN Instagram page) but actually arrive almost an hour early. As can be seen in the image attached below, the flight time was much shorter than other similar flights.
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(Charles Gross – YWN)
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25 Responses
Visiting graves is doiche shabbos. Says so in the gemara. I mean, not bavli or yerushalmi, but some sefer somewhere.
The flight landed in Kiev at around 3:00PM on Erev Shabbos. The nearly five hundred passengers then had a three hour drive to Uman, where they arrived just three hours before Shabbos.
Shkiya in Uman is 7:29. How did they land at 3, drive 3 hours, and arrive 3 hours before Shabbos?
Two points:
1. Unless Shabbos starts at 10 in Uman, I don’t see how the passengers could have landed at 3 (and assuming 1hr to get from the plane to the street), taken a 3 hour ride to Uman, and then had 3 hours left until Shabbos.
2. It’s very inappropriate to use emergency vehicles to transport passengers who voluntarily boarded a NYC-TLV flight late Thursday night. For starters, who knows what emergency might arise which require the quick response of these very vehicles. Secondly, if/when the non-religious public finds out about this use, it might lead them to believe that this is a common occurrence, and make them more hesitant to allow them the right of way to emergency vehicles.
terrible Chilul Shabbos, if it takes three hours to drive its tight even with an ambulance.
Meno: Charles Gross math.
rebbe yid, any sefer that claims to visit graves is doiche shabbos, can read in the bathroom and perhaps be used as toilet paper. 🙂
This is precisely the reason why Yidden who think ahead and are careful would never take such flights.
It is a given that there will be delays foreseen and unforeseen and it is very disingenuous of these passengers to think or say otherwise.
Next year stay home with your families.
Why is anyone surprised?
You thought these trips had anything to do with Judaism?
All you need to think of the insistence that Motzei Shabbos bonfire lighting in Meron on Lag b’Omer MUST happen at 10:00 PM, knowing full well that they will be forcing thousands (literally thousands) of policemen, soldiers, bus drivers, etc to be mechaleil Shabbos for them. All the years, they refused the pleas of the Rav of the police force and the Rabbanut that they postpone the bonfire and dancing to Sunday daytime. (This past year, they gave in a little, and postponed it to 1:00 AM, which helped somewhat.)
no one should be travelling so late in the week before Shabbos
Once you hold of the so-called eruv and carry on Shabbos, driving on Shabbos is not that far behind. Nu nu, as long as you don’t eat chalav stam.
What you get back in return from going to the holy Rabbi Nachman’s tzion and davening to HaShem for anything you need, its worth every second of pain getting there! If it was easy to go it would not be the same! delays in NY, borders in Ukraine, bribing officers, protecting yourself from all kinds of crazy meshuganar people along the way, getting a normal bed in Uman (if you sleep) finding a place to stand in Uman, ITS AN EXPERIENCE and you should go if you never went, GO! if not this year, next, or the next
The flight landed according to FlightAware at 1:28pm. There are only 361 seats on the plane not 500, so it would not have been that much Chilul Shabbos. Not that there would have been any as they would have stayed in Kiev for Shabbos and then made their way to Uman on Moitze Shabbos or Sunday in time for Rosh Hashanah.
I agree head there earlier in the week, no one saw the rain coming! I was like ‘huh?’ ‘what?’ when I got off the train at Passaic. I mean on the quiet car I had no idea it was raining, no idea! Hashem sent this rain, obviuosly. Okay so they went now what? Were you people ever in Ukraine? Just drive and drive until you get somewhere where you are not surrounded by a bunch of vilda chayos! and drunken officers at the numerous checkpoints to Uman!
I heard the van from Waterbury was delayed by hours because the highway had like 3 inches of rain!
Note: I’m not a Posek. Ask a posek what to do in a situation like that.
Amazing! Hashem watches over those who follow his ways. Respect to these chasidim who went to spend yuntiv with by their Rebbe’s kever. May all their tefilos be answered!
Big A, I don’t plan on ever going to Uman. I’ll tell you what, next year and the subsequent years you can go to Uman all you want. I daven and anticipate going to the third Beis Hamikdash in Yerushalyaim next year. Hope you enjoy Europe!
dr yidd what do you mean ‘perhaps be used as toilet paper’ of course it could
wishing everybody a ceseva v’chasimah tovah
It was close, but they got there. If it wasn’t meant to be, it wouldn’t have worked out. Don’t be a hater.
Big A: What are you drinking? Posting while intoxicated isn’t very smart.
So WRONG in so many ways to use ambulances for this purpose. These people need to care more about shabbos than their holy cult. Don’t fly too close to shabbos. And why spend money and make anti-semites in ukraine rich when you can fly to yerushalayim for one of the holiest days of the year??!
These people are at best misguided and at worst, deranged.
As can be seen in the image attached below, the flight time was much shorter than other similar flights. Probably, this flight flew on “Accelerated Pace”. It utilizes more fuel, so airlines don’t ordinarily do this, but has happened in the past, that El Al got a Pesak from its Rabbinate, to fly on accelerated pace, when running very tight before Shabbos.
Why all the hate so close to Rosh Hashanah???!!!!
Lemaasah they got there on time. There was no Chilul Shabbos. As they say a miss is as good as a mile.
The Baal Shem Tov would be proud of these Yidden giving up there comforts and going such a long way for some ruchniyos.
Change the negative attitude and may Hashem do the same with us and see us in a good light and bless us all with a good healthy happy year of aliyah beruchniyos.
It was Reb Nachman – NOT TZvi Gluck that pulled strings to get the plane in the air. Right before Reb Nachman took off for Meron. He has a heskem with Ren Shimon that R Nachman goes to Meron for Rosh Hashana, and R Shimon goes to Uman for Lag B’Omer.
It seems that many of those leaving their families for Rosh Hashanah and putting their money into the economy of one of the most anti-Semitic countries in the world truly believe that their tzfillot will get more attention from the Ebeshter than if they had davened with the same words and kavanah i..If true, than its doubtful you could find a minyan for RH in Yerushalayim , BB, Willy or BP.