11 Saved in Argentinian Accident

By COLlive reporter

The Chabad Israeli Center in San Carlos de Bariloche, commonly known as Bariloche, a prime all-season destination in Argentina, once again hosted a large communal Pesach Seder for backpackers.

Some 500 people participated in the Seder led by local Shluchim Rabbi Boaz Klein and his wife Fradi in what was a well-planned and organized event.

It was held with the help of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch and the bochurim Zevi Rosenblum and Mendel Wueunch. R’ Yoni Bar assisted from Israel.

As an outpost for those hiking to the Patagonia region, located at the southern end of South America, Chabad is the first address Jewish and Israeli tourists turn to for help and a ‘second home’.

In the days leading up to Pesach, those traveling to Argentina and Chile were given Matzah and other foods to use wherever they would be on the Seder nights.

During one of the days, following a farbrengen in honor of the Rebbe’s birthday on 11 Nissan, 4 travelers agreed to put on Tefillin for the first time in their lives – an exciting moment celebrated by all present.

It was 2 days after the Seder that the Shluchim heard of a car accident atop a mountain 150 kilometers from Bariloche. The car lost control and turned over 3 times.

Filled with a group of Jewish tourists, the vehicle finally hit the crash barrier on the side of the road, which just stopped it from falling down a huge cliff.

“It was a miracle,” says Rabbi Klein, who went to the hospital to visit the injured. “The injuries were not life-threatening, although some were seriously injured and needed surgery.”

Rabbi Klein added that “the accident is being called by the tourists a ‘Pesach miracle’ because the 11 people who were involved attended our Seder a few days earlier.”