In a matter of seconds, the greatest simchah in the chassidus turned into unfathomable devastation
The catastrophic tragedy that followed, when several rows of parentches — the ubiquitous bleachers that have been a staple of chassidic tishen for generations — collapsed, sending hundreds of bochurim and young men plummeting, and shattering the entire kehillah.
The tragedy has led many chassidic groups to take another look at the safety of their parentches. The Gerrer Rebbe ordered the parentches in his beis medrash to be chopped up and taken out. The Sanzer Rebbe ordered the removal of wooden beams that had long hung from the ceiling of his shul. And the Belzer Rebbe ordered the hallways to be kept clear from now on.
To enable Karliners and others to participate in the Erev Shavuos simchah, a live hookup was arranged. I logged on shortly before noontime in New York, just before the scheduled 7:00 p.m. event. It was mere minutes after the festive kvias mezuzah, as the music switched to a fast-paced song, when horror struck right before our eyes — an entire section of bleachers designated for bochurim abruptly disappeared, dropping 15 feet and taking an estimated 750 people along with them.
The horrifying episode took two lives, hospitalized nearly 200, and lightly wounded hundreds more, likely the largest civilian disaster in Israel’s history in terms of injuries. Eight of the most severely injured were on the walkway beneath the parentches, bearing the brunt of the 75 tons of humanity and mix of metal rods and wooden planks. Over 500 people bentshed gomel the next morning.
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