Uman – 19-Year-Old Hasidic Jewish Pilgrim Drowns in Ukraine

Uman – While participating in the annual pilgrimage to the grave of Rabbi Nahman of Breslov in Uman, a 19-year-old Hassid drowned.

The Interfax news agency said the man died while bathing in a pool of water formed at an abandoned mineshaft just outside the Ukrainian town.

The 19-year-old Hasidic pilgrim drowned in Ukraine on Thursday while taking a ritual bath in a lake during the Jewish New Year’s celebrations, an official said.  

After prayer a group of Hasidic pilgrims went to immerse themselves in a lake in the central Ukrainian town of Uman, the location of a famed annual pilgrimage, the deputy head of the Uman district administration said.  

“One of them died, his relatives pulled him out of the water, he was already gone,” Petro Payevsky told AFP, noting the lake was not suitable for ritual bathing considered important for all Hasidic men.   

A ZAKA volunteer in Uman, Shimi Grossman, told Arutz Sheva that the tragedy occurred as a group of men belonging to the Breslov Chassidic sect performed the “tashlich” ritual.

The Israeli youth immersed himself completely in the waters. When he did not resurface, his companions made many efforts to retrieve him, but were unsuccessful.

Some ran for help, and managed to find a former professional diver who was also in Uman for the holiday. The diver found the young man, but attempts to resuscitate him were not successful.

The man has been identified as Eliyahu El.