After a complicated procedure that lasted several days: Last night (Sunday), the coffin of the late Rabbi Akiva Rand, a 29-year-old Chernobyl Hasid, who was killed last Wednesday in a fatal car accident near Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, was brought to Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rand traveled to Moldova with a group to visit the graves of the righteous, and while driving on a highway, the driver lost control, veered off the road, and crashed violently into trees on the side of the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the efforts of the rescue forces, he was left with only a heart attack, his death. The other passengers suffered only minor injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rand, born in London, left behind a wife and three young children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flying his body to Israel was a complicated event: sudden deaths, even as a result of car accidents, require by law in Moldova an autopsy, contrary to Jewish law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of this, his family contacted ZAKA's representative in Europe, Nachman Dickstein, who approached the country's Chief Rabbi Mendel Axelrod and Chabad emissary Rabbi Schneor Zalman Tiefenbronn about the matter - who were pressured to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chabad emissaries worked around the clock with medical, police, legal, government agencies, the Israeli Embassy, \u200b\u200band the Hevra Kadisha in Israel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their command of the local language and their deep familiarity with the country's bureaucratic system proved to be crucial. With the help of a local contact, they obtained an initial promise that the Moldovans would not touch her body while legal proceedings were ongoing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the family's request, Chabad Moldova also hired the services of a local lawyer - Andrei Bitka, who prepared an urgent request to the court to issue a restraining order against the autopsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, two of his relatives arrived in Moldova to stay there and assist with arrangements to remove his body from the country. Chabad emissaries in Moldova hosted them and accompanied them, taking care of all their needs and providing continuous personal support with the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, the joint community and legal efforts bore fruit: Moldovan authorities officially approved the release of the body without any autopsy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immediately upon release, a new race against the clock began: completing all the paperwork required to fly the coffin to Israel before Shabbat. The required documents included medical certificates, police reports, government forms, a death certificate, consular documents, and an apostille (international certification) stamp from the local Ministry of Justice \u2013 a process that usually took several days. <\/p>\n\n\n
The Israeli Embassy in Moldova played a central role in cutting through the red tape. Ambassador Yoram Elron was personally involved, and Consul Sagi Rabovsky, along with the consulate staff, stayed to work beyond normal business hours until the paperwork was completed. Just minutes before government offices closed, the final approval was received, but the flight that was scheduled to depart and land before Shabbat was canceled at the last minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the request of the family and out of respect for the deceased, the coffin was brought to the courtyard of the central synagogue, which also serves as the Chabad house in Chisinau, where it remained throughout the Sabbath. A vigil was organized at the site, and with the efforts of the Chief Rabbi, members of the local community took turns reciting Tehillim near the car, thus preserving the honor of the deceased in a dignified Jewish environment until the transfer process resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, the coffin was flown from Chisinau to Israel. Upon its departure, the local community said goodbye to the deceased with a moving "God is full of mercy" prayer led by Cantor Zvi Berkowitz, who was visiting the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The country's Jewish community says: "Although imbued with deep pain, this story stands as a wonderful testament to Jewish commitment, dedication and absolute solidarity. In a moment of sudden tragedy, the Chabad of Moldova became a vital and life-saving address for a family in crisis - while acting quietly, urgently and with supreme sensitivity, to ensure that a young father, a beloved benefactor and a precious son to the people of Israel, would be brought to a Jewish grave in the Holy Land according to all the bounds of halakhic law and custom.".<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u05d1\u05ea\u05d5\u05dd \u05e4\u05e8\u05d5\u05e6\u05d3\u05d5\u05e8\u05d4 \u05e1\u05d1\u05d5\u05db\u05d4 \u05e9\u05d0\u05e8\u05db\u05d4 \u05de\u05e1\u05e4\u05e8 \u05d9\u05de\u05d9\u05dd: \u05d0\u05de\u05e9 (\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9\u05d5\u05df) \u05d4\u05d5\u05d1\u05d0 \u05d0\u05e8\u05e6\u05d4 \u05d0\u05e8\u05d5\u05e0\u05d5 \u05e9\u05dc \u05d4\u05d0\u05d1\u05e8\u05da \u05d4\u05e8\u05d4\"\u05d7 \u05e8\u05d1\u05d9 \u05e2\u05e7\u05d9\u05d1\u05d0 \u05e8\u05d0\u05e0\u05d3 \u05d6\"\u05dc, \u05d7\u05e1\u05d9\u05d3 \u05d8\u05e9\u05e2\u05e8\u05e0\u05d5\u05d1\u05d9\u05dc \u05d1\u05df 29, \u05e9\u05e0\u05d4\u05e8\u05d2 \u05d1\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05e2\u05d9 \u05e9\u05e2\u05d1\u05e8 \u05d1\u05ea\u05d0\u05d5\u05e0\u05ea \u05d3\u05e8\u05db\u05d9\u05dd \u05e7\u05d8\u05dc\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea \u05dc\u05d9\u05d3 \u05e7\u05d9\u05e9\u05d9\u05e0\u05d1 \u05d1\u05d9\u05e8\u05ea \u05de\u05d5\u05dc\u05d3\u05d5\u05d1\u05d4. \u05e8\u05d0\u05e0\u05d3 \u05e0\u05e1\u05e2 \u05dc\u05de\u05d5\u05dc\u05d3\u05d5\u05d1\u05d4 \u05d9\u05d7\u05d3 \u05e2\u05dd \u05e7\u05d1\u05d5\u05e6\u05d4 \u05db\u05d3\u05d9 \u05dc\u05e4\u05e7\u05d5\u05d3 \u05e7\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9 \u05e6\u05d3\u05d9\u05e7\u05d9\u05dd \u05d5\u05d1\u05de\u05d4\u05dc\u05da \u05e0\u05e1\u05d9\u05e2\u05d4 \u05d1\u05db\u05d1\u05d9\u05e9 \u05de\u05d4\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d0\u05d9\u05d1\u05d3 \u05d4\u05e0\u05d4\u05d2 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05d8\u05d4, \u05e1\u05d8\u05d4 \u05de\u05d4\u05db\u05d1\u05d9\u05e9 \u05d5\u05d4\u05ea\u05e0\u05d2\u05e9 \u05d1\u05e2\u05d5\u05e6\u05de\u05d4 […]","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":1056998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[693,9555,65659],"class_list":["post-1056997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-66","tag-693","tag-9555","tag-65659"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n