Hadera - ‘Holy Man’ Dead in Train Tragedy

Hadera - Rabbi Moshe Gefen was killed early Sunday morning in a tragic accident in Hadera. A friend who was among the first on the scene spoke to Arutz Sheva about what happened and talked about Rabbi Gefen.

Rabbi Gefen, 60, with his Talis-N-Tefillin in his hands was making his way to synagogue services when he was hit by a passing train. The rabbi had waited for a first train to pass before attempting to cross the tracks, but apparently failed to notice a second train coming from the other direction.

Rabbi David Birenbaum, director of Hadera’s Knesset Yitzchak yeshiva, was among the first on the scene, in his capacity as a long-time senior member of ZAKA, the halakhic emergency response organization . Only after some time did he realize that the victim was a man he knew very well, who had worked with him for years at the same yeshiva.

The train driver who hit Rabbi Gefen felt ill afterward and needed hospital care, he added. The man told medical staff, “I could feel that I hit a holy man.”