‘Total Miracles,’ Jewish Man Jumps Into Treacherous Jersey Shore to Save Drowning Bachur

Solomon Moyal’s daily morning run along the boardwalk of the Jersey Shore ended up, with great siyata dishmaya, saving the life of a bachur from Skverer Mesivta Thursday morning.

Mr. Moyal, of Deal, New Jersey, plunged into the ocean when he saw two drowning boys, taken into water by a surprisingly strong current, after his wife alerted him of the situation.

The rescuer was about a quarter of a mile away when he received a frantic phone call from her. “She called me and said, ‘Two people are drowning right here!'” Solomon recounted to Belaaz.”I ran as fast as I could to the scene.”

Solomon says both the success of the rescue and the timing of him being near the scene were outright miracles. A phone call had delayed the start of his run by 15 minutes, which he says put him in the exact right place at the exact right time.

“Just as I got within a minute of the scene, my wife called,” he said. “Hashem put me right there at the exact time I was needed. I feel good about what I did and so thankful to Hashem that I could be a shliach to help somebody.”

While one of the boys managed to make his way out, the other was in grave danger.
“He was really far out, probably 150 feet offshore,” Solomon said. “The waves were smashing him in the face, and he couldn’t breathe. There was a very strong current pulling him out.”

Faced with the dangerous conditions, Solomon hesitated, fully aware of the risk to his own life. “I was hesitant to go in because I knew how dangerous it was,” he said. “I thought, ‘If I go in, I could get killed, too.'”

But as the swimmer’s situation grew more desperate, he knew he had to act. Before entering the water, he approached police officers who had arrived on the scene. “I told them, ‘Listen, I’m going in. Please watch my back and make sure Ocean Rescue knows I’m here,’” he said. “I didn’t want them to think I was some superhero; I know I can’t fight G-d’s mighty ocean.”

He swam out to the young man, who was panicking and swallowing water with every breath. “He was yelling, ‘Every breath I take, I’m swallowing water! I’m drowning! I’m drowning!’” Solomon recalled.

He grabbed the swimmer’s arm, calmed him down, and instructed him to float on his back to conserve energy. Holding his hand, they began the slow, arduous process of treading back toward the beach.

About 10 minutes later, when the pair was approximately halfway to shore, professional help arrived. “Ocean Rescue arrived. Two or three guys ran into the ocean, gave the boy a float, and pulled him to shore with a rope,” he explained.

Hatzolah had arrived on the scene as well and assisted in the rescue.

Another trained rescuer stayed with Solomon, and even for him, the current’s strength was formidable. The man noted that it seemed “like even the professional rescuer was having a hard time with the current.”

Ultimately,  b’chasdei Hashem everyone made it back to the beach. The young man who was rescued and one of the Ocean Rescue professionals were transported to a local hospital for evaluation.