Five Towns Pharmacist Who Passed Away While Snorkeling in Aruba Laid to Rest

NEW YORK (VINnews/Sandy Eller) – A Woodmere resident is being buried today after passing away unexpectedly on Thursday while snorkeling in Aruba with his teenage son.

Chabad shaliach Rabbi Ahron Blasberg was called to Palm Island on the afternoon of January 26th by family members of Martin Weisman who had been snorkeling in the waters off of Palm Island when tragedy struck.

Ambulances were already on scene when Rabbi Blasberg arrived, but were too late to save Weisman, who is believed to have suffered a fatal heart attack.

Having forged relationships with local authorities over the years in Aruba, a kingdom of the Netherlands, Rabbi Blasberg was able to ensure that no autopsy was performed. He credited both police and the local funeral home for their cooperation and their sensitivity in handling the matter.

Getting both the deceased and his family out of Aruba as yeshiva vacation week was coming to a close for many was no small task, particularly with just a handful of flights leaving the island for New York on a daily basis.

Rabbi Blasberg booked the last two seats on a Delta flight leaving that afternoon for Rachel Weisman and her son, but making arrangements for Weisman to get back to New York in a timely manner was more difficult, with American the only airline that flies the deceased out of Aruba.

“Having had a few other stories in the past, I had the number of their cargo headquarters in Puerto Rico and was able to get him on an American flight the next day,” Rabbi Blasberg told VIN News. “He left on the 3 PM flight and arrived in Miami just before Shabbos and was continued on to New York after Shabbos ended.”

The funeral for Weisman, who was believed to be in his late sixties, took place on Sunday morning at Boulevard-Riverside Chapel in Hewlett.

Weisman was the co-owner of Ezra Pharmacy, which opened up in the early 1980s as the first Shabbos-observant pharmacy in the area and was well known and highly respected for his commitment to treating customers like family.

Weisman made sure that people who walked into Ezra Pharmacy left with their medicines in hand, doing his best to find solutions if there were delays or insurance problems arose.

Weisman’s commitment to the local Jewish community was evident at Ezra Pharmacy, which stocked a full line of kosher vitamins and health supplements as well as kosher candies.

He took to Facebook in November 2021 to announce the pharmacy’s reopening after an extensive fire closed the Central Avenue store for nearly two years, displaying a pharmacy magnet with the business’s contact information tucked inside a magnet bearing the words “Thank you Hashem.”

“Thank you HaShem for giving us the ability to serve the community again,” wrote Weisman.