On May 6, 2025, the world’s highest prayer service took place on the icy summit of Mera Peak in Nepal, as five members of the “Minyan Everest” expedition stood at 21,247 feet, battered by exhaustion, cold, and thin air. They were not alone: with them were the memories of 1,200 Israelis murdered by Hamas on October 7, their names painstakingly inscribed on a banner that fluttered against the Himalayan sky.
The group, led by French Jew Charlie Taieb, had one mission: to honor the victims of October 7 with the most sacred Jewish prayer for the dead, the Kaddish, and to show that the Jewish people have not forgotten their pain, no matter how far or high they must go. For nine grueling days, the climbers carried a 10-kilogram Torah scroll and the memorial banner through treacherous terrain. Sherpas, moved by the group’s determination, revealed that ten of their own countrymen were among those killed on October 7. The discovery of their names on the banner brought tears and a sense of shared mourning, uniting Nepalese and Jews in a moment of global solidarity.
Despite the dangers, including severe altitude sickness that left all five climbers with fluid in their lungs, the group stayed atop the peak for 45 minutes, nine times longer than is considered safe, so they could read from the Torah and recite the Kaddish, transforming the summit into a sanctuary of memory and hope. “We felt powerless, and we wanted to show the Israeli people that we haven’t forgotten them, or the 1,200 people murdered on Oct. 7. They are in our hearts,” Taieb said.
This was not the group’s first spiritual ascent. Taieb, who began climbing at 60, has led minyanim on Kilimanjaro and other Himalayan peaks, always fusing physical challenge with Jewish prayer and purpose. But this climb was different: it was a pilgrimage of grief and resilience, a message to the world that Jewish memory endures and that the victims of terror are never forgotten.
As the Kaddish echoed across the roof of the world, it was more than a prayer, it was a defiant affirmation of life, dignity, and the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people. “The only thing that kept us going was the promise we made to honor these people and the message we wanted to bring with us to the top,” Taieb reflected after the descent.
In a time of mourning and uncertainty, Minyan Everest’s act stands as a beacon of faith and unity. May the memory of the 1,200 lost souls be a blessing, their names forever carried to the highest reaches of the earth, and the deepest chambers of the Jewish heart.
Reciting Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, at the top of Mount Everest. The purpose of this climb was to honor the victims of October 7 with the traditional prayer. Written on the banner are the names of the 1,200 victims. May their memories be a blessing.
— Humans of Judaism (@HumansOfJudaism) May 19, 2025
Source: @/minyan.everest pic.twitter.com/OiTkNnK00P