Stretching to Meet the Challenge
This is probably one of the most difficult letters/articles that I have ever written. But my neighbor, friend and, yes, teacher, needs our help.
"A couple of years ago,” said Rabbi Stern, “my wife was lying on the table about to begin a new series of radiation treatments for an existing cancer when she felt a lump in her neck. It was a new tumor. The shock was overwhelming.
“As soon as possible, I made an appointment with Rabbi Ezriel Tauber. After hearing the challenge my wife and I were facing, he gave me this."
Rabbi Stern placed a small sheet of paper on the table. I read it out loud: "Be wholehearted with the Lord, your God."
"That’s a verse in Devarim," Rabbi Stern explained. "Now look at how Rashi explains the verse."
I continued reading: "Conduct yourself with Him with simplicity and depend on Him, and do not inquire of the future; rather, accept whatever happens to you with [unadulterated] simplicity and then, you will be with Him and to His portion."
"That’s it," Rabbi Stern smiled. "That explains how we’re coping. Yes, of course we do everything medically possible, but at the same time we are very aware that it’s not in our hands, and whatever happens is for our benefit. It’s a very, very difficult balance."
* * *
This is probably one of the most difficult letters/articles that I have ever written. But my neighbor, friend and, yes, teacher, needs our help.
Shevi Stern* is a young mother of 10 children aged 3 to 18. Friends and neighbors alike are in awe of this woman’s strong, unquestioning faith as she fights her courageous battle against cancer. Even more amazing is her incredible joy. Explains Shevi, "My avoda, my Divine service, is to continue to be b’simcha — despite the challenge we’re presently facing."
Up recently, Shevi was able to sew the family’s clothes and prepare all the meals. Now, however, the cancer has spread from her neck and head to her lungs. She is undergoing experimental chemotherapy to battle her disease, and taking drugs to combat the overwhelming nausea, but neither the chemotherapy or the drugs are covered by Israel’s National Health Insurance.
Rabbi Stern is a well-known kashrus supervisor. Whatever money he and his wife saved toward marrying off their children has been spent on medical expenses.
The Stern children are feeling the impact of their mother’s illness. Some are having difficulty in school and need private tutoring.
In a few weeks, the Sterns’ second daughter will be getting married, be’ezras Hashem. The wedding was originally planned for the winter, but due to Shevi’s precarious medical situation, it was moved up to late summer. The family is facing this upcoming simcha with a mixture of joy tinged with sadness. They are trying not to worry how to cover the expenses.
The Sterns are known for their chessed, for their ability to give to others. Just a few years ago, when a newly observant family with a very sick child moved into the neighborhood, it was Shevi who took them under her wing and sent them daily meals, and it was Shevi who arranged all the funeral arrangements when the child passed away.
When we started organizing a fund to help the Sterns, Shevi was a candidate for an innovative radiation treatment in the United States. Enormous sums of money were needed to cover the cost of that hospitalization. After a series of X-rays made it clear that Shevi would not be traveling abroad, Rabbi Stern told us that he felt extremely uncomfortable asking for the community’s assistance. The situation was brought to a Rav, who ruled that the fund should still be organized. The Rav explained that while facing such difficult challenges, the Sterns shouldn’t have to worry how to pay the grocery bills or waste precious time juggling loans to cover with their daughter’s wedding expenses.
Leading rabbis in Eretz Yisrael are standing behind this tzedaka drive. It and is under the auspices of Vaad Harabbanim l’inyinei Tzedaka. Vaad Harabbanim is endorsed by all the leading rabbis in Eretz Yisrael, among them Rabbi Elyashiv shlita; Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter shlita; Rabbi Chaim Kenievsky shlita; Rabbi Wozner shlita, to name a few. The rabbis on the committee are known for their integrity and are careful to endorse only the truly needy. For any question about how to help the family, I can be contacted at chessedyerushalayim@gmail.com
To donate in Eretz Yisrael, please phone 1-800-223636. Make sure to mention that you are donating to fund #2601.
In New York, donations can be sent to
Vaad Harabbanim
5203 12th Avenue
Brooklyn, New York
11219
or, phone 877-VAADHAR (877-8223427).
Make sure to mention that you are donating to fund #2601.
Please pray for Inbal Bat Sheva bas Tikva Rivka.
The Sterns are facing an extremely difficult challenge. We are facing a different type of challenge: will we stretch ourselves to help them? Will we grab the opportunity to help a needy bride, and to keep a family from collapsing? There is only one person who can answer that question – you.
*name was changed to protect the family’s privacy
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