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The Guttensteins were the kind of people who made everybody feel like a somebody. When they both passed away several years apart in their mid-thirties, it was a difficult blow for their entire community. But it couldn’t have been more difficult for anyone other than their sole survivor, Meira.
“I was an only child and very close with them,” Meira shared several days ago.
“…I thought the pain would never go away. I was all alone at only fifteen years old.”

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“It has its challenges, but really we love it,” says Fraidy Deutsch* about being one of 14 kids. “That is we did, until…”
Her voice trails off. The Deutsch family* was flipped upside down recently with the diagnosis of their father, a respected Rabbi & talmid chacham. Weighed down by medical debts, the family was forced to downgrade to a one-bedroom apartment. Each night, roll-out mattresses cover the floors of the shabby living room. Their father continues his Torah study & teaching despite being violently ill. Other members of the beis midrash were alarmed when the rabbi lost consciousness mid-shiur.

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With a story like hers, they thought she’d never get married.
It was a sunny Jerusalem morning, and Rachel* was on her way to run an important errand: Seeing a hall for her upcoming wedding. Se got off the bus in front of a simple stone building, and walked into the large glass doors.
“Hello, I’m here to see the hall,” she said softly, mustering her best confident smile.
“Great,” said the employee. “When your family gets here, I will show you the rooms.”

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It was the end of their first date and Yair & Rachel were starting to worry. It seemed the worst case scenario was taking place: They really liked each other.
Why would this be bad news? Well, because then they’d have to tell each other the truth.
“Ever since my father passed away,” began Rachel nervously, “things have been difficult.”
Yair’s eyes opened wide. “Ever since my father passed away, we have struggled too.”

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Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve been fascinated by stories of the Gedolei Yisroel. From Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztz”l to Rav Elyashiv zt”l, I loved to hear about each Gadol’s extraordinary kindness and wisdom.
One Rabbi in particular that I was drawn to was Rav Yeshaya of Kerestir. “Reb Shayaleh,” as he was known, was visited by thousands, many of whom claimed he worked miracles. Reb Shayaleh kept the practice of giving a “kamia,” a handwritten piece of paper, to those who needed to be protected. Our tradition passes down that those who received this kamia saw results that were “beyond nature.”

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link to watch full hesped and to donate CLICK HERE: https://bit.ly/3Jwm3Jm

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News spread quickly last Friday afternoon that the Gadol HaDor, Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, had passed away from a major heart attack. Just three days before his passing, however, the Rav was in the news:
For several years now, Rav Kanievsky has been the face & voice of most of Vaad HaRabbanim’s charity campaigns. Thousands of people rely on help from Vaad HaRabbanim to cover their most basic needs. Last week, Rav Kanievsky revived an ancient tradition: The writing of a kamia.

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“Oy, nebach.”
“I feel so bad for him.”
“That poor boy.”
“What’s next?”
The neighbors were used to discussing Avraham Tzvi. First, his mother passed away and everyone felt horrible for the teenage boy left behind. Then his father remarried and he was sent to live with his grandparents, and they wondered how he would recover. Next his grandfather passed away and he lost his only parent in this world once again.
“One pen cannot describe,” says a letter signed by Rav Yisroel Miller of the Badatz & Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, “what he has experienced in the past few years.”

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