The Woman Who Gave with Her Whole Heart

Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein, the rabbi of the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood and a member of the Council of Torah Sages, shared five beautiful stories about his late wife, Rebbetzin Aliza Shoshana Zilberstein. These stories are included in the book Joy in the Home, edited by Rabbi Moshe Michael Tzoren.

“Even without a large organization or great physical strength, my wife did acts of kindness that are impossible to fully describe,” Rabbi Zilberstein said. “Anyone who never heard about ‘Aunt Chana’ has never seen true, pure kindness, kindness done only to fulfill Hashem’s will.”

1. A Long Chain of Chesed

“There was a woman in Holon, a Holocaust survivor named Chana, who suffered deeply from what she had endured. Even in the middle of a sunny day, she would be haunted by terrifying thoughts. Sometimes she imagined that people were chasing her or trying to harm her.

“One day, someone in Holon told her, ‘Go to Rebbetzin Zilberstein in Bnei Brak. She’ll help you.’ At first, she refused. But the man placed her in a taxi and told the driver to take her to my wife’s home.

“What followed was a long chain of true kindness. The Rebbetzin welcomed her warmly. Chana saw how good and calm it felt in the home, and she stayed.

“From the first day, my wife worked to ease her fears. She shut the shutters and windows to help Chana feel safe. And she told everyone to call her ‘Aunt Chana.’ From that moment, we all spoke to her as if she were part of the family.”

2. Aunt Chana, Embroider a Torah Cover

“Almost every night, Aunt Chana would wake up and ask for tea. My wife would get up quietly and care for her so as not to disturb me. She never said a word about losing sleep.

“Aunt Chana only spoke Hungarian. My wife didn’t know the language, but her heart was enough. They connected deeply. Chana had no family and cried often from loneliness.

“To lift her spirits, my wife came up with an idea. ‘Aunt Chana,’ she said, ‘why don’t you embroider a beautiful Torah scroll cover? Add King David’s harp on it. That way, you’ll be part of King David’s camp, singing the Psalms.’

“The idea excited her. For a full year, she worked on it. She bought threads and fabric and poured her heart into making it beautiful.”

3. Tears of Joy on Simchat Torah

“She spent Sukkot with us, and the plan was to bring her to shul on Simchat Torah and dress a Torah scroll in her embroidered cover.

“But during the intermediate days of the holiday, she became ill and couldn’t go. And we couldn’t bring a Torah scroll to her, it’s not allowed.

“So my wife came up with another plan. She asked if it would be halachically permissible to dress a sefer Nevi’im (Book of Prophets) instead. That was allowed, so we did just that.

“We brought it to her dressed in the cover she made, and even brought some boys to dance with it.

“When she saw it, Aunt Chana cried tears of joy. You could feel how deeply it touched her. We felt the verse from Iyov (Job) had come to life: ‘I brought joy to the heart of the widow.’ My wife gave her that joy.”

4. Call Me Anytime, Even in the Middle of the Night

“My wife gave emotional support to many women who were hurting. She didn’t just listen, she embraced them, encouraged them, gave them strength and warmth.

“There was a woman in our neighborhood who was extremely fearful about childbirth. Her anxiety was so intense it became dangerous. My wife visited her and said, ‘Whenever the time comes, you call me, day or night. I’ll come with you.’ Just hearing that already gave her some peace.

“When the woman went into labor at 3 a.m. my wife got dressed and went with her to the hospital. I came too, since the husband had to stay home with the other children.

“At the hospital, the doctors decided on a cesarean, but the woman became hysterical. The fear was overwhelming, and they couldn’t operate like that. My wife held her, hugged her, kissed her with deep love. Slowly, the fear left her. The doctors were amazed. They said she was finally calm enough for surgery and they didn’t understand how it happened.”

5. A Humble Name Change

“My wife’s kindness was always wrapped in humility. One time, during a proposed match for one of our children, it turned out that the prospective mother-in-law had the same name as my wife.

“We asked Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky what to do. He said one of the women should add a name, and that the new name had to actually be used.

“It’s not easy for someone to suddenly be called by a new name in the middle of life. But my wife didn’t hesitate. She immediately said, ‘I’ll do it.’

“She added, ‘I’ll explain it to her gently. Since my father, Rabbi Elyashiv, is still alive, he can give me the new name. Her father is already in Gan Eden, so it makes sense for me to do it.’

“She added the name ‘Aliza,’ and from then on was known as Aliza Shoshana.

“Her humility, her wisdom, her ability to take responsibility without making others feel uncomfortable, it was remarkable. She didn’t act as if she was doing anyone a favor. That’s how she lived.”

Courtesy of the Dirshu website