Dovi Weinerot: "What Will Happen Tomorrow? I Don't Know, But I'm Grateful for What I Have Now"
"One of the lessons I learned during Chani's illness was a lesson in humility," says Attorney Dovi Weinerot. "Chani said the best life is the one where you let go of control"
Dovi Weinerot (Photo: Public Relations)Dovi Weinerot gave an exclusive interview to the 'Pool of Life' supplement of Ezer Mizion. In a heartfelt and faith-filled conversation with journalist Rivki Goldfinger, he recounted the nine months that passed for him and his family since the passing of Chani z"l, during which they celebrated Shlomo's Bar Mitzvah last month.
Dovi described the Bar Mitzvah held under the shadow of the beloved mother's absence. "I organized a special Shabbat to honor the occasion. Family and friends came. Of course, Chani's absence was felt. The elephant was in the room," said Dovi. "So at the start of the Shabbat, I stood up and laid it out on the table. I told the guests that it's true we lost the precious Chani nine months ago, but she is present here with us in Shlomo's joy."
Dovi continued, noting that he read to the guests a piece Chani had written: 'After I won't be here, please be happy. Not because I left, but because you are alive, because after facing the end, you learn to appreciate the middle and the beginnings... Celebrate life because it is worthy, and this will be the most respectful and beautiful memorial for me, please.' No eye remained dry," said Dovi. "It was very moving, and it eased the room. Suddenly, the joy began. When I stopped speaking, the Bar Mitzvah boy Shlomo approached me and said, 'Dad, now the Bar Mitzvah begins.' He didn't know what he was saying, but I understood. He felt something had been freed, and now everyone was with him," Dovi described.
Dovi continued noting that one of the lessons he learned during Chani's illness was a lesson in humility. "It's a huge lesson to understand that in the end, you don't control everything in your life. Suddenly you lose control. You realize that all the money in the world can't change this reality," he says. "In fact, Chani said the best life is the one where you release control. When you don't seek to control things - you live.
Dovi continues: "What will happen tomorrow? I don't know, but I'm grateful for what I have now. That's how Chani lived. She showed sick people, downtrodden and sad people, how to look at the good in their life, how to focus on what they have, how to grasp the good and not the bad. Out of the belief that focusing on the bad brings more bad, and looking at the good brings more good."
Dovi also addressed another trial he's facing, which is his father, Attorney Yaakov Weinerot's illness. When asked if he has any anger, he replied: "Zero anger. Of course, I wouldn't wish such trials on anyone; it's not easy at all, but I have no complaint to Hashem. My faith today is much stronger because in a certain way it's easier for me to believe than it is for others, because I constantly feel Hashem above me. I feel him with me.
"It's something that doesn't happen to a person who is in the state of 'my strength and the power of my hand,'" Dovi continued. "My grandfather, who went through tough years in Siberia during World War II, had difficulty walking in his later years. One evening, I took him to the Ma'ariv prayer. Apparently, I didn't notice, and he began walking home slowly, leaning on a stick. I worried and ran to look for him. Suddenly, I saw him between two buildings in a very dark place.
"I said to him: 'Grandpa, why are you walking alone?' and he turned to me and said: 'Dovi, I am never walking alone,'" Dovi emotionally continued. "A person who went through so much in his life was telling me he is never alone. That's how I genuinely feel. I never walk alone."
Please pray for the recovery of Dovi's father, Attorney Yaakov Weinerot. Name for prayer: Yaakov ben Draizel among the other sick of Israel.
Dovi Weinerot, after the shiva for Chani z"l, "The Creator of the world does not place anyone in a trial that they cannot withstand."
For more insights and inspiring messages from Chani Weinerot:
"It's important to me that you know that despite everything and after everything, I was happy."
"I thank the Creator of light and darkness in my life, who provided the remedy before the wound."
"Hashem is good, and I have proof," wrote Chani Weinerot when she was very sick.
"After I won't be here—please be happy."
"I look at the fragments of my life, and it seems they reflect light."
"To triumph is to take what you have and make it the best, and to triumph is to believe that from the fracture we will grow to be greater." To watch, click here.
