Woodmere yahrzeit for Rebekah Frucht, a”h…

On the second day of Shavuot last year, 24-year-old Rebekah Frucht unfortunately left this world, causing great heartache to all those who knew her. On May 7, a gathering in her memory was held at the Young Israel of Woodmere.

It has been a long year for those who were close to her. As her first yahrzeit is approaching, her parents, Morty and Dena Frucht decided to dedicate a night of inspiration and invited the community to attend. Hundreds of people came to this program, held in the main shul of the Young Israel of Woodmere. Both men and women participated. Although there were some young adults and some elderly, the majority of the people were middle aged.

Rabbi Hershel Billet, who is the Rabbi of the Young Israel of Woodmere, spoke. Afterwards, there was a shiur given by Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, a noted lecturer, author, and spiritual mentor of Congregation Bnei Yitzchok in Brooklyn.

Rabbi Billet mentioned the following parable from Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik:

There once were two men who were passengers on a boat. One man was Fate, the other man was Destiny. Amidst the journey, the captain announces that the boat is going to sink. Upon hearing that declaration, Fate returns to his cabin and waits for the inevitable. Destiny, on the other hand, goes over to the captain and asks, “What have you done?” The captain replies that he tried all the techniques he learned in school, but none seemed to help their situation.

The man of Destiny then tells the captain, “If those techniques did not work, then create a new one and form a new strategy.”

When a challenge arises in a person’s life, continued Rabbi Billet, the man of Fate sinks, thinking, “Why have you abandoned me?” A man of Destiny however, changes the question. He thinks, if I can not get an answer to my question, then I will ask a new question. A person who lives a life according to the man of Destiny, he added, will make the world a better place despite the unfortunate tragedies that are thrown his or her way.

Morty and Dena Frucht have chosen to live like the man of Destiny. They connected with Emunah’s Bet Elazraki in Netanya, an organization that helps children from dysfunctional families lead normal lives. Bet Elazraki helps these children to become integrated into normal society despite their challenging background. They created the Rebekah Frucht Memorial Fund. How appropriate, since Rebekah was a young girl who was constantly helping others whenever and however possible. Since Rebekah, a”h, was a talented artist and fond of animals, her family decided that they would like to help these children receive art and animal therapy.

Rabbi Goldwasser began by saying that “Ner Hashem nishmat adam”--A person’s soul is comparable to G-d’s candle. He elaborated by saying that some candles have such a bright flame that they seem to illuminate the night; those candles however, burn out faster. Another point that Rabbi Goldwasser mentioned was how raz (the Hebrew word for secret) and ohr (the Hebrew word for light) both have the same gematria (numerical value). Each person has his or her own special qualities. Once the secret of a person is discovered, then the light comes shining through.

Rabbi Goldwasser pointed out how in the Haggadah all four of the four sons are present by the table. We do not make a distinction, after all “Am Yisrael echad”— all of Bnei Yisrael is one. Rebekah was a person who understood that concept; she helped as many as she could with no strings attached.