About 12 years ago, the phone rang in our Chabad office.
Calls and messages of all sorts come in on a typical day: people asking about minyan times, kosher food, programs, services, hospital visits, etc. The requests are frequent and we try to help as much and as often as possible.
The call that came in 12 years ago was slightly different. An elderly woman introduced herself as Isabelle and explained that she had a problem: Chanukah was coming up and she realized that her menorah was stuck on top of her cupboard in a place she couldn’t reach. Could we please help her retrieve it? She’d Googled Chabad and we had come up…
Well, it wasn’t the typical request, but we’re here to help with whatever people need!
Every Chanukah we have dozens of Chabad students combing the streets, giving out menorahs and donuts, so we dispatched a couple to her apartment. Not only did they help her retrieve her menorah, they gave her candles, donuts, and spent time sharing words of Torah, stories, laughter, and light.
And that’s how Isabelle got onto our mailing list. I didn’t see or hear from here until a couple of years later.
Two wonderful women in our community had met Isabelle and developed a beautiful friendship, spending time together on a weekly basis. Seeing the cholent and other food we often have left over after our abundant weekly kiddush, they asked if they could take some for Isabelle. Of course I said yes, so week after week Isabelle participated in our kiddush, if from afar.
Then one day she arrived at shul with her two beloved friends, and we finally met in person and had a delightful conversation. She was intelligent and interesting, knowing what to say and—most importantly!—how to say it.
A few years later, on a random motzei Shabbat, I received a call on the Chabad office line from an attorney. He said that unfortunately Isabelle had passed away, and she had left a note saying that she wanted me to perform her funeral. Of course I agreed, and we had a moving funeral with her small group of friends.
Isabelle was a beautiful woman, both inside and out, and held herself with grace and poise. She was a fiercely loyal friend and often spoke about the deep love she had shared with her husband, and how proud she was of her son’s accomplishments in the art world. Sadly, both had passed away years earlier.
At her funeral I found out that Isabelle actually had a tremendous estate and that she had bequeathed her entire estate to about 30 charities. I was stunned! What a beautiful testament to her kindness and generosity! Helping so many Jewish charities in such a meaningful way.
Our Chabad center received a generous check of $80,000, which we used for our preschool. So if you come to visit our brand new, state-of-the-art preschool, you will see a beautiful plaque in loving memory of this wonderful woman.
May the merit of all the learning of the preschool children be a tremendous zchus for the Neshama of Isabelle!
Rabbi Uriel Vigler