My name is Mrs. Weinberger. On the night after Tisha B'Av, at midnight, my husband returned his soul to his Creator. He was surrounded by all 14 of our children. Even our baby, only a few months old, was there in my arms as we said goodbye.
I don't know where to begin telling you what we have been through.
It started in the summer of 2020. My husband began having terrible headaches. They were so severe that he couldn't work anymore. He was an inspector at a slaughterhouse - it was steady work that supported our large family. But the pain became unbearable.
On October 1st, I gave birth to our 13th son. On October 8th, we made the bris. It should have been one of the happiest days of our lives. But that very same day - even before the bris - we received the news that would change everything: Brain cancer.
We flew him to Germany for a complex surgery. It cost approximately 500,000 shekels. We borrowed, we took from gemachim, we did everything we could. And Baruch Hashem, the surgery was successful. For a few months, we had hope. In December, we even married off our second son. We danced at that wedding like we had been given a new lease on life.
In September 2021, I gave birth to our 14th son, and the cancer came back. This time, it was worse. My husband could no longer function. He became completely bedridden. We cared for him around the clock. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When we made the bris for our youngest son, my husband sat in his wheelchair, tubes attached, unable to move. But he was there. He insisted on being there.
And then, this past Tisha Bav, he was gone.
I am writing to you today because I don't know what else to do. We have 14 children. The youngest is only a few months old. Between the medical expenses, the loss of income for nearly four years, and the borrowed money we still owe - we are drowning.
We don't even have money for basic expenses. Food, rent, clothing for 14 children. I am one woman, alone, trying to figure out how I will possibly do this.
My husband was a good man. He worked hard his entire life to support our family. He suffered in ways I cannot describe, but he never complained. Even when he was in that wheelchair, barely able to speak, he worried about us.
I am asking you, klal yisroel, to please help us. Help me give my children food, a home, a future. They have already lost their father. Please don't let them lose everything else.
Hashem should bless you with health and long life.
Mrs. Weinberger
