I am dedicating this week's column to my dear uncle who passed away yesterday in Israel, and hope that these words will inspire others with his memory.
My dear uncle, Natan Cohen, passed away yesterday in Tel Aviv, Israel and as much as I wanted to, I wasn't able to go for his funeral, but hope that these words serve as a tribute to his memory.
Uncle Natan as we fondly called him, was a gentle Mentsch, who I knew from when we grew up in England, and who my family got to know on our visits to Israel.
Whenever he saw us, his genuine smile and warmth shone through, and we felt his care and connection. He always took an interest in our lives and wanted to know the updates how we were all doing. Due to these interactions, all of our children, had a soft spot in their hearts for Uncle Natan.
Natan was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1938 and grew up at a time when so much change happened in this ancient Jewish community From the infamous Farhoud pogrom in 1941 in which over 180 Jews were murdered, to the terrible oppression and persecution that picked up in 1948, life for the Jews took a rapid turn for the worse.
At the age of 12, Natan, with his parents were forced to flee Iraq to save their lives, and left everything behind as they began their new lives as refugees in the tent refugee camps in the mud and sand dunes in Israel. He lived there for over a year with his family as they dealt with many hardships, until they finally got their own place to live.
Later he joined the IDF and was tasked with lots of responsibilities in the Golani Brigade, including taking a very active role in the 1967 war in the North and in Jerusalem area, and later again during the War of Attrition.
He married my aunt Frances and they lived for a time in Israel and then in England for many years, where we became close. Their daughter Rachel is our only cousin on my mother's side of the family and we are very close to her and her two young boys.
After retirement they made Aliya and settled in Kochav Hatzafon, in Tel Aviv. We often spoke and would always try and visit on our trips to Israel.
While he had been through so much in his own childhood, you would never hear him complain, and instead he lived his life as a gentle and kind soul, always greeting everyone with a smile, and being a force of joy and positivity for all who knew him.
He loved his grandsons and had so much Nachat and joy from them in the last few years, even as he struggled with tremendous health challenges.
In the summer we visited him in Tel Aviv, when he could no longer speak, yet he understood everything and knew about everything happening in the country and with all of us. He was very weak but he lifted his hand and held my hand strong, as I spoke and shared updates with him about life, our community, Israel and family.
He was a many who was always full of faith and hope, no matter the challenges.
Between the health challenges and rocket sirens and explosions, the last year and a half were not at all easy for him, yet thanks to his dedicated wife, he continued to live at home and always be surrounded by love and care even during these difficult months.
I have so many memories of meaningful and happy conversations and we will always have a place in our hearts to remember Uncle Natan.
If you are reading this please consider doing an extra Mitzvah in memory and in honor of Natan Ben Kadoory and Mazal.
יהי זכרו ברוך
Earlier this week. we held a funeral for a dear community member, Michael Marcus at Chabad of Sudbury. As I heard the story of his life and the truly difficult challenges of his earlier years, I found myself marveling at him, as although I knew him, he only smiled and showed happiness to everyone and one would never have known all that he carried in his heart. He was the essence of being a Mentsch and truly left his mark on so many of his students in Public Schools and in Jewish education.
Both my uncle and Michael, were people who had been through so much, yet lived humble yet powerful lives of positivity and uplifting lives of others, simply by being who they were or by genuinely caring and showing friendship and kindness to others.
As we seek to steadily change and better the world to be the place G-d envisioned and shared by our teachings, it is not always in the banners, announcements and drama that we bring the most change the world, it is so often just by being who we need to be and living up to our G-d given potential.
As I think about my uncle and reflect on the funeral that took place earlier in the week, I think of these people as giants and silent heroes, who truly brought so much good, light and kindness, simply by being who they were.
May the souls of Natan Ben Kadoory and Mordechai Ben Reuven ascend on high and continue being advocates for their family and their loves ones, and may their lives inspire us to continue doing our part of changing the world, one Mitzvah and good deed at a time.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
Yisroel