A Young Widow, 2 Years Later
Yesterday, for the first time, I met Hadas Rudich, a 32-year-old widow with three young children whose husband passed away suddenly from a heart attack two years ago.
Hillel Rudich z”l
The Rudich family, shortly before Hillel’s death.
Back then, many of you JewishMOMs sent in money to help Hadas through that difficult first year, and she literally cried with emotion when she thanked me for the generosity and love you mothers had sent her way from all across the world. “Tell the mothers that it was the assistance I received from them and a few other people that kept me afloat that year, so they know just how crucial it was to me and my family!”
But what I really wanted to share with you is what Hadas told me yesterday about her husband’s death, and what taught her about eternal life.
Hadas told me:
“During his lifetime, my husband left a trail of joy and blessing and color everywhere he went. And I feel like he is still here with us. For eternity. I look around my family, and I see him with us.
“I don’t just mean that my children remind me of him. And they do remind me of him! After we finish eating on Shabbat, my oldest son, who is 10, sits in a chair reading and eating sunflower seeds EXACTLY like his father! Exactly like Hillel used to! That son is also very exact about prayer times—Shacharit, Mincha, Maariv—to the minute he is there for the start of prayers, exactly like his Abba was!
Hadas with her children today.
“But that is not what I mean when I say that I feel that Hillel will be with us for eternity. Because there are people who are widowed, and they were not blessed with children, but still they feel that their spouses are with them forever.
“How?
“Hashem’s name (Yud, Heh, Vuv, Heh) equals 26. Love (Ahava) equals 13–half of 26. That means that when two people love each other, their Love IS Hashem. During our lives and after our lives are over as well.
“And even though he’s gone, my love for Hillel and his love for me, will exist, like Hashem, forever. Eternal.”
Hi, I just read your words about Hadas. I would like to send her my love. I also lost my husband to a heart attack, except that he suffered brain damage and lingered on for 18 months before he died. I was 38 and had a 4 month old baby when he collapsed. We had just made our first bar mitzvah. I live in Manchester, England. It’s a chizuk to read about a strong person who is in a similar situation. It makes you feel less alone. I am still a mother of 7 children, it’s just that now I have to do it on my own. Although it is great to read and hear words of encouragement for mothers, it’s good to see it acknowledged that some of us are are doing this job without a husband to be there for us and our children. I want to encourage other mothers like me that you can do it. Hashem should continue to give us the strength.