My Husband’s Miracle: A Return from Death’s Door by Hodaya Shachor
Here’s our final JewishMOM Miracle Festival whopper of a miracle for the 8th night of Chanukah…
A year ago, 23-year-old father of 2 Tsuriel Shachor was electrocuted during a freak construction accident. And over the following months of recovery, Tsuriel’s chances of survival often appeared slim, but b”H, the Shachor family experienced true miracles.
Looking back, I realized that exactly a year ago this week I requested for you JewishMOMs to daven for a miraculous recovery for Chaim Tsuriel Shachor ben Naomi (who happens to be the brother of my daughter’s extraordinary teacher, Morah Achinoam Sheintop). So it’s especially exciting to be able to post this miracle exactly a year later, just in time for Chanukah.
Watch the incredibly inspirational video that Hadassah made about Chaim Tsuriel’s medical miracle…
And here is a translation of the speech given by Hodaya, Tsuriel’s wife, last week at the Seudat Hodaya on the 1st night of Chanukah…
A year has passed since Tsuriel’s injury, and it’s impossible not to give thanks for the tremendous miracles that Hashem did for us.
I wanted to share with you a bit of what we experienced this past year.
The morning of the injury, like every morning, Tsuriel left home at 5:30 AM to daven vatikin and from there he left for the new construction site in Beit El.
At 8:30 AM I called Tsuriel and he didn’t answer his phone. I imagined that he wasn’t answering because he was busy at work and I decided I would call him later. I realized later that I called at exactly the moment he was injured.
For a brief moment, Hashem hid His face from us and our lives turned upside down.
And from then on—coping. While Hashem was with me at every stage—testing me and making miracles for us. Nisayon (test) and Nes (miracle) are from the same root. During that period, I felt the connection between these two seemingly disconnected words above all else.
Last Chanukah I lit candles alone. It says “Ner eesh u’beito” (a candle for a man and his house), but my man was lying comatose on a respirator in the Intensive Care Unit.
B”H, shehechiyanu, v’kiyamanu, v’higianu l’zman hazeh. This year Tsuriel is lighting the Chanukah menorah in our home.
From the beginning of this test I reminded myself of the verse, “Hashem will cause me to suffer, but He will not let me die.” It was clear to me that there was a purpose for this suffering and this test, and I believed that if Hashem was keeping Tsuriel alive after he was electrocuted, he would give us the strength to survive other difficult situations as well.
“Though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” During this period, Tsuriel’s life was in danger, but I wasn’t afraid because I knew that Hashem was with us and that he would take us out of darkness to light.
And where does strength came from?
First of all, strong faith didn’t let me fall. The faith that Hashem gave us this test and that He would also give us the strength to survive this test. Hashem is the staff that strikes and also the walking stick supporting us. He is the One who strikes us, and also saves us.
Tsuriel—who I believed had the strength to withstand difficult situations and who gave me strength, even when we couldn’t communicate.
My daughters—Rinat and Kerem Rachel who smile every morning and give me the strength to get out of bed and take care of them.
Eema and Abba—who allowed us to move into their home for 4 months, and watched the girls every day until I came home from the hospital.
Our amazing families…the community of Yitshar…our friends.
To all of you I say thank you. Thank you and thank you to Hashem who made sure that at difficult moments we would have you.
A month and a half in the ICU.
His lungs were in poor condition for the whole time. A life-threatening bacteria attacked Tsuriel’s lungs. His liver was in bad shape because of all of the medications he was receiving.
And after 2 weeks his kidneys collapsed. Tsuriel was kept comatose for a month and he was on a respirator for longer than that.
We added the name “Chaim” as a prayer and a hope that Hashem would take him out of this situation to live a long life.
We don’t always understand the value of waking up in the morning, to walk, to go to the bathroom, to breathe, to talk, to function.
During this nisayon, I understood the meaning and the value of all of these activities.
And every stage was a miracle.
The injury itself was kind and merciful. Tsuriel wasn’t injured in his brain or heart, despite the fact that generally electrocution victims have heart injuries. Also, there were no burns on critical areas of the body, such as the face.
When his kidneys collapsed and he was at death’s door, on two occasions there were two doctors and two nurses in Tsuriel’s room trying to stabilize his condition. Every time Hashem watched over Tsuriel and took him out of those dangerous situations.
When I asked the doctors what the chances were that his kidneys would function again, the doctors answered “50%.” But I believed in that 50% one hundred percent. And b”H, his kidneys have returned to full functioning.
The ICU medical staff at Hadassah Ein Kerem was amazing and did excellent work, but when we asked them about Tsuriel’s condition, they didn’t always have answers for us. Often the situation appeared to offer no escape.
But there are things that are beyond a human being’s abilities. And here Hashem revealed Himself to us, and how!
And if we’re talking about a person’s strength—I heard that many people were surprised that big and strong Tsuriel was injured and lying helpless. I understood with every ounce of my being that a person’s strength is worthless without Hashem’s assistance.
We are just dust and ashes, and we our totally dependent on Him.
Tsuriel was discharged from the ICU after 7 weeks, and he was so weak.
And that was when he started the process of rehabilitation.
You have to work to sit, because it hurts. To speak, because it’s hard to speak when there’s a hole in your trachea.
You have to learn how to eat, since he had been receiving all of his nutrition through a tube.
You have to work on moving from a bed to a chair.
You have to work on going to the bathroom, you have to work on standing, you have to work on walking.
Suddenly all of the abilities that Hashem naturally grants a person, Tsuriel had to work hard access them. Even to get a smile out of Tsuriel became a difficult mission.
And what is it possible to say after a year full of coping and miracles like this?
I stand here with emotion and say that there is only Hashem.
I want to mention also that until two months ago Tsuriel wasn’t working and he hadn’t yet started studying, and now he has returned to his full routine as a regular member of society. He works in an office every morning and in the afternoons he is studying Industrial Engineering and Management.
And over these two months, we have experience another miracle—Tsuriel is walking on shoes and not with crutches!
Who would have believed a year ago that exactly a year later we would be standing here in such a situation, so miraculous and unbelievable. In such a good situation.
Thank you Hashem Yitbarach.
About Hodaya Shachor: I am originally from Givat Shaul, Jerusalem, and today my husband and I live in the yishuv Yitzhar in the Shomron. I am a teacher at Ulpanat Amana in Kfar Saba and we are the parents of 2 daughters, Rinat (3) and Kerem Rachel (2).
What a story!! such a beautiful and moving story B’H!!!
Hashem הכל יכול!! I wish you all the best Hodaya and Tsuriel!
Your name certainly lives up to your story. Thank you Chana Jenny for making this Hanukkah that much more special with these phenomenal stories!
I have absolutely loved reading all of these beautiful, moving stories. It reminds me of when you did Jewish MOMs of the week. I loved reading those. Is there a reason that they haven’t continued?
I loved the JewishMOMs of the week too, but it got to be a lot of work for me and too much pressure. So I stopped doing them…
I also loved these miracles. They gave me such a nice perspective on life and helped me through this looong vacation of our’s. I learned to appreciate the 3 healthy miracles that I have to raise. Thank you for doing this:)