Our Fortress

We are coming upon our mother’s 7 th yaurzeit. I was actually working on a post about Jewish Education but am putting it temporarily aside to make a tribute to our mother, and to all the Jewish mothers.

Our mother; Rebbetzen Shayndel Noemi  Munk  tzl , was also fondly known as ” Morah Yaffa”.
She could only be described as beautiful within and without. A woman who was always faithful to G-d, her family, her homeland and  to its people, to her thousands of students,  and  above all she was kind and valued all of humanity.

This, despite the evil she was painfully exposed to and endured.
She was a Holocaust survivor. She lost her home, her parents, a brother,  and 85 close relatives. She miraculously survived with her sister.

All of this happened while she was ages   12-14 .

It was in the cattle cars, while being taken from the ghetto to Auschwitz, while holding crying babies and trying to calm them down and console the mothers,  that she turned to G-d and made a promise;  if she survived she would dedicate her life to educating children.

And that she did.

Her sister and her managed to get out of war torn Europe after the war, through a clandestine operation, entering Israel via Atlit in 1945.

Our mother and father met in Israel during the  1948 war of Independence . Both were orphaned by the Holocaust. They married in Israel, and their first two children- sons , were born there.
Our mother  began her teaching career in Israel. Then,  in the late 1950’s  they went  to America  . Initially they were on work visas-  they came on Shlichut , to teach  in the Yeshiva of Flatbush. They settled in the USA for a while,  adding two daughters to the family . They were inspirational teachers. Their ripples are still felt even today.

Our mother possessed an unyielding and abundant faith, love, honor, resilience and determination. She was a fortress to all who knew her.

To us , her children,  she was our touching stone. She represented  the world’s possibility, hope, and deep faith.

Her students were infused with her love and dedication to our homeland- Israel. Her students became fluent in Hebrew by Chanukah of each school year.  She  also taught Tanach and Chumash- all Judaics,  and even later on in her career she taught math in a dati Leumi school  an observant public school in Jerusalem.

She also impressed upon her students a love for humanity, as she saw firsthand how hate can destroy and warp mankind.

She also lectured in Jewish high schools, Lutheran schools, and many Universities  in Maryland.   Her subject : “ Maintaining faith after the Holocaust”

Our parents tzl shared a mission. They never took for granted that my mother survived and my father escaped.  They never had parents to guide them- they were guided by g-d , purpose, and faith, and dedication to their parents and lost relatives.

Our mother came from Royal Rabbinic dynasty.

She married our father ; Harav Yonah Munk, knowing that he was honest, strong, brilliant, loving, talented and had  the ability to be a great Talmudic scholar which he was,  and our mother fully promoted and supported this.

The meaning of a fortress :

literally – a heavily defended stronghold

Biblically – a refuge- such as G-d; he is your refuge- he is your place of hope.

Hebrew- refuge refers to a shelter

symbolically a fortress also represents courage

Our mother tzl was a woman of deep faith and strength. She did try to shelter us maybe even overprotect us as she wanted to shield us from harm as she experienced such evil in her youth.

The Torah and Jewish tradition highly revere mothers- elevating them as foundational to the spiritual survival and moral framework of the Jewish people. Mothers are not just viewed as nurturers, but also as active leaders and role models who shape their children’s lives. The Torah puts mothers on equal footing with the fathers : “ you shall honor your father and your mother”

Fathers provide formal instruction. A Mother’s Day to day modeling of love, ethics, and values forms the bedrock of a child’s character and religious identity.

Our matriarchs were our nation’s builders.

Mothers are central to Jewish Life .Throughout  the Torah and Jewish Literature,  mothers stand out as key figures who enabled Judaism and the Jewish people to survive. This brings me to the mothers today in Israel.  Their loved ones , their spouses , sons  and daughters and  even grandchildren are at the battlefront for almost 3 years now. These mothers have to be the fortresses for their family, carrying alone. I know that if our mother was alive today she would be at these mother’s sides, holding their babies, comforting them , consoling them, reinforcing and supporting their strength,  faith , and courage.

The last Pasuk, verse that we put on our mothers tombstone was for her last letter in her name

“ Lo Amut  Ki Echeyeh V’asaper Maasei Yah”   =

” I shall not die, but I shall live , and recount the deeds of the Lord”

Our mother never took her survival for granted and made sure to share her stories , to educate,   and  to spread joy, love, and  faith .

Mothers- our fortresses. And their  love, faith, and education, and lasting  memories are forever  our shield.