Dear Dr. Yael

Dear Readers,

I am writing to you about an amazing woman whom I recently had the privilege of meeting again. Her story is deeply inspiring and truly motivating.

She began her life as a non-Jewish professional dancer, married to a Jewish but unaffiliated salesman. Her dance company toured throughout the United States, and one day she returned home exhausted, sleep deprived, dehydrated, and hungry. In that vulnerable moment she asked herself, “What am I doing with my life? I am half a dancer and half a wife.”

At the time, she was thinking about building a family, and she knew with certainty that she did not want to raise children with no Jewish affiliation. Although she herself was not Jewish, she had grown up in Crown Heights surrounded by Holocaust survivors, and her mother had many Jewish friends. Being married to a Jew, she felt strongly that her future children should be raised as Jews. Having witnessed the pain and resilience of Holocaust survivors, she wanted to spite Hitler, yimach shemo, by bringing Jewish children into the world.

Unsure where to turn, she called her husband’s father and asked him what to do. He advised her to contact the New York Board of Rabbis. She enrolled in classes with Rabbi Feldbin, a”h, a Conservative rabbi, and underwent her first geirus through him.

Meanwhile, her husband became increasingly interested in Judaism because of all the Jewish books she was bringing home. Rabbi Daniel Kirshblum, a”h, a Modern Orthodox rabbi who led a Conservative shul on Avenue P and East 13^th Street, took a personal interest in the couple and invited them for Shabbos meals.

At the time, she was reading The Jewish Press, where there was a major campaign encouraging married women to cover their hair. She asked Rabbi Kirshblum, “What should I do? Should I cover my hair? Your wife doesn’t cover her hair.”

Rabbi Kirshblum answered honestly, “I wish my wife would cover her hair.”

Eventually, Rabbi Kirshblum sent the couple to Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l. Even before this transition, they had been robbed twice and, with tremendous siyata d’Shmaya, ended up moving directly across the street from Rabbi Miller.

Rabbi Miller sent her to school in Boro Park. There, Rabbi Shlomo Blumenkrantz, zt”l, referred her to Rabbi Hershel Kurzrock, who facilitated a second geirus and later remarried the couple to ensure that every halachic detail was properly fulfilled.

From that point on, both husband and wife became fully Orthodox. What evolved was a beautiful Torah family. They were zoche to have eleven children, all shomrei Torah u’mitzvos, all married and building beautiful Jewish homes of their own.

Her husband, who had originally come to Rabbi Miller barely knowing the alef-beis, went on to finish Shas three times.

Today, this remarkable woman is unfortunately an almana, yet she lives with deep emunah and bitachon and continues to take immense joy in her beautiful family. She also used her talents to give back to the community, teaching gym in girls’ yeshivos as well as working in two different group homes.

Her positivity, energy, and incredible enthusiasm shine brightly. She is truly a light for all of us to emulate. May we all be zoche to learn from this incredible woman and work on ourselves to be the best person we can be and to rely on Hashem completely to help us with whatever nisyonos we are going through.