from Kobe Liefer
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
As a close childhood friend of Rivkie, Aliza's older sister, I remember when Aliza was born. Rivkie and I were 10. She was a beautiful baby with HUGE brown eyes and a big smile. I remember her being this little 2 year old at Rivkie's bat mitzvah. She was always the baby of the family even when she was grown. I have so many little memories of her. Playing outside shabbos afternoons with her cousin or friends, leaning on her father at the shabbos table, running to the kitchen to grab a snack from the "junk drawer", Leba getting her ready to go out for Sunday pizza on Main Street with the grandparents, being at Rivkie's shabbos kallah and her having just had her bat mitzvah and everyone discussing it. Her being so cute (and stunning) at Rivkie's wedding. Not to mention a great aunt to all her nieces and nephews. There are so many memories.It is still impossible to imagine or begin to comprehend that she is no longer.May the entire family know no more sorrow.
Ariella (Seliger) Chasky
Ariella (Seliger) Chasky
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Note About E-mails & Letters
All e-mails and letters to Elisheva and Cindy will also be incorporated with the blog at some point. Thanks, and we should know only simchos...
Cindy Bernstein
Cindy Bernstein
Aliza (A”H) was the kind of student that every teacher loves – a hard worker, sweet, respectful, kind to others and just a pleasure to have in the classroom. Aliza’s determination to excel in everything she did propelled her throughout her four years at Central. Aliza made honor roll because of her grades but she deserves great honor for her menschlechkeit, her sincerity and her friendliness. I remember Aliza as always being a spiritual young women adding a special dimension to all of our tefilliot. There is a saying that says – it is nice to be important but it is more important to be nice – and this indeed is how Aliza lived her life. Aliza will always be a model student for us to learn from. (We would like to perpetuate Aliza’s memory in Central – is there anything special the family would like us to do? )
May the Nat Family, Gabi and Chani know no further sorrow.
Shelly Brand
May the Nat Family, Gabi and Chani know no further sorrow.
Shelly Brand
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I don't know if I ever officially met Aliza as we had already moved out of NY by the time she married Gabi. I do remember seeing her at a Lander wedding this past summer. She looked great and so happy and I remember thinking to myself - she must be better thank G-d. Jonathan and I were deeply saddened to hear of her passing. May Hashem comfort Gabi, Chani and their entire families and may they know no more sorrow.~ Aviva Zahtz
Gabi, Chani, it's hard to be writing this as our hurt for you is still so fresh, but I wanted to leave this as a bit of chizuk for Chani one day. It's just the tiniest, most inconsequential, sliver of this whole story, but, in a sense, I think that's exactly why it gave me so much comfort. It happened at the absolute thick of the darkness- in the last weeks and even day of your mother's life- and came to comfort and remind me that even then, and even in a situation that we will never be able to understand, there was still a Boreh Olam up there- listening to our tefillot and always orchestrating the 'big picture.'
First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ziva Glanz and I was the Aym Bayit at Landers when your father was a student there and when he dated and married your mother. Like 'army buddies,' when you give to somebody and go through such a significant piece of all of your lives together, they become like family, and that's the way it was for us at Landers. Our 'boys' became part of our family and, as such, we too questioned and struggled and mourned when we heard your mother was sick, and- of course- davened for her and your father wherever we could here in Israel.
Then, a few weeks ago, we got an email from HASC asking all alumni to join together to finish Sefer Tehillim daily on your mother's behalf. With worry about the significance of that email having to be sent, we quickly looked to see which tehillim my husband Daniel and I could sign up for. As a testament to your parents though, the email had only been out for a few hours and already almost every perek of tehillim had been taken - twice! The absolute only ones left were these random seven perakim (from 60-67), and they were left for a reason: they were considered 'hard;' difficult, and unfamiliar, with long-winded words to make your way through. Not quite 'popular,' but that's what was left and so they became ours.
Now, I want to share this with you (and I guess everyone else who will read this on the blog!) because I want you to understand exactly where we were coming from on April 1st when we started saying these tehillim. We had tried to buy an apartment a few months before, but the project had suddenly fallen through, and with it, our life savings. We managed to get a guarantee that our money would be paid back to us by April 2nd, so we scrapped together some cash and somehow managed to make it through to that date. But then April 2nd came and with it, no money. The contractor reneged, said he couldn't pay us back, that it would take at least a year, and we soon didn't know how we were going to continue putting food on the table. Our days became filled with lawyers, the process for Beit Din, and worry- and truthfully, the only productive thing I managed to do in all of this was make sure each day to say those tehillim for your mother. And each day they gave me strength, and renewed perspective, and reminded me that, despite the intensity of the stress, money was just money and nothing was more important than health.
The shabbos after Pesach, my husband had some free time and so he decided to sit down and learn the meaning of these tehillim that we were saying every day. He learned up one and was pleasantly surprised when he read that this was the tehillim to be said when someone was putting you in a difficult situation, as this contractor was with us. And then he learned another and was shocked to learn that this was a perek to be said in times of tremendous financial difficulty. And then he learned the next one and read that that it was a tehillim to say during times when you needed to see yeshuot. And that's when he called me over!
Together we sat- stunned- as we realized that, one after another, the 'unpopular' tehillim that had been 'left' for us to say, were really the very tehillim that described our exact situation (down to unbelievable detail). We could not have handpicked them better had we tried! And here we were, saying them every day, not knowing that the zechut of your mother's mitzvah was also helping us in our own lives as well. We sat there, astounded, as we realized the enormity of the Planning it took to execute even just this one small sign of Hashgacha Pratit, and we took comfort from it's reminder that, Kal V'Chomer, there must also be Yad Hashem in the greater situations as well- as hard and unclear as they may be.
It was only a few hours later that we got the news that your mother had passed away. It's easy to say that we were devastated, but I'm not sure that really describes it. We, along with all your parent's other friends (and of course family), felt the blow like a punch to our stomach- it winded us and all we could do was just sit and think of you and your family and attempt to just try and absorb it all. Yet through the thickness of that mourning, there was only one other thought that managed to sometimes break through to the periphery of my consciousness, and that was the sporadic glimmer of nechama that if Hashem's care and hashgacha were so evident even in a detail as seemingly insignificant as the tehillim being said, then how much greater must His care have been for the overall situation.
And now Gabi and Chani, I pray that that care should go to you, the Nats, and your entire extended family. Chani, I know that nothing will ever comfort you for the loss of your mother, but just as in the thick of that mourning there can be no real comfort and all we could do was peripherally concede to the acceptance of a Yad Hashem, so too I hope that this story will one day help you, in some small way, as you work towards that acceptance as well.
May Hashem give your father the koach he needs and, as you grow up, may you always face this struggle as well as your mother faced hers.
With all our love and condolences,
Daniel and Ziva Glanz
First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ziva Glanz and I was the Aym Bayit at Landers when your father was a student there and when he dated and married your mother. Like 'army buddies,' when you give to somebody and go through such a significant piece of all of your lives together, they become like family, and that's the way it was for us at Landers. Our 'boys' became part of our family and, as such, we too questioned and struggled and mourned when we heard your mother was sick, and- of course- davened for her and your father wherever we could here in Israel.
Then, a few weeks ago, we got an email from HASC asking all alumni to join together to finish Sefer Tehillim daily on your mother's behalf. With worry about the significance of that email having to be sent, we quickly looked to see which tehillim my husband Daniel and I could sign up for. As a testament to your parents though, the email had only been out for a few hours and already almost every perek of tehillim had been taken - twice! The absolute only ones left were these random seven perakim (from 60-67), and they were left for a reason: they were considered 'hard;' difficult, and unfamiliar, with long-winded words to make your way through. Not quite 'popular,' but that's what was left and so they became ours.
Now, I want to share this with you (and I guess everyone else who will read this on the blog!) because I want you to understand exactly where we were coming from on April 1st when we started saying these tehillim. We had tried to buy an apartment a few months before, but the project had suddenly fallen through, and with it, our life savings. We managed to get a guarantee that our money would be paid back to us by April 2nd, so we scrapped together some cash and somehow managed to make it through to that date. But then April 2nd came and with it, no money. The contractor reneged, said he couldn't pay us back, that it would take at least a year, and we soon didn't know how we were going to continue putting food on the table. Our days became filled with lawyers, the process for Beit Din, and worry- and truthfully, the only productive thing I managed to do in all of this was make sure each day to say those tehillim for your mother. And each day they gave me strength, and renewed perspective, and reminded me that, despite the intensity of the stress, money was just money and nothing was more important than health.
The shabbos after Pesach, my husband had some free time and so he decided to sit down and learn the meaning of these tehillim that we were saying every day. He learned up one and was pleasantly surprised when he read that this was the tehillim to be said when someone was putting you in a difficult situation, as this contractor was with us. And then he learned another and was shocked to learn that this was a perek to be said in times of tremendous financial difficulty. And then he learned the next one and read that that it was a tehillim to say during times when you needed to see yeshuot. And that's when he called me over!
Together we sat- stunned- as we realized that, one after another, the 'unpopular' tehillim that had been 'left' for us to say, were really the very tehillim that described our exact situation (down to unbelievable detail). We could not have handpicked them better had we tried! And here we were, saying them every day, not knowing that the zechut of your mother's mitzvah was also helping us in our own lives as well. We sat there, astounded, as we realized the enormity of the Planning it took to execute even just this one small sign of Hashgacha Pratit, and we took comfort from it's reminder that, Kal V'Chomer, there must also be Yad Hashem in the greater situations as well- as hard and unclear as they may be.
It was only a few hours later that we got the news that your mother had passed away. It's easy to say that we were devastated, but I'm not sure that really describes it. We, along with all your parent's other friends (and of course family), felt the blow like a punch to our stomach- it winded us and all we could do was just sit and think of you and your family and attempt to just try and absorb it all. Yet through the thickness of that mourning, there was only one other thought that managed to sometimes break through to the periphery of my consciousness, and that was the sporadic glimmer of nechama that if Hashem's care and hashgacha were so evident even in a detail as seemingly insignificant as the tehillim being said, then how much greater must His care have been for the overall situation.
And now Gabi and Chani, I pray that that care should go to you, the Nats, and your entire extended family. Chani, I know that nothing will ever comfort you for the loss of your mother, but just as in the thick of that mourning there can be no real comfort and all we could do was peripherally concede to the acceptance of a Yad Hashem, so too I hope that this story will one day help you, in some small way, as you work towards that acceptance as well.
May Hashem give your father the koach he needs and, as you grow up, may you always face this struggle as well as your mother faced hers.
With all our love and condolences,
Daniel and Ziva Glanz
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Hi, my name is Dahlia Jacob and i cannot say i knew Aliza very well. However there is something i would like to share. As im sure everyone knows, Aliza has changed many lives during her life... and she touched mine in a very personal and special way. when i was going to start central high school there was a big sister program. all the seniors were assigned to a specific freshmen to be a "big sister". they would show them around school, introduce them to people, basically make them feel comfortable and at home. this can be a very scary and nerve racking time for many freshmen, not to mention extremely overwhelming. i came from bais yaakov of queens...central was not such a common place for a bais yaakov girl to be going to high school, and man was i nervous. when i got to school and met aliza for the first time, all my fears disapeared. her kindness and sincerity hit me so strong and made me feel so good, so relaxed and above all comfortable in my new environment. since aliza graduated at the end of that year i did not get to know her better, and i so wish i had. i can deifinetely say that over that one year anytime she would see me, in the halls, on main street, even in shul, she would ask me how things were going as if she was looking out for me. i have always looked up to her, and will continue to, always and always. i want to say how sorry i am to her wonderful family i cannot imagine what they must be going through. all i wanted to say was...aliza touched my heart and i will forever be grateful for that.
Dahlia
Dahlia
I'm so sorry to hear about Aliza. I didn't know her well--we went to Morasha together many years ago--but I know she was incredibly sweet and beloved by her friends and family. Hopefully I'll find some older camp pictures the next time I go home, but for now I just have this one from Jessica and Kobi Leifer's wedding, in which I think she looks beautiful. Hamakom yinachem etchem b'toch sha'ar avalei tzion v'yerushalyim.Dahlia Adler Fisch
I didn't know aliza that well, but I do have so many small memories of her, and gabi, from their days as counselors in Camp HASC. aliza had one of the hardest bunks in the camp, but that didn't matter. she worked so hard, did so much, and always had a smile on her face. i have so many memories of her running after her campers, probably exhausted, and drained, but you would never know it. for the past few years, every time i saw her, i would say to myself, how could it be that she was so sick? she was always so smiley, happy, and beautiful- you would never know. may the memories of aliza give chizuk to the family, to gabi and chani. - sassy (fisch) hanauer
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Memories of Aliza
The purpose of this blog is to collect memories people have of Aliza (Nat) Shull, a'h, in order that those memories can be saved and later transmitted to Chani so she can have an understanding of her mother and her mother's life - how she lived, who her friends and family were, how she acted, how she would want Chani to see her and to live her own life.
At shiva, someone asked Gabi if they had had the opportunity to record memories for Chani from Aliza, and he noted that while Aliza had talked about a month earlier about writing letters to Chani, she hadn't been able to do so. While there are wonderful pictures from her graduation party and Chani's 3rd birthday party, the letters were never written. Instead, he asks that we all help write to Chani everything we can remember about Aliza and her life while it is still fresh in our minds so Chani can read it when she is older, so she can understand and appreciate her incredible mother, Aliza Rachel bas Chaim Tzvi & Liba Yenta (Nat) Shull.
He also asks that everyone send in pictures, videos, letters, messages, memories, words of chizuk... anything. It will all be kept, it will all be appreciated, and it will all be beautiful for Chani to have.
Please either comment or e-mail the memories and pictures to alizamemories@gmail.com. (Please note specifically if something should remain private and not be posted to the blog.)
Thank you so much.
At shiva, someone asked Gabi if they had had the opportunity to record memories for Chani from Aliza, and he noted that while Aliza had talked about a month earlier about writing letters to Chani, she hadn't been able to do so. While there are wonderful pictures from her graduation party and Chani's 3rd birthday party, the letters were never written. Instead, he asks that we all help write to Chani everything we can remember about Aliza and her life while it is still fresh in our minds so Chani can read it when she is older, so she can understand and appreciate her incredible mother, Aliza Rachel bas Chaim Tzvi & Liba Yenta (Nat) Shull.
He also asks that everyone send in pictures, videos, letters, messages, memories, words of chizuk... anything. It will all be kept, it will all be appreciated, and it will all be beautiful for Chani to have.
Please either comment or e-mail the memories and pictures to alizamemories@gmail.com. (Please note specifically if something should remain private and not be posted to the blog.)
Thank you so much.
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