Yesterday we did the impossible, bidding farewell to a cherished friend and community member, Daniella Hampel, z”l.
On Shabbat at The Shul Daniella lit up the room, something I told her the very last Shabbat service she attended, only a month or so ago. She was a Rabbi’s dream congregant, listening intently to the sermon, and never failing to share a compliment after the service. She loved Yiddishkeit and loved learning, attending JLI classes and more recently Esty’s Torah and Tea, continuing to do so even while in pain.
Tomorrow we will read about two great Jewish women, Miriam and Yocheved, who served as Jewish midwives and both displayed incredible heroism in the face of the great darkness of the Egyptian exile. It was because of their sacrifices, risking their lives in assisting Jewish mothers to bring children into the world, that the Jewish nation was able to survive the darkness of exile, eventually meriting the exodus from Egypt.
G-d Almighty rewarded these two women accordingly, that Aaron and his priestly family, the Levites, as well as King David all descended from her. Because they helped secure the future of the Jewish people, G-d rewarded them with the greatest Nachas a Jewish mother can hope for.
This was Daniella. Like Miriam and Yocheved she invested endless time and energy into her children, their Jewish education and values, also serving as a beacon of light and Yiddishkeit in her neighborhood, proudly walking to Shul on Shabbat, hosting community events and much more. Her reward for that is and will be the incredible Nachas that she will see from her own children, as they continue to grow as educated and proud Jews, for generations to come.
Our sincere condolences to her loving husband Ori and children Gilad, Gavriel, Gali and Gayah. Her parents, sister, in-laws and extended family.