Page 109 - newsflash 1155

I USED TO KNOW A SHABBOS QUEEN Tziri Hershkovitz

If we close our eyes and let our breathing slow down, we can feel it—the pulse of the
universe. There's a heartbeat and rhythm—a meaning and purpose—to this perfect
world
On Erev Shabbos Kodesh we feel time slowing down from a frantic rush to a soothing
hum. It's as if the Clockmaker Himself is rewinding the clock and adjusting its pace.
If we allow ourselves, we can experience the holiness of the day through the
preparations leading up to its culmination. Like Rifky ה" ע did!
While most of mankind still huddled under covers, savoring those final few hours of
sweet slumber, Rifky would toss her covers aside and start her morning. It wasn’t a lack
of appreciation for what the pillow had to offer, there was just something far more
enticing coaxing her to start her day — the opportunity to spend some quiet hours
conversing with the Eibershter as she prepared a feast in His honor.
It was as simple and grand as that. Many of us understand this concept on an
intellectual or even spiritual level. To Rifky ה"ע it was literal.
Shabbos was coming. The day the Shechina spends with Klal Yisroel. Rifky was up bright
and early, whispering her techinas as she prepared her Shabbos dishes.
ROYAL GRACE
When COVID swept through our community in 2020, it took our sweetest and brightest.
Rifky Deutsch (Werzberger)ה "ע was one of our tragic losses. Admired and adored by all
who knew her, Rifky’s joy in living everyday life was surpassed only by her joy in serving
Hashem. She was the embodiment of simchas hachaim, tznius, generosity and perpetual
growth. But there was a secret that few knew. The catalyst for her monumental
achievements lay in a simple but powerful commitment. For 25 years, until she was in a
COVID-induced coma, Rifky had not missed taking challah — even one week! Not when
she married off, nor when she was feeling ill. Not even when she gave birth to either of
her sets of twins!
Challah baking was precious to her and she genuinely reveled in the opportunity to
infuse her home with the blessings that accompany this mitzvah.
PRIVATE SPACE
A couple of years ago, on a conference line (recorded for posterity b’hashgacha pratis),
Rifky regaled her listeners with a vivid depiction of what her erev Shabbos was like.
Throughout the recording, Rifky repeatedly says she is a “simple person,” and those on
the hotline chime in in agreement, pointing out what a fun-loving, down-to-earth
person they always knew her to be.
But each and every listener is flabbergasted at the end, astonished at the heights this
“simple woman” has achieved, chastened at the thought that the opportunity for such
growth is obviously available to all, but most of all, humbled at the realization that they
were just speaking with greatness, personified.
Rifky’s story began many years ago, in a season heavy with “erevs.” Moved by how the
preparations enveloped her home in an exalted atmosphere, she experienced a life-
affirming epiphany. From that week on, she never failed to bake challah. Never.

109