[COMMUNICATED]
A crowd of devastated onlookers gathered in the street in Bnei Brak earlier this month, to say their final goodbyes to an inspirational young Torah scholar & father. Rabbi Yom Tov Cohen was not a man who let anything get in his way. Cohen transformed his life as a young adult in pursuit of truth, and became religious. He immersed himself so deeply in his studies that before long he was a talmid chacham. He married, and had 5 children together with his wife Sara.
A severe case of diabetes, however, sent Rabbi Cohen’s life in an unexpected trajectory. The disease claimed his sight in one eye, as well as two of his legs. Being an amputee & struggling to see did not stop him from authoring several seforim, and being a loving family man.
At the beginning of this month, doctors broke the news that they would need to amputate Rabbi Cohen’s hand as well. What was already tragic became catastrophic when, during a surgery which was not meant to be life-threatening, the Rabbi died on the operating table. His wife & children were taken completely by surprise.
As Rabbi Cohen’s deceased body lay at his levaya surrounded by hundreds who were inspired by him, no one felt the loss more than the children whose father had been ripped away at the age of 45. An emergency fund has been started to help Mrs. Cohen raise her children on her own with some safety & security. The fund has a letter on the family’s behalf from the Chernobyler Rebbe.
For reasons unknown to us, some are destined to suffer more than others. If donors can join together to give his children a safety net, the tragic tale of Rabbi Cohen’s suffering can end here.
