[COMMUNICATED]
Shaindy learned how to be strong from her mother. Mother-of-7 Bracha Lev raised her children alone as a single mom. No matter what, Bracha did whatever she could to give them what they needed. Something there would be an unexpected expense and the fridge would lie empty, or the lights would go off. But they learned to keep their chins up, and see the good.
It was harder than ever to do that, however, when Bracha got sick last year. Shaindy did the same thing she saw her mother do: She took the reins and took care of the house. Though her mother was in and out of the hospital, and often unable to leave bed, Shaindy managed the home with grace. She studied hard in school to achieve her dream of becoming a professional chef. She got into shidduchim and without any father or mother to guide her, she researched the bochurim, arranged the dates, got the clothes she needed, and thoughtfully went about the process of dating.
When Shaindy got engaged this month, her siblings were ecstatic. And though she wears a beaming smile in her engagement photos, Shaindy’s happiness is complicated. She has done a great job of providing for herself until now, but affording a simple wedding, and the basics needed for it, is a whole new level.
Right now, the wedding is in one month, and the couple has nothing. Shaindy’s chassan is also from a poor family with many children. Without a way to afford a small simcha, or the basic amenities of an apartment to live in after marriage, this strong & independent young woman has had no choice but to do the unthinkable: Ask for help.
“I never thought in a million years I’d do something like this,” writes Shaindy on her kallah fund. Her hope is that Jews around the world will join together to do the mitzvah of hachnasas kallah, so that she can finally have what she dreamed of since she was a little girl: A happy, healthy home.
