Tante Sarah, OBM

This week is the Sheloshim of our dear Tante Sarah, better known as Sarah Beck, a trade name for a Sheitel Macher (wig stylist) for generations of Stamford Hill ladies.

As is said about Soroh Imenu: "Bas 100 KeBas 20", her life was one long story of sacrifice and suffering.

Born during WWII, she came into a world that was in turmoil, which made a lasting impression on her future life. She never really settled down after having to move five times in nearly as many different countries on two cintinents before reaching her tenth birthday.

Sarah was born in a refugee camp on the Swiss border with France, barely a year after her grandmother - after whom she was named - was deported in broad daylight from Belgium to the infamous death factory called Auschwitz. 

In a way, she was instrumental in saving her whole family from the same fate, even before she was born: the Swiss authorities would have returned this group of 'illegal immigrants', were it not for the fact that there was a heavily pregnant woman amongst them.

After a short while living in the nascent State of Israel, she moved to Letchworth Garden City in the UK.  When Reb Shmelke Pinter זצ"ל heard the daughter of his Landsnan - they both hailed from Vienna, Austria - attends the local non-Jewish school, he dispatched Rebbe Dominitz זצ"ל to 'hijack' her and bring her back with him to attend the Yesode HaTorah school. After appearing unannounced at their front door he managed to convince her parents that their daughter will be well looked after.

Rebbe Pinter put her up in his home for quite some time until the Beck family moved to Stamford Hill.

She eventually helped out in the school office with administration and also worked as a teacher, but this all changed when she realised how her parents were struggling to make a living in their new surroundings.

She started to work from home as a Sheitel Macher and so was able to not only support her war-weary parents but also a new generation of nephews and nieces.  Tante Sarah was extremely family minded, she delighted in taking us to the West End shopping and she beamed with joy when she could outfit us with the latest version of sailor's suits. Her dedication to the family was legendary, as is evident from the many photos in her rich archive, spanning decades of Nachas.

Her Emunah Pshutah and Emunas Chachomim came to the fore when she was faced with the many tests that life threw at her, especially during the time when her life hung in the balance after suffering double kidney failure.  

After marrying Rabbi Mordechai Alter Goldberg שליט"א from Yerusholayim, who went on to become the Safra Dedayna in the London Beth Din.

The Goldberg's placed the education of their children at the top of their priority list and indeed Am Yisroel can be proud with these Doros of the upstanding, refined and courteous children and grandchildren of the extended family.

In these wintry weeks, we learn in the Sedrah that Yitzchok Ovinu brought his new wife Rivkah into his mother Soroh's tent and was consoled when the three miracles - that disappeared when his mother was Niftar - re-occurred. One of the Nissim was that the candles burned from Friday night until Friday afternoons the following week.

This year, this writer's family was in Kiryat Gat for the Shabbos after Yom Kippur and when my wife finsihed candlelighting she said 'Gut Shabbos' and just then the candles went out.  I quickly lit the candles and forgot all about it, until a couple of days later wehn we were informed that Sarah departed this world.  Yes, she doted over us when we were young and expressed her love and affection to us her nephews when we already garndchildren of our own - just like a matriarch worrying about her flock.
This is our wish and hope, that Sarah bas Mordechai Elyokim (Getzel Beck) will continue doing what she loved most: making others happy; with your place up in heaven near all the Tzadikim and Tzadekos, implore and beg in fron of the Kise haKovod that we merit the coming of Moshiach, speedily in our days.

Her nephew, MBD