The children of Leah Leilach Weissberg, 'the nurse of Kiryat Atta'- are struggling to recover. They experienced Pesach without their Ima. Their father, a diligent kollel avreich, tries to comfort his orphaned children but their yearning for Ima only builds up as the days pass* Mrs. Weissberg was the primary breadwinner - she worked double shifts and took on different positions to enable her husband to learn without disturbances
The cloud of mourning which hangs over the Weissberg household in Kiryat Atta did not disperse, even for the week of Pesach. The intense pain felt by the family members hasn't dulled with the passage of time- it's only increased.
Mrs. Leah Leilach Weissberg a"h, age 43, lived with her husband Rabbi Eyal in Kiryat Atta. She was a compassionate nurse, and he, an especially successful manager who oversaw a number of factories and brought in a very good income.
Both of them came from families whose origins were in the former Soviet Union, and who guarded the flame of Yiddishkeit despite living for so many years under Communist oppression. They didn't know much, but stubbornly clung to their Jewish identity and acted on whatever they knew.
When they decided to commit themselves to following the Torah and living a Torah-true lifestyle, Leilach a"h realized how precious Torah was to her husband Rabbi Eyal ybl"ch and how dedicated he was to learning it and how much he loved it, and decided to enable him to learn full-time, without having to bear the burden of parnassah.
She took upon herself this burden instead, and began to work additional jobs as a nurse, as well as working double shifts to increase their income. Simultaneously, her husband was mevatter on his high earning potential and completely dedicated himself to learning Torah.
Over the years they raised an exceptional family- sons and daughters going in the ways of Torah and yirah. The oldest son learns in the famed Ohr Yisrael Yeshivah in Petach Tikvah; his younger brothers are following in his footsteps and expect bez"H to attend some of the top yeshivahs, as befits children of such an outstanding talmid chacham, whose love of Torah is no less than his.
Two years ago a cancerous growth was discovered in her body. She was immediately operated on in a surgical procedure that saved her life and stopped the disease.
But on her last birthday, about five months ago when she turned 43, she had difficulty breathing and went for an examination. Within a short time the bitter truth was revealed: a new malignant growth had developed whose offshoots were discovered in her lungs.
From that day onwards she was hospitalized almost continuously in the Rambam Hospital in Haifa. Three weeks ago, when it became clear that medicine had no more to offer her, she was released to home care in her parents' house, but when the pains became unbearable she was taken back to the hospital.
Her husband and six young children are left at home without a source of income. Their extended family are people of very limited means- and their extended family is actually quite small. They were not members of a large community which was able to help them and fundraise for them. They were simply Jews who were yirai Shamayim and ovdei HaShem who lived in Kiryat Atta and raised a beautiful Torah family.
Now they need our help- the help of Am Yisrael. The orphans have lost their mother, the sole breadwinner of the family. The grief-stricken father is completely devastated over the loss of his wife who was so faithful, caring, and supportive.