On October 8th, 2020, the Weinberger family made a bris for their 13th son. That same morning - hours before the simcha - they received the diagnosis that would destroy everything: Brain cancer.
For nearly four years, 14 children and their mother became full-time nurses. They fed Rabbi Yom Tov Weinberger through tubes. They changed bandages. They stayed awake through endless nights watching their father slowly disappear.
>> To help the Weinberger orphans survive this impossible debt - donate here now
The numbers tell the brutal story: 500,000 shekels for surgery in Germany. Four years of zero income as the family's sole breadwinner lay bedridden. Borrowed money from gemachim piling up with no way to repay. And now, after Rabbi Weinberger passed away this past Tisha B'Av at midnight, Mrs. Weinberger faces the terrifying reality alone.
"We don't even have money for basic expenses", Mrs. Weinberger wrote this week in a heartbreaking letter. "Food, rent, clothing for 14 children. I am one woman, alone, trying to figure out how I will possibly do this."
The family had brief moments of hope. After the German surgery in late 2020, Rabbi Weinberger recovered enough that they married off their second son in December. They danced at that wedding believing they had been given a miracle.
>> For immediate help before this family loses everything - click here
In September 2021, Mrs. Weinberger gave birth to their 14th son. Within weeks, the cancer returned - this time worse. Rabbi Weinberger became completely bedridden, requiring 24/7 care that the family provided themselves to avoid additional expenses.
When they made the bris for their youngest son, Rabbi Weinberger insisted on attending despite being wheelchair-bound with tubes attached to his body. He could barely hold his head up, but nothing would keep him from this milestone. Family members wept watching him fight just to be present.
This past August (2025), on the night after Tisha B'Av at midnight, Rabbi Weinberger passed away surrounded by all 14 children. The baby he fought so hard to see at the bris - now just a few months old - was in Mrs. Weinberger's arms.
"My husband was a good man", she shared. "He worked hard his entire life to support our family. He suffered in ways I cannot describe, but he never complained. Even when he was in that wheelchair, barely able to speak, he worried about us."
The crisis now is not just about grief - it's about survival. An emergency fund has been opened to help the Weinberger family pay off the crushing debt and cover basic expenses for 14 children.
>> To give these orphans a chance at a normal life - donate immediately here
The oldest children are trying to stay strong for the younger ones. The middle children are helping their mother with the baby. And the youngest - that little boy from the devastating bris - will never remember his father standing, never remember him healthy, never remember anything except the photos.
Mrs. Weinberger is one woman facing an impossible situation: $175,000 in debt, 14 mouths to feed, and zero income. This family gave everything they had caring for their father during four years of hell. Now they need klal yisroel to give them a chance to survive what comes next.
DONATE HERE TO HELP THE WEINBERGERS