Crown Heights, You Have Given Us Comfort

By Rivkie Bogomilsky on behalf of the Plotkin family

To our dear friends of our special Crown Heights community:

Words cannot adequately express our heartfelt appreciation for the comfort and friendship you have shown our family at this painful time. The delicious meals, meaningful visits and conversations, and toys for our heartbroken nieces and nephews are the physical manifestations of the enormous Ahavas Yisroel we were privileged to experience.

Hashem created us in His image so it is human nature to be kind and giving. As Jews we were gifted an extra dose of compassion and as chabad chassidim we try to do even more. As a chabad Shlucha and as a member of the Plotkin family, we were raised to be a giver and do all we can to help others and bring goodness and light to this world as we prepare for Moshiach.

We never imagined that we would be in a position where we would need the kindness of others to sustain us. When our dear brother suddenly passed away, our entire Plotkin family was in a state of shock and despair. Thank G-d the Crown Heights community immediately arranged for our material and spiritual needs and organized meals and minyanim. We are so grateful to all of you who took the time to pay a shiva call, inquire about our dear brother and about our personal lives, prepare a meal, participate in a minyan, provide toys and activities for precious children who just lost their beloved father and who were temporarily separated from their mother while she recovered from surgery.

We honestly do not know how we would cope and deal with this tragedy without you.

When one attends a shiva house, we say the passuk HAMAKOM yenachem eschem.
HAMAKOM literally means “the place” and in this context it is translated as Hashem, meaning Hashem should give you comfort.

We would like to share something we heard that truly resonated with us as we sat shiva:
HAMAKOM could also be translated literally, so that the passuk would mean, THE PLACE should bring you comfort.

The place refers to the community where the person is sitting shiva so that the community brings you comfort through their kind acts. We now fully appreciate and understand this passuk.

The place (our Crown Heights community) has given us comfort, and for that, we thank you with all our hearts.