Florida Shliach’s Mother Remembered at Shloshim
At a very moving and uplifting Shloshim for Mrs. Hanna Tennenhaus, OBM, the 20-year-old David Tennenhaus Library in Hallandale Beach, Florida was renamed the David and Hanna Tennenhaus Library, with concrete goals of expanding the library with many new titles, in many languages, with many new Torah books for men, women and children of all ages.
In addition, the Library will offer Story Time for children one evening every week, and Mrs. Goldie Tennenhaus will be conducting “The Rebbetzin’s Roundtable” on or near the 23rd of each Hebrew month. Mrs Tennenhaus passed away on Simchas Torah, the 23rd day of Tishrei.
The emcee for the evening was the deceased’s grandson, Rabbi Mendy Tennenhaus, who Mrs Tennenhaus lovingly called ” the Shtille Chochom.”
Rabbi Raphael Tennenhaus, son of Mrs. Tennenhaus, made the Siyum Mishnayos, and spoke of the many virtues of his mother. After reading a message from his sister, Esther Solomon of Efrat, Israel, that enumerated many notable virtues of their mother, Rabbi Tennenhaus pointed out that “Perhaps her greatest quality, besides her brilliance, kindness and literary talents, was her never being jealous of anyone. She had great joy in the success of her friends and family, and never questioned or compared the challenges in her life with the lives of others.” Her being born on Chanukah “will always remind us of the incredible Chinuch she had, and the significance of an uncompromising focus on Jewish education she imparted to her descendants,” and her Yahrzeit on Simchas Torah “will always inspire us to live each day with true Simchas HaChaim that she had, which was based on her love and joy for Torah and the Mesorah,” he said.
Rabbi Tennenhaus connected the Siyum of Mishnayos that speaks of Sholom, and the Siyum of the Rambam that speaks of the days of Moshiach, when there will be no jealousy or competition. He added that the Shiur Tanya earlier this week quotes the Zohar, which explains how “do not forsake the Torah of your mother” refers to the Oral Torah. Both the end of Mishnayos and the end of the Rambam, two major bodies of the Oral Torah, were a reflection of the life of Mrs. Tennenhaus. She personified living with Moshiach, with jealousy never existing in her thoughts, speech or actions.
Granddaughter Mushky Tennenhaus eloquently related how a phone call to Bubby helped her resolve a challenge at work, when her employer “demanded” that she should work on Shabbos or else…”Bubby told me it’s not your problem. You were given the merit to stand up for Shabbos. Consider it an honor.”
Mrs. Tennenhaus’ nephew from Washington Heights, Mr. Danny Frankel, whose late father was the Chazzan in Breuer’s for 60 years, shared fond memories of how Mrs. Tennenhaus, before getting married, was his beloved babysitter, and how his best summers were spent visiting the Tennenhauses in the small town of Bathurst, New Brunswick.
Mrs Goldie Tennenhaus spoke how with great affection Mrs. Tennenhaus considered her “her third daughter,” poetically calling her “the daughter of my heart.” She spoke of how her mother-in-law nurtured her, never once criticized her, and always told her to add “fun” to her day.
A video of Mrs. Tennenhaus’ older brother, Mr. Joe Faust from Montreal, was shown. Mr Faust compared his sister’s life to the Matriarch Sarah, with Rashi’s commentary that all her years, despite her trials, were equally good. “My sister considered everything in her life for the good, and leaves a tremendous legacy for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.”
A second video, “Bubby’s YouTube clip” that grandson Shmuly Tennenhaus recorded in 2007, was then shown, bringing tears and chuckles to the 200 people in attendance. That clip had gone viral, receiving close to 700,000 hits.
The highlight of the evening was the singing of Sholom and Dovid Lebovics, two great-grandsons who were accompanied by their father, Chazzan Rabbi Yossi Lebovics, Mrs. Tennenhaus’ oldest grandchild. The children sang stirring melodies that inspired, touched and moved the hearts of all those present.
A beautiful booklet was distributed, with unique letters from the previous Rebbe for Mrs. Tennenhaus’ wedding, letters from the Rebbe that make reference to her novel, some of Mrs.Tennenhaus’ writings, as well as correspondence from Dr. Henry Kissinger (a childhood friend), the Premier of New Brunswick and McGill University.
The Shloshim concluded with a beautiful dinner and Farbrengen in Chabad of South Broward’s new social hall.
All those present at the Shloshim walked away with the feeling that they knew her, even if many of them never met her. The story of a young fifteen-year-old girl barely escaping Germany in the last Kindertransport, and leaving k”ah some 80 descendants all dedicated to Torah and Mitzvahs, will resonate for years to come in the hearts, minds and souls of all who participated in the unique Shloshim observance for Mrs. Hanna Tennenhaus, of blessed memory.
