In Tribute To Sara Even-Israel Steinsaltz OB’M
by Rabbi Allouche
“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”
For years, this poem hung on the entrance door of the home of Rav Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, of righteous memory (lovingly known as “Rav Adin”), and his wife, Chaya Sara, who passed away just a few hours ago.
How fitting. Sara also means “to sing.” And indeed, Sara and her husband, Rav Adin, filled their humble home in the German Colony of Jerusalem with a song of love and kindness for all. Every visitor was greeted with a genuine smile and an invitation to enjoy cashews, chocolate, fruit, or other delicacies.
Before they left, Sara would insist on blessing them: one for livelihood, another for good health, and yet another for happiness. If individuals sought a blessing for marriage, she also had a secret recipe. She would pour them a glass of Cointreau, ask them to say “L’chaim,” and then bless them to find their ‘bashert.’ And since her blessings were almost prophetic, weeks, and sometimes just days, later, they would find their perfect match…
But above all, when Sara and Rav Adin greeted you, whether in their home or on the streets of the world, you became their friend. And they would not part from you until the “song of your heart” — the song that carried all the good you can and must do — was awakened.
“ESHET CHAVER”
Sara was no ordinary woman. In fact, the Lubavitcher Rebbe once called her an “Eshet Chaver” – a Talmudic title for the wife of a Sage. Surely, the Rebbe did not bestow this title on Sara lightly.
Yes, she came from an illustrious Chabad family. She was also married to one of the greatest Jewish scholars in Jewish history, who revolutionized the world with his groundbreaking translation and commentary on the entire canon of the Jewish library. But Sara was a Sage in her own right. She was a trained psychologist who was well-versed in science, culture, and literature. She also spoke many languages. But most importantly, her mind and her heart were entirely immersed in Torah and the teachings of our Chassidic masters.
“HER BOND WITH THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE”
Sara also had a very special relationship with the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
A few years ago, Rav Adin shared with me that he and Sara once had a private audience with the Rebbe. Sara was holding their baby daughter, Esther, as they entered the Rebbe’s room. Overcome with emotion at the sight of the Rebbe, Sara began to weep and tremble, but she refused to sit, as was the custom. So the Rebbe instructed her to “sit down!” His command was firm yet loving, like that of a father concerned for the well-being of his daughter and her baby.
On another occasion, Rav Adin recalled how Sara entered the Rebbe’s room wearing a fur coat. The Rebbe asked Sara: “Is that a mink coat?” Rav Adin later explained that this was not a question but a blessing that one day they might be able to afford such an expensive coat.
And in 1990, when the Rebbe instructed Rav Adin to change his last name from Steinsaltz to Even-Israel, he added that it should only be done with his wife’s permission. Such was the Rebbe’s esteem for her.
“THE WIND BENEATH HIS WINGS”
But, perhaps, Sara’s finest quality was her humility.
From the moment she married Rav Adin, Sara bound her life humbly and unreservedly to his sacred, world-embracing mission. Night after night, she would stay up until the wee hours of the morning, ready to welcome her husband and serve as the quiet strength at his side. Indeed, she was his anchor, his confidant, and as Rav Adin once shared with me, she was his “best friend.”
Some two thousand years ago, when the legendary Rabbi Akiva returned home after 24 years of study, he was accompanied by his 24,000 disciples. At the edge of the immense crowd stood his wife, Rachel, who had endured poverty and loneliness, just so that her husband could become one of Jewish history’s most outstanding leaders. When Rabbi Akiva saw her, he stopped everyone, pointed directly to her, and proclaimed to all with resounding clarity: “Sheli v’shelachem—shela hu! What is mine and what is yours – belongs to her!”
So too with Rav Adin. His all-encompassing scholarship and global influence were all powered by her. She was the rock on whom he relied, the silent cheer behind his song, and the wind beneath his wings. What is Rav Adin’s, and what is ours – belongs to her!
A WONDROUS DREAM
On a recent trip to Israel, I had the privilege of visiting Sara again. She welcomed me into her home with a radiant smile, and, as always, she asked me about my wife and each of our children, and she insisted, as her husband would, that we should accomplish “more and more.”
During our conversation, she confided in me that, just the week before, she was overcome with an overwhelming sense of longing for her husband, Rav Adin, who passed away some five years ago. And so, she lifted her eyes to the heavens and asked her husband for a sign that he was still with her. That night, she had a wondrous dream. In it, she saw her husband standing in their kitchen and looking at her with a big smile. When she awoke, she knew: her husband was, and will always be, there with her.
Sara and her husband, Rav Adin, are now reunited in heaven. Together, they and their blessings will surely continue to be with us and for us, from their heavenly abode, serving as good advocates for their family, their students, our nation, and our world.
But we will also do our part to make them proud and do everything in our power to add deeds of goodness and kindness in their loving memory, and accomplish “more and more.”
Until we will soon merit to see the fulfillment of the promise when “G-d will swallow up death forever… and wipe away the tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:8) and “those who sleep in the dust of the earth,” including Sara and Rav Adin, “shall awake!”
May this day come speedily. Amen.
