Jarred by the news of a Houston family shattered in the blink of an eye in a West Texas car accident, thousands of people from all over the world have rallied to support the three orphaned children.
Support Pours in After Traffic Accident Rips Apart Texas Family
Jarred by the news of a Houston family shattered in the blink of an eye in a West Texas car accident, thousands of people from all over the world have rallied to support the three orphaned children.
Joshua, 41, and Robin Berry, 40, were killed instantly July 2 when an SUV veered into their lane and crashed head-on into their van. Their sons Peter, 9, and Aaron, 8, were paralyzed from the waist down, and are now undergoing treatment at Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago. Their six-year-old sister Willa was less-seriously injured and is currently recovering at a family friend’s home.
Help for the fractured family – the children are now being raised by their aunt and uncle, Matt and Simone Berry – has come in both physical and spiritual forms, whether in the kosher food provided by Rabbi Yitzchok and Nechama Dina Bergstein of the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Center five minutes from the hospital or in the worldwide Sabbath candle-lighting campaign that has drawn the support of thousands of people.
“Everybody wants to help,” says Michael Levy, a family friend who lives in the Chicago area who goes to the hospital on a regular basis. “There is a tremendous amount on [the family’s] shoulders.”
In Houston, where friends of the Berrys and members of the city’s tight-knit Jewish community first ran a lemonade stand and bake sale to raise money for the devastated family, Shelley Sorkin has been in awe of how quickly news of the tragedy captured the attention of a global audience.
“People here think about it 24/7,” says Sorkin, a lifelong friend of Robin Berry who last week hosted a lecture by Rabbi Yossi Zaklikofsky of the Shul of Bellaire on how to come to terms with tragedy. “It’s really hit home that if it could happen to them, it could happen to everybody. People have just rallied.”
Zaklikofsky, who joined the community effort in helping launch the candle-lighting campaign on Facebook, says that it’s grown by leaps and bounds.
“It’s brought about a tremendous awareness,” says the rabbi.
Some of those lighting Sabbath candles in the Berry family’s merit had never done so before. Others appreciated the opportunity to add even greater meaning to the Friday evening service.
“It helps brighten the world,” explains Zaklikofsky. “The tragedy brought a tremendous amount of darkness to the family, their loved ones and friends. It was a very big blow to the entire community here.”
National celebrities have even signed on to help the Berry family, encouraging people to support an online fundraising effort at TheBerryChildren.org. So far, close to 24,000 people have contributed to the fund.
Yitzchok Bergstein says that Simone Berry has been personally touched by the support.
“It gives her strength to know that so many people care and are giving of themselves,” says the rabbi.
“The outpouring has been tremendous,” echoes Levy. “But at the end of the day, two kids are in a hospital ward and very seriously debilitated. The doctors say one day at a time.”
Levy adds that people who want to pray for the children or recite Psalms in their merit should have their Hebrew names in mind: Pinchas ben Shoshana Yaffa, Aron ben Shoshana Yaffa, and Batya bat Shoshana Yaffa.
“Robin Berry is not able to light candles anymore in this world physically, but thousands of candles have been lit in her honor,” says Zaklikofsky. “Her Sabbath candle lights have not ceased, but increased exponentially.”
Life Insurance
LIFE INSURANCE.
This is the reason why there is no definite amount to buy for Life Insurance. you do not know how much you will need when the event happens yet accountants and people randomly throw out numbers when choosing how much to be covered with. The only amount your agent should be telling you is to get the maximum that the insurance company is willing to give based on your income and net worth. These kids are going to need millions for the rest of their lives. Not $1,000,000.00
Chani
The suffering in the world is unbearable. Where is Moshiach????? HaShem….aren’t You watching?? Don’t You see how desperately we need Moshiach????
uchh
MOSHIACH NOW SO THESE CHILDREN CAN BE HEALTHY & REUNITED W/ THEIR PARENTS
serel maness
we need to do teshuvoh,increasing in torah and mitzvah,including tznius
brother from the hood
hashem yeracaim
cbt
Well I will try to do more mitzvos that will IY”H be reaching out to show ahavas yisroel to other yidden
To number 1
Nonsense. You buy an amount that is generally speaking adequate, in case G-d forbid the breadwinner dies of typical causes. You don’t buy life insurance to cover you in extreme cases. You don’t buy a $50 million policy in case the father is beheaded by terrorists, his children will need $49 million in therapy and psychiatrists. That’s lunacy, albeit great business for brokers.
If you make $50k a year you can afford $1,000 for a 30 year $1,000,000 policy. But to spend 10k a year (20 percent of salary) on life insurance is insanity. You buy insurance to insure you against typical misfortunes. For those, 1,000,000 is adequate for a family of 5. If you have more children or if you see inflation devaluing the value of your policy, ONLY THEN do you purchase additional coverage. To splurge on life insurance is insanity. You buy the amount that is responsible to buy to cover your family in 99% of cases. It’s not an investment portfolio. It’s an insurance policy!!!
Andrea Schonberger
I just don’t understand why tragedies like this happen while criminals like Charles Manson are still alive, in prison perhaps, but still alive. WE NEED MOSHIACH NOW!
B H
http://www.TheBerryChildren…
take the time now to donate something. Tzedakah tatzil m’maves.
then remember that tznius is the ONLY mitzvah the Torah equates with PROTECTION. HaShem doesn’t walk with promiscuity. Please – discard at least 1 skirt that is too short and/or tight. Resolve to only by kosher clothing from now (after the 9 days of course) on.
770
can someone please tell me where moshicha is!!!
#9
People with long skirts also experience horrors in life- so it is really H’s will and all the answers etc don’t fit the formula. So yes, we continue with mitzvos etc and do what we can but some of you believe the longer skirt will ultimately do “magic” and as we see every day, this is not so. Live in reality and do mitzvos but you only make people feel worse- you know why?Bec to some mother who lost a very tznius girl in a car crash, these statements do not help.or someone who is tznius loses a spouse etc, these magical statments only make them feel more bitter and helpless. so just stop already.
DC
As the Rebbe says, H-Shem doesn’t need a lawyer to defend His actions.