Dear Friends,
We are reaching out to invite you to join us at the upcoming New Jersey Yachad Gala on December 1, 2018. Our dear friend, Chani Rubin, z”l, was supposed to be honored at this dinner for her endless support of Yachad. At the Yachad Gala we will be honoring her legacy and celebrating the organization that Chani thrived on, and all that it does for so many in our community. Please consider joining us at the gala so that we can all accept this award for Chani. We know that as we gather together to honor and remember Chani, she will be looking down on us with that blue and orange spirit, smiling so bright.
As it famously says in Pirkei Avot, Perek 1, Mishna 6: קְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר—acquire for yourself a friend.
What does that mean, acquire a friend? What really makes a true friend?
There was no better person who epitomized to the fullest extent what true friendship means more than Chani Rubin, z”l.
If you have a minute or two, please allow us to tell you about our time that we were fortunate enough to spend growing with Chani, and through that, we will b’ezrat Hashem allow Chani’s legacy to live on.
Back in 2014 we got the privilege to work in the Yachad Fellowship Program in Camp Mesorah. For those of you who don’t know, a major part of Chani’s life revolved around her summers in Camp Mesorah. She lived and breathed camp. Our first encounter with Chani was actually in her other element—the Miami Marathon. It was there where she made us excited, comfortable and ready to take on what was going to be challenging but rewarding.
That was Chani. Something she valued so deeply was making others around her feel comfortable, welcomed and always informed of the situation at hand. It would not have been acceptable to Chani for us to go in nervous and not knowing what to do. She truly took us under her wing.
That summer at Mesorah, not only did Chani imbue love and friendship to everyone in the Yachad bunk, but she spread her love throughout the whole camp. Whether it be the staff in the office, the upper staff members or the 3-year-olds in day camp, every person knew and loved Chani. She was a true Camp Mesorah legend.
That summer was only the very beginning of our epic journey with Chani by our side. Chani taught us how important it is to maintain friendships. We had reunions, FaceTime calls, many WhatsApp groups, and were privileged to run with Chani in the Miami Marathon that January in 2015.
During our gap year in Israel, Chani broke the shattering news to us that she had been diagnosed with cancer. This was news we were not expecting, and it was both shocking and devastating. Because we were so far away, we tried our best to keep up with Chani whether it be through FaceTime or texting. Despite the fact that we were thousands of miles away, it was clear to us she was living with immense emunah. At the worst of times for Chani she was writing to say Tehillim for other people whom she knew from the hospital or from her summer spent in Camp Simcha who were in grave need of our tefillot. Chani selflessly constantly wished us a good morning, afternoon or night and she always checked in when we would often forget to check in with her first. We were also frequently notified to sponsor her annual run in the Miami Marathon, a big part of her life that kept her going during the most painful of times.
On February 7, 2018, Chani wrote: “Just want to clarify that today’s pet/CT scan was my usual 3 month follow up. Will update when I have news. May it only be glowing results (because I was radioactive from the scan).”
Chani’s humor never disappointed, and her positivity, emunah, bitachon and energy were something truly remarkable.
Baruch Hashem, this past June we were able to spend Chani’s 30th birthday with her. We ate at her favorite pizza store in Passaic (where everyone obviously knew her) and then we stopped off at Dave and Busters. After some Ski Bal, and Dance Dance Revolution we stopped at the ticket jackpot machine. After multiple tries by us and Chani’s Camp Simcha counselor Alex, it was time for Chani’s turn. Lo and behold, she hit the 10,000 ticket jackpot! How ironic was this message. Chani may have hit the jackpot that day and got herself some awesome prizes to take home, but we hit the ultimate jackpot by having Chani as our friend and role model for life. Although we miss Chani sorely, we feel grateful every day to have known such a special human being.
You can reserve your spot for the gala at yachad.org/njgala2018.�
