Newlyweds Tzvi and Michelle Styler will join his parents, Drs. Steven and Marianne Styler, as they fulfill their dream of living in Yerushalayim.
On August 21, at 6 p.m., gathered guests will witness the culmination of years of love and dedication, sensitivity and sacrifice, all overseen by a large dose of hashgacha pratis, individual providence. Drs. Steven and Marianne Styler of Teaneck will escort their son, Tzvi Boruch down the aisle to the chuppah under which he will marry Michelle, daughter of Daniel and Nicole Michaly of Fort Lee, whom he has known for the past 30 years.
At the tender age of 11, Michelle identified Tzvi, then 10, as “her guy,” and has worked toward their goal of marrying ever since. Tzvi Boruch was diagnosed at 18 months with a rare chromosomal abnormality that resulted in his developmental delay, and Michelle is a high-functioning young woman with Down Syndrome. After their marriage, Tzvi and Michelle will be making aliyah together with the Stylers to take up residence in Yerushalayim, a further fulfillment of their dreams.
The backstory of this union includes the all-too-familiar fleeing of grandparents from the pogroms in Ukraine, miraculously surviving the terrors of the Holocaust and eventually settling in the U.S. The Stylers met fortuitously at a wedding to which he had not been officially invited and at which Marianne was to become engaged, except that the fellow never showed up. They married shortly afterwards and both pursued medical degrees: Steven as a pediatrician and Marianne as an OB-GYN with a specialty in fertility. The irony is not lost in the fact that it took the couple 11 years to have their first child. During those years of waiting, however, they never lost their emunah that Hashem would grant them children.
Steven and Marianne are now the proud parents of Emunah (Aimee), an organizational psychologist and proud mother of a toddler; and Esther, a pediatric gastroenterologist and proud mother of four. Tzvi Boruch, their very special son, now 40, always personified the bracha that he received from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l and Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l prior to his birth—that his life should be a blessing to himself and others around him.
And so it has been. From an early age, Tzvi was welcomed into the many shuls in the community with open arms by rabbis and congregants alike. The members of Bnai Yeshurun, Beth Aaron, Shaarei Orah, Shaarei Tefillah, Chabad of Teaneck and the Carlebach Minyan at the Teaneck Jewish Center all remember Tzvi’s enthusiasm and excitement at being part of the shul service. Students from TABC, Yeshivat Frisch and Ma’ayanot remember their chavruta sessions with Tzvi as lively and uplifting.
The ongoing commitment and proactivity of the Stylers throughout the years saw that Tzvi’s Judaic and secular studies were enriched by programs including early intervention, Yachad, HASC, Women’s League, the JCC and the Sheli House. They encouraged Tzvi to participate in the Special Olympics, and he was able to develop skills in skiing and horseback riding. Tzvi even spent two years at the noted machon of Prof. Reuven Feurerstein in Israel, which specializes in unique programs for the mentally challenged.
For the past 14 years, Tzvi has resided in the Ohel facility Bais Ezra, located on the Lower East Side, and is employed by Boro Park Lumber. Tzvi has developed a large coterie of friends including many of the Chassidic patients of his father’s longtime pediatric practice in Boro Park. Throughout his many peregrinations, Tzvi and Michelle were in touch and participated in many programs together. All along, they have been determined to make a life together. Michelle feels confident in her ability to make wise decisions for both herself and Tzvi and was able to convince her parents to allow them to marry. Both Tzvi and Michelle’s siblings have been strong supporters and advocates for the couple and are thrilled at the upcoming simcha.
Tzvi’s aufruf will take place at the home of Rabbi Ephraim Simon in Teaneck. Rabbi Jonah Gewirtz of Silver Spring, Maryland, a lifelong chaver of Steve’s will be the mesader kiddushin at the wedding.
Steven reflected: “The radiant smile on Tzvi’s face as he takes Michelle as his bashert loving wife will reflect all of the love and care which went into his life to this point from his devoted family, and from the overwhelming and genuine love and acceptance that he received all these years from the Teaneck community. Marianne and I wish to thank you all for encouraging our Tzvi to fulfill the words of the Gedolei Yisroel who blessed him before birth to be a light and a blessing to others.”
Both recently retired from their medical practices, the senior Stylers will be making aliyah before the upcoming Yomim Tovim. Newlyweds Tzvi and Michelle Styler will be on the same Nefesh B’Nefesh flight of olim. The couple will reside in Ramot initially, after which they will move to Yerushalayim where the organization Aleh Siach will supervise them as part of a national program.
Our wishes for a klitah tova and a blessed future go out to all of the Stylers on this milestone move.
