THE TESTIMONY

When Malky Hirth was a toddler, she was diagnosed with cancer. Although she died while just a young girl, the courage, determination, and bitachon that she and her family displayed continue to inspire thousands.

Shortly after Malky was diagnosed, she was admitted to Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, far from her home in Lakewood. At one point, Malky’s father, R. Shmueli, spent 12 consecutive Shabbasos in the hospital with her, along with his preteen son. Then they were joined by another frum Jew whose wife had just been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, the first adult Jewish male they had seen in 12 weeks.

R. Shmueli said to his new friend, “As we were davening, I thought: If we had 10 men, we could have a minyan and say Kaddish. If we had three, we could make a mezuman. But what can just the two of us do?”

The question hung there for a moment. The two of them were in the last place they ever wanted to be—spending Shabbos in a hospital, their loved ones fighting for their lives.

And then Rav Shmueli answered. “You know what we can do? Two men can serve as eidim, witnesses. The two of us can testify to the greatness of Hashem.”

Truly amazing.