Rav Shimshon Brodsky zt”l, a renowned rav and marbitz Torah, passed away in 2011 after a brief period at Leisure Chateau, a nursing home and rehabilitation center in Lakewood.
After the shivah, Rabbi Brodsky’s children wanted to express their gratitude to the facility. They presented the staff with a framed letter of appreciation thanking them profusely for their dedicated care, along with a small picture of their father.
It wasn’t long before the director of Leisure Chateau, himself a frum Jew, called to congratulate them for the kiddush Hashem they had created. “The staff went wild when they received your letter!” he exclaimed.
The letter was placed on the wall next to the nurses’ station, where it has been on display ever since. Over the years, many others have followed the Brodsky family’s example, and their letter is now surrounded by an array of other poems and letters of thanks.
While no one chooses to be in such a situation, there are many people who have close family members in hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. When family members are visible in such facilities, they are invariably noticed by the staff — and with a little effort, this opportunity can be used to make a kiddush Hashem.
Reproduced from A Life Worth Living by Rabbi Shraga Freedman with permission of the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
