Chanukah Day #7 | Amid Heartbreak, She Forged a New Dream

[music] It was the 7th night of Kaneka 2 years ago, 5784, December 13th, 2023. Normally one of the most joyous days on the Jewish calendar when a knock on the door brought the news [music] that changed Hadas Loen Stern's life forever. her husband of 13 years, Alicia, the love of her life, had fallen [music] in battle in Gaza. Alicia was there on a mission to rescue wounded [music] soldiers when he was killed by a kamas fired anti-tank missile. He left behind his widow, Hadas, [music] and six children, the youngest just 11 months old, the oldest preparing for his bar mitzvah. Hadas shared that Alicia told her before he went to war, "If something happens to me, please get married as fast as possible." In frustration and jest, she [music] asked him, "Alicia, you mean I open the window and just choose the next man walking [music] by?" Alicia responded, "Hadas, please, as fast as possible." Since his murder, Hadas has become a symbol of strength and resilience for her entire nation. resolve, love, and faith. We plan on living such a wonderful life, she once said, that the bad guys will never merit to live. A little less than a year after her husband Alicia was killed, a man living in the same apartment building in their town, Karish, suffered a tragic loss. [snorts] Khagit Reich, a mother of four, [music] passed away 10 days after giving birth to her fourth daughter. Khaged, 37, was in an advanced stage of pregnancy when her condition deteriorated. [music] The doctors were forced to deliver her baby via C-section and 10 days after that, she passed away, leaving over her husband, Hud, and four girls. Hadas Loen Stern went downstairs [music] to pay a shiva call to her neighbor. She sat down in the women's section and [music] began talking to the oldest daughter who just lost her mother. I fell in love with her right away. Ahadas recalled and I thought to myself, this girl would be an amazing match for my oldest boy when they both get older. Classic Jewish style in the middle of Shiva. She's already made a shiddok in her mind between this girl Halal and her son Eton who are both baritzvah age. Of course, she didn't know that God had a different match in mind. As Hadas was walking out of the Shiva home, she turned [music] to the grieving father and husband Hud and she just said [music] to him, "I want you to know that this girl of yours, the oldest, [music] is going to be just fine." And Hod looked at Hadas and he put [music] both hands on his heart in an expression of such gratitude. It was obvious to her how worried he was about this particular girl and how comforting it was for him to hear that she's going to be okay. A few months later, a woman phones Hadas and says there is another woman who wants to date the widowerower in her building, Hod. Can Adas ask him if he's interested? So, she texted her neighborhood and he said, "No, he's not ready yet to date." Then he asked her if she was dating and Adas said yes. So he wished her success in her efforts and he said may it go well bipim without blockages. She wished him well and moved on. Some time passes. A woman calls Adas and asks if she might be interested in dating her neighbor Hud. She apologizes for calling and she says listen I tried to dissuade him but he's driving me miss all day and all night so I'm calling you. Hadas says, "I already asked him. He said he wasn't interested." The woman responds, "What he meant was that he's not interested in dating other women. [music] He wants you." Hadas's heart melted. She texted him that night. A few months later, in the summer, they got engaged. And just a few days before last rashana, September 16th, [music] 2025, they stood under a kupa and they got married. The MC at the Kupa was Hadas's oldest son. A son usually does not speak at the wedding of his mother, he began. But God had a different dream [music] for my family and I will follow it with an open heart. At this ha, the boy said, [music] "We have two people present, not physically, but spiritually. Kagit Hod's first wife and my father Alicia, my mother's first husband. They are here celebrating spiritually." The boy went on to say under the of his mom, "The prophet predicts [music] the glory of the last home shall be greater than the first one." God says in Hebrew, the verse can be explained [music] in two ways. One is the last home shall be greater than the first home. But you can also read it differently. The last home shall be greater minor from and because of the first home. It's the first home that [music] will make the last home great. This new home of my mother and Hod is not going to replace their first home. Its greatness and glory is [music] going to blossom from [snorts] our first home. Fore is [music] show heaven. And it's all [singing and music] [music] the boy nailed the secret of Kaneka and of Jewish history. [music] Hadas cried at her. She felt the pain. She'd lost the father of her six children. She knew that blending two families [music] making up 10 children together is not easy. The pain is [music] deep. We don't need to shut down our emotions. On the contrary, we allow our pain, vulnerability, and authenticity to catapult our hearts into surrender, faith, trust, love, and ultimately bliss. Mazletov had masletov [music] to the countless heroes of our generation, teaching us all how to find [music] light in our challenges. Hadas told a reporter who asked her about all of this, "I do not want to die. I want to [music] live and to live means to love and to allow myself to feel loved. Happy Kaneka.