Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov | A Father’s Testimony of Loss and Faith | CHAZAQ

Thank you for the introduction. Should we shoot my pes should my mother my in-laws my beautiful wife my children and all the family members who are watching at home who cannot come tonight. I am forever grateful for Israel. I've been saying to everybody, I am proud to be a year a Jew and I'm proud to be part of this greater family. for me to stand here and to say publicly to everyone, thank you for your prayers. Thank you for being there. Thank you for being with us. I think I spoke to my wife the half an hour we were trying to save my daughters was the only time I felt alone. Otherwise since then and the whole thing how it happened I still we saw it with our own eyes we didn't understand and no one else was there to jump in so I just jumped in the water why would any other father do except that I don't know how to swim and to see I really thought we're going to be collecting body parts because you know they went so fast slammed into a slab of cement. I thought, you know, the head is going to be one part, the body is going to be another. And just to come over, got closer, we didn't blow up those jet skis. And to come and see my daughter first I saw Aviva face down and they kept saying, you know, we have one, we have one. I didn't understand. They're talking about my daughter Aviva. I thought they were talking about so with my wife and I, we pushed them up. My wife is screaming at the top of our lungs, please call 911. And for some reason, the guy who's supposed to be with us disappeared left the scene of the crime. So like we're trying to push her up again that they were working on the house. So the workers helped us pull them out one by one. And now all of a sudden I'm so happy my daughter comes to she wakes up. You know I don't wish this on anyone to see your daughter's face down in the water unconscious. I don't know what to think. I just and then all of a sudden after we got my daughter out of I see my other daughter under the under the dock all the way like from here till the beimma like I I got so panicked I ran I don't know how I grabbed her. I don't know if my wife helped me. We pulled her up and I turned her over again but she had a severe head trauma. Her head was she hit severely against the pole which is cement. I have scratches all over I had scratches all over my hand trying to save them cuz I had to hold on one thing to try to pull them out. And when by the time the ambulance came, they were doing CPR chest compressions on my daughter, my baby. and they took her in the ambulance and I'm standing over there trying to figure out what, where, when, and how you know I have a red cap on. Thank God I have it because I have a bald spot. I learned the hard way. If you get a sunburn, it hurts. Really hurts. So, like I'm just saying, I'm just praying and like walking back and forth. We don't know what to do. Our stuff is on the boat, our slippers, nothing. And once we came to the hospital, from then on, we did not feel alone. Kabad Rabbi came from Rur County. My wife's sister from another mother Vicki she showed up and the rebbitson also her name also happens to be Rael and they come and give us the news that I wish no parents ever have to hear that we saved one of your daughters but we couldn't save the second one and Before initial shock, the first thing I said to myself is, "What am I going to tell my mother? What am I going to tell my in-laws?" And I started apologizing to my wife. I said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't save my other daughter." My grandmother used to always say, "Things could always be worse. shouldn't make it worse because no matter how bad you think good things could be even worse and how fitting it is tonight which is I am to my loved one and my loved one is to me and I didn't know how many times my The youngest daughter always was thinking about her bobo, her grandfather, my father David [Music] 28 years ago. I was telling people when I was sh of Shiva, I sat in my house 28 years ago when my father passed away. I was 26 years old and my father was 54. And I was sitting there and I was telling everyone and then my wife told me that she always cried. She always say, "Mommy, I feel Bobo. I feel my grandfather. I want to see him. I pray for Mashia should come." And she would cry. And you know, Hashem, we have seven other ones. I never heard any of my kids say that. None of my other kids say that we know we miss Bob Mo, we miss our grandfather and it's not for nothing that tonight, tomorrow night is my father's side and the is going to be exactly on September 11th, a day after my daughter's birthday. She would have been 14 years old. But I am forever grateful and I said it and people think I had something script prepared. I said it from the bottom of my heart. I love you and I'm happy if you could say that that of all people that happened to me to my wife cuz I think it will be somebody else. He would have been knocked out. He would have been asking questions of why. But my father taught me many years ago. We don't ask why. The goim say why. We as hidden. We never say why. Why was my father the youngest passed away 6 months after my grandmother? I don't know. Why did my father lose his oldest brother at 42 years old only two months after he got married? I don't know. Why did my cousins were not even bar mitzvah? My oldest cousin was 12 years old and my youngest cousin was only 2 years old. 42 year old man walked out of the house and they brought him back in a in a you know my grandparents were alive. My my father, my two brothers, my aunts, they were all alive. We don't say why. Why is the worst answer to us? We just continue living. I have never seen such a as was mentioned before. We are one big family. Adam, we are considered one. Adam in singular and plural is one because we are I never thought I would see so many people. 2:00 in the morning, people are coming. I left the hospital at 2:00 to go get my passport to get ready to go to Heritage Israel. Till 2:00 people were coming. I didn't know that the state police trump security of the hospital. People just said, "Okay, we know why you're here. Just keep going. Keep going." 2:00 in the morning. I left the hospital 2:00 till 3:00. I asked my wife what time people were coming. 3:00 in the morning. The next day I had to go to Miami to pick up my passport. 7 o'clock in the morning people are calling me ready. I am proud to be I am more than that. I need I need Bkhari J. I am proud Bkharian. We are BAS Bkharian America not BS. And I saw it when we sat together when everybody came when everybody was coming to supposedly console. There is no consolation. There's nothing he could say. But the most important thing is that as my father would always say, John, you have to continue living. You have to continue. And that's why I carry my daughter with me all the time cuz she's alive. She will always be with us. Someone asked me, "So, how many kids now do you have?" I said, "I always have eight kids." I will always have eight kids. She is my infinity. She's the eighth child. It's not my She will be always a living thing. How fortunate it is for everybody. Everybody came together as one. Rabbi Paris Steinberg when he came to my house he said Rabbi Niss this is not your Shiva. This is Shiva. The whole Jewish people are sitting Shiva with you. Don't feel like it's only you. Only you going through this. People came. I don't know. I don't know. I thought maybe they're my sons. Maybe some. No. People just showed up and said you don't know me but we heard you came. And we wanted to give you Maka coming here to give you offer of condolences during the time of Shiva. And how fitting it is tonight of all times that we gather here in this beautiful hall of young Israel of where we have many here, many bar mitzvah, everything. How fitting it is that I have who I've known for many many years. We did our first Shabbaton almost 25 years ago Hudson Valley Resort when it was still alive and looking much better than it looks now. And we had a beautiful Shabbat and the rabbit crone was been my wife's teacher when she went to Sher and she was she is continuing to be my daughter Aviva Rafas Manah over there and we're a big family the breed of my grandson my oldest grandson also Abro did the breed of my nephew nephew David Aaria and what a small world together we're coming and unfortunately I don't know if Rabbi Chrome remembers unfortunately we were together at a good convention I came over with my wife to do to Rab and to Rabbit and we said I'm sorry Rab we won't be able to hear you Friday night because we have to go back to Queens and little do we know that what happened may you when to continue to inspire others and on a great note I'm very happy to say that my daughter with the filot of all gods is from all over the world uncles from Australia from Austria from Israel all over the you guys all prayed for my daughter and she's doing very very well [Applause] yes she's worried about her missing teeth but the dentist said don't worry about it we'll take care of your missing teeth. It's unbelievable flow. The miracles that have happened. She's sitting in the front and she didn't get hit on the head. She how you know she had the right side broken arm and and some couple of teeth, but she didn't get hit on the head. It's unbelievable. Hashem, like I said in the beginning, I thought I lost both my daughters, my two girls after my six boys. Hashem for Hashem's reason I we don't know why we accepted the we accept it because this is this is the works of there was a famous thing which we I will conclude to brought down we know that we one of the questions that everybody's asked is when is mashiach coming is The only on we say we don't say we don't say the only prayer if you look at the only prayer we say all day three times a day only for your South Asian. Do we really want Mashiach? So the famous question the asked the question is if Mashiach did not come during the time the Rambam's time rash's time the rash the people who they are the people who are let us continue learning Torah why would Mashiach come in our generation where we are so far removed that's a question that bothered me if Mashiach didn't come so many times when they were more Torah more people who are doing my Z my great greatgrandfather who's buried in next to the where it says on his he was he died in 1911 and it says came to visit my grandfather's grandfather when he was awake all the time. If Mashiach did not come during his time, why would he come during our time? Why would he come during the time of who am I? It's a good question. And the gives a mushroom. He says, imagine a giant big, huge, tall guy. But no matter how tall he is, the mountain is a little taller. It's about 2 feet tall. No matter how much he tries, he cannot go over it because he's two feet short. All of a sudden, he takes someone who's a dro. He's a small guy, two feet. He puts him on the soldier on the soldiers and he says, "Let's go now. Let's go over it." And now they will be able to cross it. That's the name. The fact that we had my grandfather's grandfather, the fact that we have the Raam, the Rashi and everyone before, it's only telling us that Mashiach is on his way. We are the equant because my daughter wanted Mashiach because she really wanted to see her bo she said I want to see my grandfather and that's why she's buried in next to my father. says, "Aba, papa, I know you hear me. I know you're with me. I always say to myself, what would you do if you would be in my place?" There are times I want to do something, say something to people I don't like. But I am reminded of you. He always told me, John, don't argue with a foolish person. We don't know who's the fool. If you argue with him, then you might be the fool also. And my father used to tell me if someone spit at your face just look up and say wow where is it raining from guys spit in my face. If hashem didn't want that spit to hit your face it would have never happened. And if it happened don't ask why again with that like to introduce my mentor my storyteller. Every year at Tagura convention, I know why they let him speak last Friday night. Friday night, nobody's going to stay up till 11:00. But when Rab Sakron speaks Friday night, everybody's going to stay up, including myself, including my wife. prison.