Recollections of Rebbetzin Sara Laya Brazil, z”l

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 18, 2022

In Me M ory

On Her 25th Yahrtzeit, 25 Av

By Rabbi Yehoshua Kurland

As I sat down 25 years ago and attempted to prepare words of hesped for the sheloshim of Rebbetzin Sara Laya Brazil, z”l, I remember wondering, “How can this be true?” How unfathomable it was to think that this vibrant, warm, exuberant, full of life, friend to all, eidela neshama, whose smile still radiated in our eyes, and whose warmth could still be felt, was no longer with us in this world. And then I saw her picture on our refrigerator door, so full of life and love for others, and I realized that just as in her lifetime she was everyone’s nechama and solace, so she would continue, even after her demise, to comfort and to warm, as the essence of her being had touched our souls and left an eternal bond, never to be broken.

Man’s task upon this earth is to build a miniature world, an olam hakaton. That world consists of the effect of his life’s accomplishments on his surroundings. Like Sara Imeinu before her, Rebbetzin Brazil’s life on this earth was kulan shavin l’tovah, a conglomerate of building blocks of goodness that combined to form the most beautiful edifice. Her years were too brief, but her days were long, and she and, yibadail lichaim tovim viaruchim, her illustrious husband Harav Shmuel Brazil, shlita, built a glorious structure of Torah and chesed and ahavas habriyos; a glorious structure of hachnasas orchim and kiruv rechokim u’kerovim; a glorious structure of kavod Shamayim and harbatzas haTorah and hamadas talmidim and talmidos; a beautiful family of marbitzei Torah and baalei chessed. It was an exquisite edifice, a royal palace, a lighthouse of hope, a ray of sunshine, a fortress of emunah and bitachon, a wellspring of song and praise to the Ribbono Shel Olam. It was a house filled with zemiros that were zomair, that trimmed away all the inhibitions and barriers and allowed one to connect to the tzelem Elokim within and build an aqueduct to the Borei Olam above.

All of this emanated from her beautiful Binyan. Tragically, she only lived forty-four years, but she achieved what few achieve in a hundred years – kulan shavin l’tovah.

What was the Toras imecha of this tzadekes? What was the secret of her radiant smile? What was the source of the force that extended her arms to greet and embrace, to warm and to strengthen, to give of her simchas ha’chaim to every person, even strangers, with whom she came in contact? How did she master the art of saying “Shalom Aleichem”? How did she personify the quintessential michabeid es habriyos? What possessed her to open her home to such legendary hachnasas orchim, Friday night tishin, numerous melaveh malkas, Thursday night shiurim, to hundreds of bochurim, to many baalei teshuvah, to the disheartened and dismayed, with such exuberance and anticipation? What was the underlying foundation of her uncanny genius in relating to everyone, young and old alike? How did she exemplify the middah of being miurav im habriyos, of pashtus and down-to-earthness, and yet maintain a dignity and aristocracy that was majestic and noble?

Her Torah was based on her astute appreciation of the tzuras ha’adam – the true dimensions of Man as intended. The letters that spell “Adam – Man” also spells “miod,” which means “very much so,” implying man’s uncanny ability to stretch forth and expand. Man, created in the image of Hashem, is not subject to the limitations and constrictions of the physical world, but has kochos ha’neshamah that transcend, supersede, and surpass all boundaries. A Jew, having been granted the gift of hischadshus, is in the realm of l’maalah min hashemesh and therefore possesses the power to project to worlds beyond and above this earthly one.

Her love and respect for others, her unusual ahavas habrioys was a natural outgrowth of her enthusiastic love for Hashem in that she recognized that each person possessed a chelek Eloka mimaal within and was therefore worthy of the greatest respect. Her inability to speak loshon hara, her obsession with finding the good in people, her preoccupation with boosting morale, building egos, complimenting and praising others at any opportunity, her ahavas chinam stemmed from an overflowing love for Hashem and all that He created in His image.

At the same time, she taught the Torah of humility; that because the source of man’s potential for greatness is that he was created in the image of Hashem, he must therefore humble himself before Him with the greatest of humility. Her overwhelming anivus didn’t allow her to believe in herself as much as she believed in others. This contributed to a selflessness that inspired her to give and give to others to ensure that each and every one of them would become aware of, and put to good use, all of his G-d-given talents to become the most productive human being he possibly could become, and to serve his Master with absolute shiflus. She infused this philosophy in everyone she knew in the most natural way. She didn’t preach it; she simply lived it.

She taught these Toros with a sweetness that we can still taste. She touched the strands of the souls of all whom she loved and who loved her. With an expansive heart and an expansive eye, she gave to others selflessly, not constricted by pettiness, but ruled by humility and

goodness. This allowed her to graciously bring countless hundreds into her home to serve their every need as if they were honoring her by virtue of their presence. She blew spirit and new life into the less fortunate and despondent by giving them hope and inspiring them to believe in their greatness and potential. She gave sustenance to broken hearts, and quite healthy hearts as well, with her infectious love of life and Hashem.

Rebbetzin Sara Laya addressed the needs of the world today in the most down-to-earth, natural, unassuming manner. In this very insecure and ever-changing world, people need constant chizuk. She was michazeik all who crossed her daled amos, par excellence. People who came to visit her in the hospital to be michazeik her found instead that she was michazeik them.

In this insecure world we live in, people need warmth. Rebbetzin Brazil nourished people with her smile that most certainly was a fulfillment of the teaching of Chazal on the pasuk of “u’li-

ben shinayim meichalav” – al tikri uli-

ben shinayim ela libun shinayim, that a smile can be more nourishing than milk. Her smile, her contagious laugh, her good word, coupled with her common sense and sound advice, were so sustaining and nurturing.

She made an avodah out of remembering someone’s name or finding the nekudah in order to compliment them. Whether it was welcoming her husband home at night with a burst of exuberance, “Tatty’s home!” or telling the caller, “My husband will be so sorry he missed your call. He loves speaking with you,” it was all ois gecheshboned. The ageold practice of returning one’s greeting of “a gut morgin” with “a gut morgun, a gut yohr” – always giving back more than you receive was the very creed of her life. People of all ages loved her and related to her because they could feel the tremendous respect she had for them. She was makdim shalom afilu linochri shebashuk, always the first to say hello, exemplifying the teaching of her great Rebbe, Harav Shlomo Freifeld, zt”l, that through a shalom aleichem one emulates his Creator and gives life to another.

She was a genius at being machazeik others. For a certain relative who had low self-esteem, she framed his picture and placed it on the piano with the pictures of other family members to make him feel chashuv. Whether she gave emotional warmth with her smile, or with a love note, or physical warmth by placing the children’s clothing on the radiator at night so that they would be warm when they dressed in the cold of the morning, or putting the blankets and pillows in the dryer so that the children could snuggle up in a warm bed, it was always warmth. Whether it was the warm words of praise about wives in the community to their husbands to encourage them to appreciate their spouse, or the kugel she sent to the almanos for Shabbos or to the man who delivered the seltzer or the kugel she served with such love and so graciously to the Friday night oneg where she fared tish from the kitchen, welcoming, encouraging, generating the oros of Shabbos, it was al-

ways with the greatest warmth. Whether it was the Shabbos shiurim she set up each summer, the Tehillim she said with absolute commitment, the many eitzos tovos she gave her friends putting her heart and soul into their situation, it was with ultimate warmth.

She encouraged her husband, Rav Shmuel, shlita, a brilliant talmid chacham and michabair seforim, an unusual mashpia, a dedicated baal avodah, and a unique maamid talmidim (currently Rosh Hayishiva of Yeshivas Zeev Hatorah in Yerushalayim) to be miorair the hearts of his fellow Jews throughout the world with his uplifting seforim and hartzika and neshama- inspiring niggunim. There is practically not a home in the Jewish world that doesn’t bring in Shabbos with Rav Shmuel’s shalom aleichem niggun that he composed on the spot in the early years of his marriage as a response to his wife’s request for a faster shalom aleichem tune. There are many niggunim that permeate the world, but few are the composition of the hargashos of an ois gearbitered talmid chacham as are Rav Shmuel’s niggunim that have inspired Yidden throughout the world.

Her mesiras nefesh to allow her husband to toil day and night in order to publish his sefer Bisharei Hamoadim, a sefer that blends the worlds of mussar and chassidus in Rav Shmuel’s inimitable style, is a credit to her ahavas haTorah. Indeed, the sefer was distributed in the very day of her untimely petrirah, perhaps a symbol that her task on this earth has been completed to the satisfaction of the expectations of the world above.

In that sefer, Rav Shmuel brings a Rama mipaano who explains the unusual expression that Dovid Hamelech used to describe the love he shared for Yehonason Ben Shaul upon learning of his death as “Niflais ahavascho li meiahavas nashim – your love is more wondrous to me than the love of women.” Which woman was he referring to?

The Rama mipaano explains that he was referring to the love that Rochel had for her sister Leah in that she gave her the special simanim and relinquished on her intended marriage to Yaakov Avinu in order to protect her sister from terrible shame. So too did Yehonason abdicate his claim to the throne and instead pledged his absolute subservience to Dovid.

Such a show of love for others demands tremendous humility and emunah and bitachon in Hashem. Such was the love of Rebbetzin Sara Laya for Klal Yisroel and such was her emunah and bitachon. Amazingly, yet not surprising, the gematria of “Sara Laya” is the same as “Yehonason vi Dovid” (541) which is equal of “Yisroel” (541). Indeed, it is on page 44 of his sefer that Rav Shmuel brings this very vort. During these brief 44 years of her life, Rebbetzin Brazil humbled herself to promote others, constantly giving herself for them with an absolute subservience to the D’var Hashem.

She blew spirit and new life into the less fortunate and despondent by giving them hope and inspiring them to believe in their greatness and potential.

Twenty-five years ago, I said at that sheloshim that we must react to this terrible tragedy by accepting upon ourselves to correct our indiscretions and to soar to new heights in the areas of life in which the chashuva nifteres excelled. I am afraid that twenty-five years down the road we still need to do the same (I speak to myself). If a tzadekes who did not speak lashon hara was taken away from us so prematurely, then we are speaking too much lashon hara. If a tzadekes who was so miurav im habriyos was taken from us, then we are too makpid, too selfish, and self-centered. If a tzadekes who was such a rodeif shalom, such a oheiv es habriyos, was taken from us, then we are too petty, we’re not searching for the chein in one another, we are not sufficiently being maavir on our middos. If a tzadekes whose radiant smile and warm shalom aleichem lit up the room and nourished all who were privileged to know her was taken from us, then we are not friendly enough and we don’t have proper kavod habriyos. If a tzadekes who was so careful about tznius was taken from us, then we are too liberal in our modesty and dress. If a loving wife is taken from us, then we need to make sure we are showing proper hakaras hatov and appreciation to our spouse. If a devoted mother is taken from us, then we must make sure that we clearly understand that we are fully thankful for the privilege we have to be a parent to our children.

Let us endeavor to emulate the middos tovos of this princess of a person Harabbanis Sara Laya bas R’ Shlomo Menchem, z”l, in all of its glory and detail, and in the z’chus of the uniting of hearts and souls we will merit to see the

binyan Bais Hamikdash bivias goel tzedek bimiheirah biyameinu, amen!

In order to perpetuate her life of chessed, Rebbetzin Brazil’s mother Mrs. Marion Berkowitz dedicated Mikvah Sara Laya, located in Inwood, NY, in her memory. The beautiful, state-of-the-art mikvah is open 7 days a week and houses a women’s mikvah, men’s mikvah and keilim mikvah and services the entire Five Towns and Far Rockaway communities (Inwoodmikvah.org).

Chasdei Sara Laya is a fund that was founded by her daughter and son in-law David and Chani Wittenberg in memory of their mother. It was founded to fill a need in the community to help ease the financial burden that families face when losing a breadwinner. Chasdei Sara Laya has been zoche to provide financial assistance towards tuition, therapy, simchos, and the like.

To donate, please visit: chasdeisara-

laya.org

Any memories or photos you would like to share with the Brazil family can

be emailed to chanahbw@gmail.com.