End of Shiva for Mrs. Leah Trebnik (Steinbach)

00:00 So very difficult. These have been such hard days, so very hard. Hard for the family, and hard, so hard, for Kfar Chabad. Her passing was during Parshas Vayeira. In the haftarah of Parshas Vayeira, there is the well-known story of the Shunammite woman. There is a verse in Tanach that we know from Shabbos: “One day, Elisha passed through Shunem.” There was a great woman there; that is how Tanach describes the Shunammite—a great woman. “She said to her husband, ‘Now I know that he is a holy man of G-d.’” And she went on to say to her husband, “Let us make a small upper room, and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him.” The holy Zohar raises several questions about this verse. When the man came to the house, who recognized what he was? Who should have been the first to recognize that he was a holy man? The husband. Yet here it was the other way around. She told her husband, “I know that he is a holy man.” She revealed to her husband that Elisha was a holy man. Elisha was not one of the hidden tzaddikim; he was well known as the successor to Eliyahu Hanavi. And suddenly she revealed to her husband that Elisha Hanavi was a holy man. That is the Zohar’s question. Another thing: she asked her husband, “Let us make him a small upper room and put a table there—a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp.” Ordinarily, when a guest comes to the house, the first thing you offer him is food—a table and a chair. Then, if he wants to lie down, you prepare a bed for him too. Here she told her husband the reverse order: first, make him a bed, and only then set out a table and chair. Seemingly, the order should have been the opposite. The Zohar explains the whole passage through one central point. It says that “a great woman” has two meanings. One is that she was great in good deeds: she did many good deeds. But the second meaning—what does “a great woman” mean?

03:11 That she was greater than all the other women, her friends. In what way was she great? She welcomed guests into her home. That is how the Zohar explains it. It speaks at length about how, when women welcome a guest into the home, he may sometimes dirty the bed, dirty the house, and so on. But she was greater than her friends and welcomed Elisha into her home. I think every one of us would be glad to host Elisha Hanavi, and yet the verse seems to describe her as so great because she hosted him. Rather, the Zohar explains: “I know that he is a holy man.” She knew. Why didn’t her husband know? One question answers the other. She recognized Elisha as a holy man not because of his fame or all the miracles and wonders he had performed before, but because of his bed. And only the woman of the house would notice the bed. She had to clean it, prepare it, and make it each day after he got up. From his bed she recognized that Elisha was a holy man. That was something only the woman who knew the home could recognize; her husband came to know it afterward. How did she recognize it? The Zohar explains: ordinarily, when you welcome an older guest into your home—and Elisha was already old—he lies down to sleep, but in the morning the smell is not so pleasant. Here, when he got up in the morning, there was a fragrance. From his bed she recognized that he was a holy man. So what did she ask of Elisha? What did she ask her husband? Let us make a small corner of holiness and Torah in our home. That was the greatness of the Shunammite woman. And Rashi explains that she merited to have Chavakuk Hanavi descend from her.

05:21 What do we learn from this story? It is the woman who brings holiness and Torah into the home. She radiates it; she is responsible for the holiness and Torah there. That is what the Zohar says. [unclear] and all sorts of other things. But she is in the home, and she knows the home. She recognized the holiness in Elisha and said: Let us bring that holiness into our home by making him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Now we come to speak about and honor Mrs. Steinbach. I think she was one of the exceptional righteous women and people of Kfar Chabad. In the years I knew her, when she was a bridal instructor, she was in frequent contact with me about all kinds of questions. What I cannot forget is the holiness and Torah in her words, the sensitivity with which she asked her questions, and the modesty and holiness she instilled in her students, the brides. That is the foundation of a home. That is the holiness of a home, the holiness of the Shunammite woman. She planted that holiness in her own home, and she planted it in the homes she helped establish. Her modesty and holiness were extraordinary—she was one of a kind. It was something special. I have been in contact with many, many bridal instructors, but what set her apart—her modesty, her holiness, and her Torah—seemed almost heavenly. That is what a righteous woman means, a righteous woman. That is why the pain is so great, and the tears are so many. Kfar Chabad is missing her. She was one of Kfar Chabad’s defining figures, and Kfar Chabad is missing her. She has left an empty space behind. There is much more that could be said about all this, but everyone understands. If women gather in her memory and want to do something to elevate her soul, then it should be good resolutions connected to the things she lived by: holiness, purity, modesty, and education.

08:24 That is the message that should come out of tonight, out of this gathering, as an inspiration for women: to increase holiness in Kfar Chabad, to increase purity in Kfar Chabad, so that the home will be ready to receive Elisha Hanavi—even if only in one small corner. Many, many years ago, the mashpia Rabbi Glis Ledov[?] spoke at a farbrengen. He cried and spoke throughout an entire Shabbos. There was a real awakening then. What are we being asked to do? At the very least, let us make one corner, one corner for the Rebbe. That was Elisha’s request: one corner of holiness and purity, where the Rebbe could use the bed, use the table, use the lamp, and feel that it was his home. That is what is being asked of us, and naturally it will then affect the entire home. That is the message that should come out of tonight’s gathering to elevate Mrs. Steinbach’s soul. Her message was holiness within the home itself. The small upper room that the Shunammite woman began to build—we will continue building it. That will be to Mrs. Steinbach’s merit and will bring comfort to her soul. May she be a favorable advocate for all the women of Kfar Chabad, the residents of Kfar Chabad, and her family, which she raised with self-sacrifice. Boruch Hashem, she merited to raise a whole blessed generation of children and sons-in-law: shluchim, people who serve the community, chassidim, G-d-fearing people, and Torah scholars—true chassidim, truly G-d-fearing people, true Torah scholars. But not only for her children—for all of Kfar Chabad. May we merit to see the eternal building, and with Hashem’s help, [unclear], “those who dwell in the dust will awaken and sing.” May we merit to see the revelation of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, immediately, right now.