Ephraim’s weekly presence at my Shabbos table did much more for me than it did for him
IT was Erev Shabbos Parshas Zachor in 2023 when Esther Jeffe, wife of Ephraim, my next-door neighbor for 33 years, passed away.
Ephraim is not just my next-door neighbor. Our homes, built 110 years ago, are almost physically attached — we can practically shake hands from our windows. Our children grew up together, and we are still very close.
When Esther passed, I invited Ephraim to be part of our Shabbos table. Soon, it became a kevius, and every Friday night, Ephraim would join us for the seudah.
In the summertime, when our seudah began later in the evening, it was usually just my wife, myself, and Ephraim at the meal. It was on a Friday night this past summer when Ephraim informed us he had met Susan Buckler from Great Neck. We were excited to meet her, and one Shabbos, Susan joined us for the seudah.
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