Twice Tested

On Tishah B’Av, we mourn the double loss of the two Batei Hamikdash, both destroyed on the same date. Today, there are those who have been struck by two major catastrophes in close succession. Four women look back at the twofold trials they endured and share what kept them afloat

Tackling Life Single-Handedly

Shaina Levy’s* linen closet is perhaps the best witness to her life’s struggles. Her husband Nachum suffers from such severe OCD that, in trying to keep his hands perfectly clean, he goes through 100 hand towels a week. “I know that,” Shaina says nonchalantly, “because we own 50 towels and I wash them all in middle of the week when the cupboard is bare.”

Though her husband is home during the day — he’s officially recognized as disabled and is incapable of holding down a job — Shaina runs the house and raises their eight children almost single-handedly.

For the past 14 years of the couple’s 20-plus years of marriage, Nachum’s mental illness has been more or less under control. But there was one point early on when her life spiraled out of control.

It was a few weeks before Pesach and she was expecting her fifth child. She had no cleaning help from her husband; instead, his as-yet undiagnosed extreme OCD symptoms were wreaking havoc in their home.