Mrs. Ita Hildeshaim, who was born in Communist Russia and survived the war to raise a large frum family with mesiras nefesh, strength, and quiet dignity, passed away on Thursday, 14 Kislev.

She was 100 years old.

Mrs. Ita Hildeshaim was born on Isru Chag Pesach in 1925 in Communist Russia to her parents, Reb Chaim Aryeh Leib and Tziporah Chyena Zaks. Ita’s father was a Rav in Uzda – birthplace of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, whose father had also served as a rav there.

Her mother was a sister of Reb Zushe Paz, the legendary shamash in the Moscow shul who was also a dedicated melamed and was known for his refined character, careful adherence to halacha and utter devotion to helping others. Ita grew up in a home that had those values, and lived with real mesiras nefesh for yiddishkeit. In fact, her father was arrested for the ‘crime’ of upholding yiddishkeit during the dark years under Stalin’s rule, while he was sitting in the sukkah together with his family!

Orphaned at a young age after her mother’s passing, and left without a father to care for her because of his arrest, Ita lived with her maternal aunt and her family for several years. During the war, her two young brothers were killed r”l. The family eventually fled to the relative safety of Samarkand and left Russia with Polish passports, as many Chabad chassidim did.

They arrived in France, and Ita soon met her husband, R’ Moshe Hildeshaim, a young Holocaust survivor from Poland who had lost almost his entire family.

Moshe survived the war with miracles, having escaped the Nazis who barged in on the yeshiva where he was learning. He jumped out of a window and fled to a nearby forest, and when things got quiet several hours later, he returned to the building, which was ransacked and now eerily silent. He found his Tefillin and stuffed one into each pocket of his pants and began to run away from there. At some point, he got very sick with typhus which had claimed many lives, but miraculously, he survived.

Eventually, he got caught and was drafted into the Russian army, which was notorious for mistreating Jewish soldiers. Yet, he stayed firm to his belief in Hashem and encouraged others, too, putting on his Tefillin every day that he could. After he survived all that, despite the many personal losses and traumas he experienced, his faith in Hashem was strengthened.

Moshe’s strong emunah in Hashem was sourced from his upbringing, from his righteous parents Shimon and Rochel. In fact, Moshe’s paternal grandfather, Eliezer, was a Cantonist who had been snatched away as a young child to serve as a soldier in the Czar’s army for twenty-five years. He returned home after all those years with a determined spirit to live as a frum Jew, trying to catch up on all the Torah learning he had missed out on during his formative years!  

Young Ita and Moshe were both optimistic about the future, determined to build a new life together based on the strong foundation of Torah and mitzvos. After getting married in Paris, the young couple set sail for America and arrived on Ellis Island in 1950. The couple then travelled to Cleveland, Ohio, settling down to live near Ita’s sister Fraidel, wife of Rav Chaim Stein, a Rosh Yeshiva in Telz.

They were overjoyed when, just a short while after their arrival in Ohio, Ita gave birth to their oldest son, whom they named after one of her young brothers who had perished during the war. With Hashem’s help, the couple soon had a brood of four lively boys, each one bearing the name of ancestors whose lives were cut short by the tragedies of war-torn Europe. The young family was thrilled when a fifth child, a girl was finally (!) born.

But their joy was very soon clouded over with the devastating news that Moshe, Ita’s young husband, had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. For almost a decade after that, he battled the disease with strength and spirit, defying the doctor’s prognosis! Ita stood by her husband’s side throughout, serving as a beacon of support. Her husband, R’ Moshe, was a dedicated and popular teacher in the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, as well as a beloved, sought-after teacher for baalei batim in the community. He also authored seforim in halacha, and devoted his life to Torah and mitzvos, and helping others with true joy. Unfortunately, he passed away in his early 50s, leaving Ita as a young widow to care for their children on her own. 

With tremendous faith, quiet strength, inner dignity, and a great deal of wisdom and humor, Ita raised her family to live their lives full of emunah in Hashem and devotion to Yiddishkeit. 

She was involved with communal matters throughout her life, offering her warm kindness and practical assistance to others, despite her own challenges as a widow and single mother.

She always had a good word for everyone and infused her surroundings with warmth and wisdom. She leaves behind a strong legacy of Emuna in Hashem and commitment to Yiddishkeit, no matter what.

She is survived by her children: Rabbi Shmuel Mordechai – Crown Heights, Reb Shimon – Cleveland, Reb Eliezer – Chicago, Reb Yosef Elchonon– Lakewood, Rochel Rivkah Sanders – Toronto; grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. 

She was predeceased by her husband Reb Moshe Hildeshaim in 1976.