Shalva Zalfreund, a’h, a kindergarten teacher and resident of Petach Tikvah passed away on Friday at the age of 64 after contracting the coronavirus in her classroom.

A week after she was diagnosed with the virus and two weeks before her death, Zalfreund wrote a letter to the parents of the children she taught saying that she caught the virus at the kindergarten. “You surely saw what I wrote in the past requesting that everyone act with responsibility since I’m at high-risk. And what I feared – happened!”

“The authorities know with certainty about families who violated quarantine instructions or disregarded the municipality’s instructions not to send children [to school] who have a family member in quarantine at home.”

“Unfortunately, some decided to send their children to kindergarten out of the sense of Israeli ‘trust’ while disregarding the important value of ‘mutual responsibility’ and ‘You shall not stand by [the shedding of] of your neighbor’s blood,'” Zalfreind wrote. “It doesn’t matter anymore for me who I caught the virus from and who violated quarantine. I experienced open miracles and the fact that I’m writing to you right now cannot be taken for granted.”

“But I’m simply begging and requesting for the grandparents, neighbors and elderly relatives who surround us and don’t deserve to die!- even if they have underlying health conditions.”

“I’m not chalilah blaming anyone!…The hand of Hashem caused these circumstances to come about and the hand of Hashem saved me from the difficult situation I was in.”

“It’s true that quarantining a small child is not a pleasant experience but it’s over in a maximum of two weeks. It’s possible to find many reasons and excuses why we’re not obligated to stay in quarantine. And it’s possible in one moment to share in the saving of life, to educate our children in mutual responsibility, in respect of others and the preservation of life.”

“The loss of someone close to you or the knowledge that someone became ill due to you is much much harder than a two-week quarantine.”

“It may be difficult to read these words but they are written with my heart’s blood and with the tefillah that I’ll soon be zocheh to emerge from these yissurim that I received with love from Hashem Yisbarach.”

“If there is one person who will read these words and understand the consequences of the obligation of quarantine, that will be my s’char.”

“I truly love each one of you. A big hug to the children.”

Zalfreund is survived by two sons and four daughters. Her husband, Rav Alexander Yaakov Hakohen Zalfreund, z’l, was niftar five years ago in a car accident. Yehi Zichra Baruch.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)