Shockwaves rippled through the Beit Shemesh community on Tuesday after the passing of Eliyahu Klatzkin zt”l, teacher, therapist, and father of 9. For two years the family fought an arduous battle with an aggressive form of cancer, doing all they could to save Eliyahu’s life.

 

In 2017, Eliyahu was flown to America, where he had two cancerous tumors removed by a specialist. Despite rigorous treatments, the cancer remained. Upon returning to Israel, Klatzkin began medication which cost him a shocking $14,000/month. The already poor family slipped further into debt each month, determined to save his life at any cost.

 

Just last week, as Eliyahu lay in his hospital bed losing consciousness, a family friend recalls him crying out: “How can I leave them?” His responsibility to support his family, emotionally and otherwise, haunted him until the very end.

 

Hours later, Eliyahu was gone. 

 

A devastating video [below] shows young boys surrounded by the crowd at their father’s levaya. It is a tiny window into the immense grief a child feels when losing a parent. A fund has been opened to help Mrs. Klatzkin emerge from the medical debts, and provide for her future as a widow and supporter of 9 children. The family is sitting shiva now.