A family was left devastated and a community shocked last week after the passing of Yosef Madmon, shochet and father of 4. The family had been seated at the dining room table for what appeared to be a typical dinner. Yosef complained of chest pains, then collapsed, and died of cardiac arrest.

“I was shaking him, praying that he would wake up,” writes widow Meira.

The Madmon family is sitting shiva now in their Hod HaSharon home. As could be expected, they are experiencing tremendous grief. In addition, it is unclear how they will continue to cover their expenses. Yosef had previously supported the family as a shochet (kosher butcher). Wife Meira is unable to work due to physical disability. The couple’s savings are depleted as they recently married off two of their children. The widow is now left to support children Avihu (14) and Yael (11) without a foreseeable option for income.

Their desperate plea for help appeared on The Chesed Fund on Saturday night. One particularly tragic detail is a seemingly random picture of clothing slumped over a dining room chair: On the night of his passing, Yosef had laid out his clothes for the following day, unaware that he would not live to wear them. The white shirt and black pants remain on the chair to the this day, as his widow struggles to fathom her loss.

Yosef’s sudden passing is a reminder to all that our time on this earth is not promised. Donations to comfort and support Meira, Avihu, and Yael are being accepted here.