“Abba isn’t waking up!” are not exactly the most common words for a bochur to wake up to on a Shabbos morning at home. But unfortunately for Yechiel Zlotnick, that is exactly what he heard.

Yechiel was young, and he was in his prime. His learning was better than ever, he was halfway finished with his degree, and he was recently engaged to Binah, the most wonderful girl in the world. The wedding was set for Adar, and Yechiel and his kallah were busy with the preparations.

But on that fateful Shabbos, all his dreams came crashing down.

Yechiel’s mother Raizel Zlotnick had woken up, made a quick coffee, and went to go wake her husband for shul. But when he didn’t even utter a response, she realized something wasn’t quite right. She took a step closer, and almost fainted when she saw. His face was as white as a sheet.

“My children could hear me screaming,” Mrs. Zlotnick recounts shakily.

Yechiel ran to see what all the commotion was about, but he could never have imagined a more horrifying scene. His mother was sobbing hysterically over his father’s lifeless body. 

Rabbi Zlotnick had been the sole provider of parnossah for the family. Raizel, who is disabled, is in no position to work. Yechiel is not only mourning the loss of his father. He is also mourning his only chance of providing his kallah with a normal wedding or a normal life. Without his father’s support, Yechiel and Bina’s future truly looks dire. Mrs. Zlotnick has turned to crowdfunding with hope that people will open their hearts to their story and help them. Click here to read their full story.