To everyone else, it looked like another happy Bat Mitzvah celebration. The Pachima twins donned beautiful matching white dresses as they smiled for photos on the night of their party, posing with their mother, father, and older brother. But veiled beneath the happy smiles, each member of the Pachima family could not help but wonder the same exact thing– Would this be the last simcha they shared together as a family?

Their Daddy, Shai, had been diagnosed with intestinal cancer over three years earlier. After a few difficult months of chemotherapy Shai went into remission. But two years later, he was hit again, and this time, with liver cancer. The doctors didn’t sugarcoat when they told Shai and his family the harsh truth:

This time, nothing could save him. 

Tragically, two weeks after his daughters’ Bat Mitzvah, Shai was in a tremendous amount of pain. After calling an ambulance he was admitted into hospice where his family was told that he only had hours left.

Shai’s last words were to his son Shimon- “Take care of Ima.”

The Pachima family and their entire Petach Tikva community are shattered from his loss.

“We can’t believe he is really gone,” shares his young widow.

“We miss him so much already, and we don’t know how we’ll survive without him. I don’t know how I will pay for rent, food, and the medical debt without his help.”

Funds are being collected by Keter Torah Inc. to help this young family cope after the blow of this terrible loss. To help, click here.