Chana Maskalatchi became, in one moment, an orphan, a widow, and a bereaved mother- the missile that struck her father’s home in Netivot killed her father Rabbi Rafael Fahimi, her husband Rabbi Netanel Maskalatchi, and her son, 12-year-old Rafael Meir Maskalatchi* “The anguish and pain are incomprehensible- it’s not possible to process a tragedy like this one”* At home are left five devastated children who were witnesses to the terrifying scene* A special fund was set up to help and assist them; the public is invited to participate
It happened on Simchas Torah, when about 50 warning sirens within a matter of hours terrified the residents of Netivot. An unceasing barrage of missiles was shot towards the city- and one of them caused an unspeakable tragedy.
A missile struck the Fahimi family’s home. The homeowner, Rabbi Rafael Fahimi, was killed on the spot, together with his guests- his son-in-law Rabbi Netanel Maskalatchi, a respected avreich in the kollel of Rav Abergel, and his grandson, twelve-year-old Rafael Meir Maskalatchi.
Rabbi Rafael’s daughter, Chana Maskalatchi, was instantly orphaned from her father, widowed, and bereaved of her son.
Her world was destroyed.
The media did not even publicize the story and almost no one even spoke about the details for one simple reason: the incident took place simultaneously with the terrible slaughter in the South in which an additional 1,500 people were killed and hundreds were taken as captives into Gaza.
The country was in a state of panic. The media outlets didn’t manage to report what was happening since the number of incidents was so vast. Complete villages were taken over by Hamas, and the story about the missile falling and killing three family members in Netivot wasn’t even reported in the news.
But as far as Chana Maskalatchi was concerned, this was the central incident of Simchas Torah; this was the most significant incident of her entire life. She was struck with a triple tragedy- her entire world was devastated in an instant.
Friends and relatives of the family are trying to encourage and console, but it’s an impossible task: “How is it possible to comfort a mother who has lost a son? How is it possible to comfort a daughter whose father was killed before her very eyes? How is it possible to comfort a wife who lost her husband, who was killed by a falling missile while she stood next to him? How is it possible to comfort a woman who was struck with all these three tragedies at once, while the five children who are left are all trembling and emotionally and mentally distraught after they were underneath the rubble and lightly wounded when the missile fell?”
She herself sat shivah for her father, her husband, and her son at the same time.
The tragedy is incomprehensible. It’s impossible to understand the depth of the pain and anguish.
Family members emphasize that the Maskletchi family’s financial situation is far from good. They are scheduled to receive reparation payments from the government, but from the nature of things and with the ongoing war and the heavy loss of human life, with so many casualties from the terror, it is expected that a long time will pass until the government funds actually reach them.
“It’s been a long time that the family has been really struggling financially,” explains one of the relatives. “HaRav Netanel was an avreich, a tzaddik with outstanding yiras Shamayim. He was a tremendous masmid who didn’t leave his Gemara for a moment. Nevertheless, the financial situation forced him this last year to go out to work in an attempt to achieve financial stability. They were helped a lot by the grandfather Rabbi Rafael Hy”d.
“They need help urgently and immediately. The kids are experiencing tremendous trauma, the widow-orphan-bereaved mother naturally needs tons of support to help her recover emotionally and physically- she really needs Am Yisrael to stand by her side at the most difficult moments in her life. We must help her- there’s just no other alternative!”
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