Sonia and Clara share so much of each other’s lives. As twin sisters, they have always been each other’s rock. And each of these good people has needed a rock through life’s difficulties.
Twenty years ago, the two Jewish widows at last realized their dream of making aliyah (immigrating to Israel). Sonia’s son and Clara’s daughter moved to Israel, as well. The family at last lived in their biblical and historic homeland!
Before this past year, the two volunteered at a Fellowship soup kitchen in Haifa, good people indeed. But then Sonia received seriously injuries in a car accident, injuries that left her hospitalized for some time and which still cripple her with pain. And then the COVID-19 pandemic confined the sisters to their tiny apartment.
None of that prepared Sonia and Clara for the great pain of losing their children. Sonia’s son and Clara’s daughter both passed away recently.
“I don’t think this is something I will ever get over,” Sonia says. “Dealing with that loss is much more difficult for us than the virus,” Clara adds. Now the grieving women only have one another.
And the twins still have The Fellowship. Each day, the same soup kitchen where they volunteered for years delivers hot meals… and company.
“The fact that we’re here for one another is what helps us stay strong,” Sonia told Yael when we delivered a food box to the sisters’ apartment. And the sisters’ faith will only be strengthened this upcoming High Holy Days when they receive a special food box, because, as Clara adds, “There are good people who care about us and want to make sure that we have what we need to live and survive.”
