The TV presenter sadly recounted the day that was supposed to be happy, her husband's birthday, and became mourning when they heard of the death of the Rebbe of Pittsburgh
"Life hits us hard."
Corinne Gideon
Photography:
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Sad day:
Rabbi Mordechai Leifer, the Rebbe of Pittsburgh who is considered one of the greatest rebbe and was a well-known figure in the world of Hasidism, passed away last night (Monday) from Corona.
The rabbi, who was 64 at the time of his death, was hospitalized about two months ago at Laniado Hospital in Netanya after contracting the corona virus, when he also suffers from many background diseases.
For hundreds of thousands of his followers it is a huge loss, but for the TV presenter Korin Gideon's husband, Hili Sorotskin, it is a personal loss, since the Rebbe was his uncle.
"Sometimes life hits us hard," Gideon wrote in a post she posted to Instagram.
"Hili is celebrating a birthday today, but instead of waking up to joy, we woke up to very bad news - the beloved and closest uncle to whom he passed away. The Rebbe of Pittsburgh, who was simply Uncle Moti for Hili.
"Hili always told me how as a child he loved to go to his yard in Ashdod, to stay there on Shabbat, to be with him at Tishim. Although he was a rebbe, he always treated Hili like a son. We also had the great privilege of blessing us at the wedding. It is too short to contain all of the Rebbe's work, but one of the things that set him apart most was his great love of music, and he is known for the many melodies he composed.
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A post shared by Corrina Gideon (@corringideon) on Oct 5, 2020 at 3:25 am PDT
"This day is a day that mixes life and death, but it is probably the nature of the world. May his memory be blessed," she concluded the post written below a picture of Sorotskin as an ultra-Orthodox child, standing smiling next to his uncle.
The post received thousands of likes, and among the hundreds of comforting responses one could find many who remembered the rabbi's kindness and wrote in his praise.
The Rebbe's funeral took place today in Ashdod in the afternoon, when a special police permit allowed about 2,000 followers to take part in the funeral procession.