Mrs. Henny Karniel, 83, OBM

By COLlive reporter

Mrs. Henny Karniel, a resident of the Kfar Chabad village in Israel and a veteran educator, passed away on the 24th of Teves 5784, the yartzeit of the Alter Rebbe.

She was 83.

Mrs. Karniel didn’t know much about Chabad growing up, but she was delighted that the man she wanted to marry would follow the Chasidic ways of her ancestors, Dovid Zaklikowski of Hasidic Archives wrote in a short story about her life.

She agreed to build a home with Amos Karniel that would be based on the Chabad tenets of love and acceptance of all Jews, regardless of their level of observance.

After their marriage in 1962, Henny and Amos turned to the Rebbe for guidance about where they should live. The Rebbe reviewed their list of possible locations and pointed them toward Kfar Maimon in Southern Israel. There, the Karniels, both teachers, found jobs and began doing Jewish outreach.

In 1975, however, it was time to move again. Their family was growing, and the schools in Kfar Maimon did not have the Chasidic spirit that the Karniels were looking for. This time, the Rebbe urged them to find a city with a Chabad community, provided that Henny, who had never lived in such a setting, agreed. The couple chose Kfar Chabad, a small village in central Israel populated with Chabad Chasidim.

Henny was surprised by how difficult it was to settle into a new community. A year later, when the family flew to New York to visit the Rebbe, she was still struggling to acclimate.

The Karniels were granted a date for a private audience but not a specific time—they would have to wait until the Rebbe could see them. Finally, at three in the morning, they entered the Rebbe’s office. Amos handed the Rebbe their letters requesting blessings and guidance. A few minutes later, the Rebbe looked up. “I read all of your letters, and I also read between the lines.”

After responding to their specific questions, he turned to Henny. “How are things going with your new home in Kfar Chabad?”

Frightened to tell the Rebbe her true feelings, Henny only nodded her head. “Good, thank G-d.”

With a large, comforting smile, the Rebbe told her, “There are no limits to ‘good.’ Make the effort and it will be even better.”

In 1975, as she was about to return to work following a short maternity leave, she was approached with a particularly challenging job offer.

After the Rebbe encouraged her to go ahead, she accepted the position. While she saw immediate results, it was only many years later that she found out what a big difference her efforts had really made.

VIDEO: Mrs. Karniel speaking to JEM

Mrs. Karniel filled many educational positions, leaving a lasting impact on many Israeli children. Most notably, she was the principal of the ‘Beit Hannah’ high school in Kiryat Malachi for many years.

Even after her retirement, she continued to influence and impart Torah lessons to the women of Kfar Chabad. She left behind children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren serving as Chabad Shluchim.

She is survived by her children Mrs. Chedva Mark – Kiryat Malachi; Rabbi Benny Karniel – Gadera; Mrs. Nava Gellis – Dimona; Mrs. Tami Wolff – Yerucham; Rabbi Aaron Karniel – Bnei Ayish; Mrs. Leah Wolff – Kiryat Malachi; Mrs. Chani Shachar – Dimona; Mrs. Yael Bergman – Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; Mrs. Tehilla Greenfeld – Givat Shmuel; Mrs. Nechama Gansburg – Toronto, Canada; R’ Berke Karniel – Bet Shemesh; grandchildren, great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband Amos Karniel.

Baruch Dayan Haemes.