To be honest, Chagit Eldinger’s neighbors assumed she was divorced. They noticed that she took her five young kids to school each morning before work. That she and the kids built their sukkah alone, that they light the menorah by their window at night. They noticed their clothing becoming more tattered overtime, their stroller beginning to fall apart, caught glimpses of the chipped paint and ragged carpet of the apartment when they stood in their doorway.This week, Chagit gave birth. She returned from the bris alone, struggling to carry her baby and bags up the stairs. Her neighbors felt for her, offered a helping hand or a fresh challah where they could. Little did they know the truth: That Chagit and her husband Yitzchok are still happily married, but that Yitzchok is severely ill, and spends long stretches of time in the hospital.
And so, the young mother has learned to get by on her own. She works as a sales clerk in a store, using her modest income to support her five children. It is, as one would assume, not enough. Yitzchok is too ill to maintain a job. And so, the Eldingers have gone with less and less. Now they have almost nothing.
Chagit has had no choice but to ask for the kindness of strangers. Now especially that she is after birth with her son she has no way of making an income and can’t pay their rent, let alone their grocery bills. Money is being collected to help them live in dignity until Yitzchok’s recovery.
Those who are able to help the Eldingers can do so here for a limited time.
