Each time a mass tragedy occurs, authorities urge the public to refrain from spreading rumors as to who has been killed and injured, so that family members will not learn of a loved one’s passing in an insensitive way. Unfortunately, however, in the age of social media, this is sometimes impossible to avoid. One tragic example of this was that of 24-year-old Mordechai Fekete.
Fekete had last spoken with his wife Libby on Thursday night April 29th to confirm that he had arrived safely in Meron for the Lag Ba’Omer celebrations. Libby recalls hearing the sound of singing in the background and being happy for her husband that he could attend. She had put her two little girls to bed and fell asleep herself, excited to hear her husband’s account of the events in the morning. When she awoke, however, she was stunned to see that Mordechai was not yet home.
Phone calls began to pour in from family members, and Libby learned the horrifying truth that we all now know: That 45 men & children were crushed to death in what is being referred to as Israel’s largest ever peacetime disaster. It was whispering in the hallways of her building however that relayed the news which should have been told over by a licensed professional: Rumor was that Mordechai had been killed.
That Friday Libby sat with her children, counting the minutes, waiting for her husband to walk in the door. When shabbat came in, and he still had not arrived, she feared the worst. The fears were confirmed on Saturday night: Her husband, and the father of her two daughters, was gone.
The Fekete family are asking for help from the public, as Libby is a young mother now completely on her own financially. They had already lived very simply, with Mordechai awaking at dawn each morning to prepare for his work as a cheder rebbi so that he would have time to learn Torah in the afternoon. Without his income and partnership, she is helpless.
Donations are being collected to help the Feketes for a limited time.
