[COMMUNICATED]

Rebbetzin Ruti Zayig was a powerhouse.

With grace, strength, and a smile on her face she raised 8 children and ran her home. As many of us are blessed to know, running a large family is enough to keep a person occupied for a lifetime. Rebbetzin Zayig’s job, however, became immeasurably more difficult when she was diagnosed with ALS.

Slowly, over time, her condition began to deteriorate. Her doctors and loved ones knew the truth as well as she did: There was no cure. By this year she got to the point of being considered 100% disabled. She was wheelchair bound, barely able to raise her arms. Her children and husband took on the full time job of taking her to her appointments, administering her medications, and running the home in her absence. They lived off of her disability checks. They knew it was only a matter of time.

That made it all the more shocking when, after a recent hospitalization, she contracted COVID-19. In a shocking turn, it was ultimately the coronavirus that took her life. Rebbetzin Zayig passed away this week, leaving behind a devastated family.

As the 8 Zayig children and their father have begun to get up from their shiva, they must now face yet another harsh truth: They are without income. After surviving for several years off of Ruti’s disability checks they are now both without her, and without a way to live. Their bank account balance dwindles, as does their strength. They are without viable options.

An emergency fund has been started to help the Zayig family cover their basic needs and recover from this horrific tragedy as they fight to repay their debts, and re-establish themselves in a life in which they can survive. This process will take time – and time is something they do not have.

Those who are able to fulfill Rebbetzin Zayig’s dying wish of taking care of her family who cared for her so deeply during his illness can do so via their Chesed Fund page.