Leah Rieder, of blessed memory, was laid to rest on Monday morning in Yerushalayim. A few words of farewell.
The first meeting
“My name is Leah Rieder,” a gracious woman introduced herself at an event in New York. “Tomorrow my mother, a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor, is coming to the historic Siyum HaShas. Come.”
So I came.
I arrived the following day with a camera crew. One hundred thousand Jews had gathered at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the celebration. Anyone who studies one page of Gemara a day eventually completes the entire Shas. And Torah learning with such dedication, especially in the United States, is something to celebrate and honor.
Leah introduced me to her mother, who became the focus of the report I later aired. Marlit Wandel had survived nine concentration camps. I stood beside her and her descendants as she stretched out her hand and pointed to the crowd of one hundred thousand Torah-loving Jews: “Hitler wanted to destroy all of us, and now look around you. Look! They wanted to destroy us, and we are dancing a dance of Torah. If someone had told me this back then, in Auschwitz...”
I thanked Leah for the story, but it was much more than a news item. It was an encounter with eternity.
The last meeting
After the terrible tragedy of October 7, I was invited to accompany a group of Nova survivors who had come to spend Shabbat together in Yerushalayim. About 400 young people gathered at a hotel, and among them were Ralph and Leah Rieder. That was when I discovered that they were the donors behind this remarkable initiative, launched by Tzili Schneider of Kesher Yehudi. Since then, we have shared countless Shabbatot and chagim in this extraordinary community.
This past Simchat Torah, Nova survivors who have been growing stronger in their Judaism asked for a Sefer Torah of their own, in memory of the friends who were murdered, Hy”d. Ralph and Leah agreed to donate it. Imagine Nova survivors on Simchat Torah, dancing with a Sefer Torah, feeling the souls of their friends dancing with them above. As Marlit said: they wanted to destroy us, and we are dancing a dance of Torah.
I was there to cover that event as well, and once again I thanked Leah for the story. But it was far more than a news item. It was an encounter with eternity.
Farewell
Not many people knew that Leah was facing a serious illness with quiet grace. On Sunday, she passed away at her home in New York at the age of 68.
Condolences to Ralph, to the entire family and to the many friends she leaves behind. Chassidic and Litvish women from Monsey, alongside young Israeli women with piercings and tattoos, are now shedding tears for their dear friend. Leah left all of us with a clear and enduring legacy.
The funeral procession departed from New York, and on Monday morning, on the eve of Yom HaShoah, Leah will be laid to rest on Har Hamenuchos. Because all roads, from Auschwitz, from New York, from Nova, lead to Yerushalayim.