A Tzadekes in Our Time

This article here was published in 2002 about Mrs. Henny Machlis a'h and this one here in 2009.  I read them back then, and was amazed.

To my dismay, I read of her tragic passing at the young age of 58 on October 16 - 3 Cheshvan, after a horrible illness here.

I'm seeing new articles about her, here and there.  They tell about her remarkable outlook on life, how she truly believed and did not merely say that Hashem is in charge, how she loved children so that nine out of her fourteen children were born via C-section, how she excelled bein adam la'Makom and bein adam la'chaveiro.  And she was born in Brooklyn, to kind parents to be sure, but it wasn't like she came from an exotic locale, born to a kabbalist, and raised in unusual circumstances.  That's what make her accomplishments that much more incredible as well as doable. 

On Being a Good Guest

The following is a direct quote from a very hospitable person who shared this fascinating observation about a special person:

When M. is around, if your kids misbehave ... she just pretends she doesn't see.

She acts as if she's very busy doing something and she doesn't notice.

She makes no comments and doesn't notice anything that doesn't involve her.

She doesn't even say, "Wow you handled that in an amazing way," because she didn't see anything, so she has nothing to comment on!

 

It's hard to have people around noticing things and making comments; trust me, I have lots of company and everyone has comments to make on something.

 

Except M.  She is of the "see no evil, hear no evil" type, and it's so comfortable to have her around.