Born in Tel Aviv, in 1934, to the illustrious Schechter family, Rebbetzin Yaffa Sternbuch was reared in a home steeped in the virtues of Torah, Avodah and Chessed. Her father, Reb Yaakov Schechter, was a close confidante of the Chazon Ish. It was the Chazon Ish who ultimately proposed the shidduch between Yaffa and the young rising star, Harav Moshe Sternbuch Shlit”a, foreseeing his greatness as a future Gadol Hador.
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Reb Yaakov and his wife Chaya were renowned for their gracious hospitality and generous philanthropy. Owners of a successful leather manufacturing firm, the Schechters shared their blessings with the struggling families of the newly formed Torah yishuv in Eretz Yisroel.
Perhaps, most remarkable was young Yaffa’s smooth and cheerful transition from her parents’ home of relative comfort to the frugal and sparse lifestyle that characterized the home she built with her esteemed husband.
The Shechters spent many years in far-off South Africa, where together they built the great “Torah Centre” community of Johannesburg. As a mother of the Torah Centre, Rebbetzin Sternbuch took a keen interest in all the families of the kehillah, treating everyone as her own family.
The joy and simcha that the Rebbetzin infused in the Sternbuch home exemplified how true simchas hachaim does not come from material pleasures, but rather from nurturing one’s growth and achievements in ruchniyus.
She was an exemplary mother, raising her five children with love, affection, admiration and confidence. If she ever found need to discipline one of her children, she made sure to do it in private, taking extreme care to protect the dignity and respect of the child. If a child ever failed at something, a favorite expression of hers was, “Those who don’t wash dishes never break a plate.”
A multifaceted personality, the Rebbetzin oversaw the management of other father’s leather enterprise, executed the publishing her husband’s prolific sefarim, and was a renowned teacher and lecturer, with an ability to connect with women audiences of all backgrounds.
Rebbetzin Yaffa a”h leaves behind generations of outstanding talmidei chachamim, rabbonim, mechanchim and bnei Torah.
May her rich legacy carry on in this special initiative bearing her name.
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