When I was 16 I met the lovely Nehama. We would talk a lot of very very deep conversations and she was very helpful to me.
I first met her parents, Rabbi Eli and Dina Horowitz, when Nehama invited me to her home to sit. From the first moment I got home I felt their big and huge heart because there really was a whole lot of love in them. Just the second I entered the house they welcomed me with open arms. I really felt like I wanted it to be my home.
And I really would come lots and lots for Saturdays and holidays and all the time I felt like there was a family here that I just wanted to learn from as much as possible and be with as much as possible and especially to feel that warmth and love.
I consulted a lot with Rabbi Eli and Dina, I talked to them about all kinds of issues that bothered me, all kinds of issues that I stood out on.
After a few years, I met Elisha, who was a student of Rabbi Eli at Shavei Hebron. Elisha also loved Rabbi Eli very much, so even after we got married, we would come to them for Shabbat and talks and we felt very, very close to them.
Before the wedding I asked Madina to study with her, and it was really very happy and meaningful. Even the night before the wedding she went with me to the mikveh in Kiryat Arba and when we returned they made me a huge surprise, a really really festive meal and the whole family sat with me around the table with a meaty, invested meal in honor of tomorrow I get married.
Dina also accompanied me during my pregnancy with my eldest daughter, it was very, very significant and exciting to me. It was a year after the wedding and right towards the end of the pregnancy, our good friends, Yael and Eyal Sork were killed in the attack in Tzur Shalem and Rabbi Eli and Dina immediately after the attack spoke to us fully and helped us and supported us. Dina kept telling me, "Naama, as soon as you go to give birth, I must know first, I must hear about it first, no matter what time it is at night, no matter what time of day, you must call me."
I delayed the birth, it was too late and I was told I should come to the hospital for an emergency. Dina told me that no matter when it is, she sleeps with the cell phone and I wake her up.
In the end, the birth was very very long, the hours passed and I could not call Dina because the baby was simply not born. At eight in the morning she was finally born and just five minutes after the birth the phone in the delivery room rang. (There were phones then, but it was not like today that everyone has a cell phone).
The phone of her delivery room rings, the nurse answers, and says, "Naama, this is for you." I hear Dina and she cries "Naama, congratulations, what fun! What a joy! ", She was so excited" You gave birth to your first daughter on the 2nd of Tammuz, I also gave birth to my first daughter on the 1st of Tammuz. And she was so frustrated that it had been all night and I had not called her. All this time she was searching and looking for the phone of the delivery room, just wanted to greet me and it was right after the birth it was very exciting.
I loved coming to their house, also because I longed for many new things, also for the great Torah that was in the house, the way Rabbi Eli would teach the Torah and Parshas Hashavua, and everything he taught about Avraham Avinu really fascinated me.
I loved hearing Rabbi Eli speak and recite on Shabbat and holidays. For me it was new.
On Independence Day we went out to do the barbecue with the family, and I remember that every time Rabbi Eli liked to photograph the blossom. He really loved nature and took pictures at the height of his enthusiasm, and every picture should be developed, and there was always a lot of excitement and joy on the trip. They brought wine and everyone had to bless the State of Israel. Everyone greeted, from the boys in the yeshiva to the children and including me.
It was really special for me to be a part of this family.
Naama Azar