Our mother, Mrs Feige Etya Zalcberg a"h was all heart. A heart that was full of love for the Master of the world and His people. She was like a loyal soldier, ready to give away everything to others. She was never satisfied with her accomplishments, nor did she feel that she had ever fully competed her duty.

She epitomized the quality Chazal praised, of not only acting respectfully towards all people but also to feel happy to meet them, and greeting them with genuine simcha.

The empathy our mother felt for others knew no bounds. She truly felt and lived the others joy and sorrow. She was oft heard saying "nebach, it's terrible. What can we do to help this person?" And in her ever so giving and caring way, continued doing her utmost to minimize this persons's pain.

Whenever she encountered someone, whether on the street, in a shop, or coming to my parents' house to ask for a donation, my mother always met them with a smile, inquiring about their welfare and that of their parents,... and of course how she can help him.

Her hachnasas orchim was something we can all learn from. She always had guests in her home in Antwerp. And she truly made them feel at home. The same can be said about their hospitality in their Jerusalem house. Our parents constantly had Rabanim an Rebbes staying for long periods of time. Our mother would often say, "this is why we have our houses, to do chessed with them!"

I can go on and on about the maasim tovim of our mother but i i will share two anecdotes that characterize her true personality.

When i was a bachur in yeshivah, i went with my parents to visit an elderly talmid chacham who was a Rav in Jerusalem. Sadly, he was unwell and had had a foot amputated. My father gave him a generous donation. However, our mother was not satisfied with this amount, saying, "add more, he looks so miserable." And so my father did. This repeated itself a number of times until the amount that accumulated was quit a large sum. She couldn't bear to see this talmid chacham in pain. And the same was true for any yid. Their pain was hers.

Another anecdote i recall is when my family were on vacation in a kosher hotel. An elderly couple from Russia were also there. Of course my mother went up to the lady to welcome her. During their conversation the lady mentioned that she didn't have appropriate clothing and was very cold. Without thinking for a second, my mother went up to her room, took several articles of clothing, which i remember to this day were not inexpensive pieces, and in her gracious way handed them over to this woman as a gift.

I cannot end this article without mentioning the unbelievable kibud av v'em our mother had. Her entire life she was dedicated to her parents. Every morning she called both her parents, speaking to them for at least half an hour. No matter where her travels brought her, the first thing she did upon awakening was to inquire about the well being of her parents and to make sure their needs were met. Whenever she went into a store, she had her parent in mind, looking for articles that they might need or like. When my parents built their home in Antwerp as well as their house in Yerushalayim they built a private apartment for her parents so that they can be hosted in comfort and privacy

My mother was niftar in the same year as her father Rabbi Yisroel Yosef Zoldan zt"l. She is continuing this mitzva in Olam Haba. Some people write their tzava'ah on paper, mother was a live tzava'h. She gave us over a derech hachaim with clear instructions on how to live bederech haTorah. Just a few days before she passed away, we were driving to a business meeting together. After our appointment she said to me, "Moshe Dovid, it's important to have parnassah, but more important is to 'chap arain' doing mitzvos and maasim toivim in this world. That is what will ultimately accompany us in the end. Her entire life she was waiting for Moshiach to come, she couldn't plan a trip long before, as she said Moshiach will be here by then.

May we all be zocheh to bring Moshiach bimhera beyameinu amen.

Yehi zichra baruch!