Chana Rochel Preschel (Flam) ע"ה נפטרה כח חשון תשע״ה

נפטרה כח חשון תשע״ה ע"ה

When her youngest child, Chaggai was ten years old, she was employed as a secretary at Maimonides Mental Health Center.One time, instead of typing up the diagnosis that the psychiatrist dictated into a tape,, as the daughter of a Rebbe who used to listen in on people's problems she rewrote the diagnosis according to her own evaluation. She was called in and instead of being fired was told, the hospital would pay for her education.

She went back to school, received an R.N. and became a psychiatric nurse She also obtained a degree in nuclear medicine as well as a Master's in counseling.

She worked at Beth Israel until she retired.

With aa flare for writing she would enhance her husband's articles for the Jewish Press.

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Eshes Chaver Kechaver My mother Chana Rochel Preschel shetichye deserves much credit for my father’s tremendous proliferation of Torah and Jewish historical literature. He was able to learn prodigiously and share his knowledge with the world because she provided our family-- my parents, my three brothers and myself with our needs. I do not have any recollection of my father entering any store to purchase either food or clothing for himself or any of us. If he needed a new suit or even shoes, my mother would bring the items home and attempt to have him try them on. She was usually not successful in convincing him to spend a few minutes for even that, as he would complain he had no time to waste. He was not interested in wearing anything new; he believed he had everything he needed and did not bother with what he believed were mundane things of life. I remember before his leaving to the HaDoar offices in Manhattan or to one of the libraries where he did his research such as the Jewish Division of the 42nd Street Library, Yeshiva University’s Mendel Gottesman Library or that of the J.T.S., he would turn to my mother and say, "Rachel, I need twenty cents." She would give him two dimes which he would place in his pocket. He used the two dimes for the train into and back from Manhattan. As long as I’ve known him, he’s never owned a wallet, and never kept more than just pocket change or maybe a dollar or two that he needed for transportation. He would be gone all day and never even buy a drink for himself, let alone eat lunch. He would be so immersed in his work that he never bothered to take a break, only for davening. He would come home drained from both the physical and especially the mental exhaustion of exerting his mind so much. My father also never even prepared himself a cup of coffee. He had no idea what was fleishig or milchig in our home; he was totally dependent on my mother. Before submitting his English articles he would always have her read them over and would love it when she would improve the with better vocabulary words. She like him was knowledgeable in several languages. In fact my mother once related that she believed my father married her because he very impressed that she could read and write Yiddish, in addition to the other languages she knew. Her father, a Rebbe, had given her private lessons in Yiddish. When it had to do with his articles, learning or Jewish history my father would converse. However, as a whole my father was a very quiet man who did not talk much. In fact when my mother paid me a visit soon after my wedding, she told me that she couldn’t get over the fact that my husband made his own coffee and that we talked to each other. She told me I was very lucky. My Shana Rishona was quite easy as I had very few expectations of a husband. My mother, a scion of Belz, Strettin, Zidichoiv and Kaliv dynasties was born in Poland and raised in Montreal, Canada where her father Rabbi David Flam served as Rebbe. It was growing up in a home where she observed many many people coming to her father with their Tzoros for berachas or advice that my mother learnd much about human nature. My mother was a psychiatric nurse, whose many patients included some Orthodox and Chassidic young who were very depressed, even suicidal. Today, I usually wear a gold necklace my mother gave me, a gift she had received from a mother of a young man she had talked out of committing suicide. Many people have been indebted to my mother because of the many chasadim she did with regard people’s mental health. In the zechus of all the people she helped save, may she merit a Refuah Sheleimah. And may my father be a Melitz Yosher for his Ishah Keshera She’asta Retzon

Ba’alah. Pearl Herzog

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Chana Rochel Flam Preschel, wife of the late writer and bibliographer, Rabbi Tovia Preschel was the daughter of Rabbi and Rebbetzin David Flam of Montreal. Born in Bobrik Poland in 1923, she came to Canada with her parents while still a baby. Her father established a Chassidish shul in what was truly a spiritual desert. Her mother’s father, the renowned Strettiner Rebbe of Toronto, Rabbi Moshe Langer ZTL had also immigrated to Canada from Eastern Europe.

Chana Rochel was named after her great grandmother, Chana Rochel Rokeach, Flam a daughter of the oldest son of the Sar Sholom, the founder of the Belz dynasty. From her mother’s side she was descended from the Kaliv, Zitichoiv and Strettiner dynasties.

Rabbi David Flam’s shul was once visited by Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the founder of the Yeshiva in Lublin, who served as the sandek for her brother Rabbi Yisroel Flam (ע״ה) of Monsey. Rabbi Shapiro claimed that Rabbi David Flam’s home was truly a piece of the old country in the new world. Chana Rochel would take two trams shlepping two pails to bring home milk that was Cholov Yisroel Her father would always check the shochet’s knife himself to insure its sharpness.

When Chana Rachel was a small girl, she remembers her grandmother hiding Cholov Yisroel milk near the latter’s bed in Toronto because it was so precious.

Rabbi Pinchos Hirscsprung, the late Chief Rabbi of Montreal came to his shul when he immigrated to Canada in 1941.

Mrs. Preschel was the oldest of seven children, born after a baby named Pearl who had passed away from crib death. Her other siblings were Rav Yitzchok Flam (ע״ה), Rav Yisroel Flam (ע״ה), Rav Sholem Flam, Admor of Strettin (ע״ה) Rav Elazar Flam (ע״ה) Rav Shlomo Flam עד מאה ועשרים and her sister Leah Nemetsky עד מאה ועשרים.

When Chana Rochel was twelve years old, after her baby brother Shloimeh was born, her mother became sick and was unable to take care of Chana Rochel and her siblings. Chana Rochel helped her father raise her five younger brothers and a little sister, nine years her junior.

Her father Rabbi David Flam, as a Chassidishe Rebbe, was visited by many people, congregants as well as Jews from all over who would seek his advice with their personal problems and come for brochos.

As a child, Chana Rochel would stand outside the closed door of the dining room where her father would be speaking to people and eavesdrop. She would learn much about people’s problems and how her very wise father, a Rebbe would advise them.

Years later, when her youngest child turned eight, and was in school all day, she became employed at Maimonides Hospital as a secretary to a psychiatrist in the Mental Health Center. Her job was to listen to the doctor’s assessment of patients and type them for the record. One time, she decided that instead of typing what the doctor had assessed and recorded for her on a tape, she would type her own assessment of thepatient as she did not agree with what the doctor had assessed.

When she was called in by the psychiatrist and another member of the staff of Maimonides, she was certain she was going to be fired for her impudence. She was asked who dictated to her the assessment that was not that of the psychiatrist. She admitted that no one dictated it to her, it was her own assessment. She was then informed that what she had typed was so intuitive that the hospital decided that they would pay for her to go to school so that she could enhance her education and be of service to the hospital.

She received her B.A., became a psychiatric nurse, and was awarded a Master’s degree in counseling as well as a license in nuclear medicine. She did much studying while raising four children who were attending elementary and high school.

Among the many patients she dealt with in the Mental Health Centers of Maimonides and Beth Israel Hospital were orthodox patients, including young Chassdidim who were suicidal. She was successful in talking young depressed people out of committing suicide.

She loved life and was full of simcha. Her greatest joy was attending a Rebbishe Chasuneh and sitting on the dais with her cousin Trane, the mother of the present Rebbe of Skver and her sister in-law Rebbetzin Baila Flam, the wife of her late brother, Rabbi Sholom Flam, the Strettiner Rebbe and her sister Leah Nemetsky.

She had tremendous bitachon in Hashem and loved His world and Hashem was always on her lips. When she was on a visit to Lakewood

from Yerushlayim she went into Odd Job and was amazed at all the products and metzios. When she exited the store, she proclaimed to her daughter sister “What an Olam HaZeh Hashem gave us.” When she would taste some delicious food, she would say this is “Taam Gan Eden. Yehi Zichra Baruch

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