Wearing an elegant silk kerchief atop her sheitel, she entered the ladies’ section.

“Git Shabbes!” she exclaimed to the lavishly bejeweled long-timer, outfitted in a luxurious cashmere sweater and designer scarf.

She walked further, approaching a Russian newcomer sporting a colorful babushka. “Git Shabbes!” she exclaimed, not a smidgen of her heartfelt enthusiasm lost.

To Rebbetzin Chaya Frankel a”h, they were one and the same.

A legendary oheves Yisrael, Rebbetzin Frankel’s petite figure and unpretentious manner masked a fiery powerhouse of a woman whose goal was to shower kindness on every single Jew, regardless of affiliation or status.

To some, she was Rebbetzin of the shul, maker of world-famous kreplach and defender of tzniyus and kvod hatefillah. To others, she was commander-in-chief of arguably America’s two largest chesed operations, master delegator and tireless organizer. And to her nearest and dearest, she was Mommy — and Bubby.

But to all, she was beloved.

An Amerikanishe Childhood

A great-granddaughter of Reb Mordche of Nadvorna ztz”l and scion of numerous other chassidishe giants, Chaya Frankel was born in 1916 in Satmar, Hungary. When she was only a toddler, her father suddenly passed away.

His untimely passing, however, was ultimately the family’s salvation from Hitler’s claws. Chaya’s mother — a young widow with four small children — became engaged to Rav Yitzchok Leifer, who brought the entire family to America in 1921 and settled them in the Bronx.

For lack of alternative, Chaya attended public school. Her mother, a renowned rebbetzin in her own right, worked hard to counterbalance any ill influence by instilling in her children an intense love for Torah and Yidden — and her unflagging efforts bore fruit.

As a young teenager, Chaya’s dynamic personality and determination to spread the joy of Yiddishkeit were already evident. Upon request from Agudah president Mike Tress, she began organizing the very first Bnos groups — which at the time were often the attendees’ only connection to Judaism. With enormous dedication and creativity, Chaya used this venue to warm her girls up to Yiddishkeit. In fact, each Shabbos, Chaya would walk the girls over the bridge from the East Side to Williamsburg — and back. It was the only way they would come.

And when a fledgling Bais Yaakov finally opened in the Bronx, Chaya became one of its pioneering teachers.

“She went knocking from door to door to get girls to enroll,” reports a family member. “At her shivah, a well-known chassidishe rebbe told us that he still remembers the tzniyus ditty she’d composed for her first-grade class, which his sister used to sing. At a time when modesty wasn’t on anyone’s radar, Chaya inspired her young pupils with its beauty.”