Just hours before he passed away with all his children gathered around him Rav Yisroel Grossman instructed Rebbetzin Nussbaum to look in the pocket of his jacket. Inside were three $100 bills — an unusually large sum for her father. “Use it to marry off the girls” he told her

I t was a request that would change her life.

In 2007 Rav Yitzchak Dovid Grossman called his sister with a dilemma. Graduation was around the corner. The girls — many of whom were orphans or from severely deprived backgrounds — were welcome to stay in Migdal Ohr indefinitely and benefit from the higher education programs he’d established. But they needed to be shepherded into the world.

It would be better for them to “leave home” to study. Of course when they had some kind of qualification they would need to be guided through shidduchim. Then they would need to be married off…

While he took care of marrying off the alumni bochurim Rav Grossman needed a counterpart to take care of the girls. The task Rav Grossman presented to his sister was crucial — and one that required the utmost delicacy.

“He’s just a year older than me. We were always close.” This is how Rebbetzin Rochel Nussbaum explains the request.

By her side Miss Fabia Preminger the Rebbetzin’s partner in all her endeavors laughs. “The Rav chose Rebbetzin Nussbaum because she’s a powerhouse!”

As a decade’s worth of tales attest his choice was spot-on.

Rabbanit Ima

With her own large family married off it would have been easy for Rebbetzin Nussbaum to adopt a slower pace after the busy years of raising her children. She could have focused solely on being present for her husband the revered Rav Naftali Nussbaum a prominent av beis din and rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Chayei Moshe.

It would have been far easier than taking on responsibility for hundreds of girls. Easier than ensuring that each of those girls has a place to study for a profession in which she’ll excel. Definitely easier than looking for shidduchim for those girls — from making inquiries to approving first-date outfits.

“Rabbanit Ima” takes each girl into her heart — and like a mother she takes the kallah shopping for clothing and linens appliances and furniture. She soothes away fears and arranges for therapy. She listens laughs listens some more and above all cares.

Larger than Life

I’m a few minutes early for our interview and I look around the hotel lobby wondering if the occupant of the couch over is my rebbetzin. She wears a hat atop her sheitel and her straight back gives her an air of dignity.

I’m about to approach her when the lobby door opens and purse flying off one arm hands clutching sundry shopping bags slightly out of breath from rushing there’s a woman in her late sixties pillbox hat over a short blonde sheitel. There’s an energy about her and I half stand up in greeting. She sees me rushes over and wraps me in a hug. No mistaking Rebbetzin Rochel Nussbaum.

By her side is Fabia Preminger, Brazilian born and the age of the Rebbetzin’s children, but sharing the Rebbetzin’s wide smile and undeniable warmth. We kiss on both cheeks and sit down. The Rebbetzin is in a rush to show me her latest couple: a beautifully decked-out bride, a smiling, black-hatted chassan.

“The Rebbetzin has spent the last two days in Bnei Brak, finding places for girls in various frum colleges,” Fabia whispers. “She helps each girl figure out what they want to study, and then finds a place that’s the best fit. And then she takes them to the interviews.”

The Rebbetzin is still gazing at the picture of her newest couple. I signal to Fabia for help, as I try to direct the Rebbetzin away from her satin-swathed bride, and back to the beginning of it all, back to her childhood in Batei Varsha in Meah Shearim. Fabia nods her understanding and brings out a huge coffee-table book on the history of Meah Shearim. She flips through a few pages and slides the book in front of the Rebbetzin.

The Rebbezin looks down at the sepia-toned picture and clutches her hands together. “The Tatte!” she exclaims. “See! The Tatte. Here he is with the Beis Yisrael of Gur.” She looks down at the picture and shakes her head. Then she points to the buildings in the background. “See there, up those stairs — that was our home.”

Fabia gives me a wink. “I was there a number of times. Tiny. Two rooms, the whole thing was maybe 50 square meters [540 square feet], maybe less. But big enough for the Migdal Ohr graduates’ simchahs to be celebrated there — engagements, brissim…”

There are more pictures of the Tatte: Rav Yisroel Grossman was the rosh yeshivah of Pinsk-Karlin for nearly six decades, and a fifth-generation Yerushalmi — his sandek was none other than Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld.

“Tell her about the Chazon Ish,” Fabia prompts.

“Okay, okay.”