Six years ago, Mordechai Zev Breuer of Manchester got engaged to Ruchy Feldinger of Basel, Switzerland. Just weeks later, their happiness was blasted apart when Mordechai Zev was diagnosed with cancer.

Arriving in the US for treatment, Mordechai Zev’s heartfelt request of veteran composer Yossi Green was “Please, can you write two songs for my kallah?”

On the spot, at an emotional kumzitz in Green’s house, Yossi composed a new setting for “Mi Adir” and then “Mi Bon Siach.”  The blessing in the words was fulfilled, when a healthy Mordechai Zev celebrated his marriage to Ruchy in Bnei Brak after a delay of 19 months. Of course, Green’s “Mi Adir” and “Mi Bon Siach” were a key part of this most moving chuppah.

Six to seven weeks after the wedding, the disease returned.

For four years, the brave young couple hoped, struggled, and prayed together. Their courage and devotion to each other gave chizuk to so many, in a circle that seemed to grow both wider and tighter. “When I moved to the States a year ago, it was Mordechai Zev who helped me with my visa, Mordechai Zev who helped me settle down, and Mordechai Zev, himself so sick, who constantly offered me hospitality, friendship, and encouragement,” says Shloimy Salzman, a close friend from Manchester and fellow musician.

Early this year, songs composed by Yossi for Mordechai Zev’s chuppah were presented to him as a gift, a CD entitled Chuppas Yedidim. With stunning musical arrangements by Shloimy Salzman and vocals by Green himself, the music was a gift perfectly suited for a couple who had put up a united front against much pain. On the 7th of Kislev Mordechai Zev Breuer passed away, having lived 26 short years to their full length.