I first met Raphael in NYC, right before I got engaged. He was writing speeches for Israel's Ambassador to the UN. He took me and my almost to be fiancé (his cousin:) out for dinner. During dinner we heard a song being played in the background and Raphael said ‘listen, zaida loved that song׳. Zaida had passed on almost one year prior, though he wasn't any ordinary zaida. He was the rock of the family and his presence is still felt everywhere. Raphael was the one and only representative of Batsheva's extended family at our engagement party in NY.

I don't think he imagined that one year later, he would get down on one knee, in the most magnificent setting in Thailand and put a ring on Rivki.

The night of the engagement party was also the night of zaida's second yortzeit (his passing). The love and joy was palpable throughout the night.