Bobba granted dying wish to be buried on Mount of Olives

The late Flora Hovsha, 95, didn’t ask for much when she was alive, her family said. But she had a lifelong wish to be buried next to her beloved late husband, Eliezer, who died more than three decades ago. Sounds reasonable.

However, throw into the equation the fact that her husband is buried in the Mount of Olives Cemetery in Jerusalem, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, add to that a worldwide pandemic, and it becomes a little more complex. And when a person’s death is as a result of COVID-19, it complicates matters even further.

However, nothing was going to stop Flora’s devoted grandchildren from trying their best to help realise their bobba’s dream.

Their bobba and zaida were well-known members of the Rustenberg Jewish community. Their popular jewellery store, Rustenberg Jewellers, stood in the centre of town. Flora kept a strictly kosher home, and went out of her way to instil a deep love of yiddishkeit in her three sons and grandchildren, the family said.

“I left Rustenberg when I was 11,” said granddaughter Nicole Salkow. “I attribute my knowledge of Judaism to my bobba’s love and dedication to the religion. We were one of the few remaining Jewish families left in Rustenberg when I was a little girl, but this never stopped my bobba from keeping a meticulously kosher home and following all the rich festivals.”

Flora, a resident of Sandringham Gardens, succumbed to COVID-19 on Shabbos towards the end of February. Her funeral was set for Sunday 21 February, at 11:30. When her son, Joseph, who also lives at the retirement home, mentioned to the Chevrah Kadisha that his late mother had a plot reserved for her in Israel, it threw a local spanner in the works.

Joseph, worried about COVID-19 and the costs involved in transporting his mother’s body, prepared himself mentally for the burial to take place at West Park Cemetery. His determined daughter had other plans. “I simply asked the Chevrah Kadisha what it would take to do this, and then I said, ‘Let’s see if we can make it happen’,” Salkow told the SA Jewish Report.

With those words, she set the ball rolling for what turned out to be a Herculean effort by the Johannesburg Chevrah Kadisha, and Flora’s family here and abroad to help realise this dream.

Chevrah Kadisha Funeral Director Phillip Kalmonowitz helped with the repatriation. It included having to obtain multiple letters of permission, permits, and certificates from doctors, the health department, and the Israeli embassy.

“We needed to act fast so that her funeral could take place as quickly as possible,” said Kalmonowitz.

They confirmed that the plot existed, and got on to securing a flight. “Not many airlines are operating at this time, and most won’t transport a COVID-19 body,” Kalmonowitz said.

They eventually secured a space on Turkish Airlines. “About 19 pages of documentation went with her,” he said.

After two days of intense planning, Flora’s body left South Africa on the night of 24 February. It arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Purim on the night of 25 February after a long layover in Turkey, where she was transferred from a passenger carrier to a cargo plane.

The Jerusalem Chevrah Kadisha was on standby. So too were Flora’s two granddaughters in Israel, Shana Hovsha and Leigh Chazan and her husband Idan.

Family from around the world watched as the livestreamed funeral procession made its way through the streets of Jerusalem until Flora’s body was laid to rest near the gravestone of her husband.

“It was a sight to behold,” said Salkow, “My bobba would have been dancing had she seen the journey she took through the streets of Jerusalem with the city lights flickering below.”

The ancient Jewish cemetery, which overlooks Jerusalem’s Old City, is the holiest place, being closest to the Temple. It’s the most ancient and most important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem.

With an estimated 150 000 people interred there, including those of famous rabbis in Jewish history, there is barely any space left. Flora’s plot was reserved after the late Eliezer was buried there in 1985.

According to David Weber at the Johannesburg Chevrah Kadisha, there were requests from about four families to repatriate loved ones to Israel during the hard lockdown, but it wasn’t possible. Their bodies will be exhumed at a later stage. There have been three repatriations to Israel in the past six months.

Jonathan Fox, the rabbi of Sandringham Gardens, said, “This is an incredible story of how one determined family managed during a pandemic to get this special woman to her final resting place. It took enormous effort and determination.”

He described the late Flora as “a lovely, friendly lady” who was “very committed to Torah in such a quiet and modest way”.

“She loved attending shul services on Shabbat and during the week. She also enjoyed shiurim and never failed to compliment the rabbi. She was incredibly proud of her children and grandchildren.”

Joseph, said his late mother often expressed her wish to be buried next to his father in Israel. “She told me and my two brothers that this was her wish. Knowing she is there is a big comfort,” he said.

Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, rabbi to the newly-established small Jewish Communities Association, said, “The Hovshas were well known, active members of the Rustenberg Jewish community.”

“My special bobba has been reunited with my zaida in the holiest place on earth,” Salkow said. “Some very special people including David Weber and Phillip Kalmonowitz from the Chev and Hashem made this possible. She asked for so little in her life, and this was something she really wanted. There is a huge amount of comfort knowing that her wish came true.”

Flora is survived by her two sons, seven grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.