ואשר דבר לי ואשר נשבע לי לאמר לזרעך אתן את הארץ הזאת הוא ישלח מלאכו לפניך ... (כד-ז)
Raised in Brooklyn, NY, Rochel grew up appreciating she was Jewish and that’s about it. Her only connection to Orthodox Judaism came through deeply religious relatives who later in life had a profound influence on her. After meeting her husband at Harper College, their journey together led them around the world. In 1971, after being married for 7 years, Rochel and her husband were living in Taiwan due to a Fulbright Fellowship, and it was there that their lives took an unexpected turn. They had long yearned for a child but had faced many challenges. One day, Rochel’s husband, Avraham, noticed a red bundle on a bench while walking to the train station. The small package, which appeared abandoned, began to move. Curiosity got the better of him, and he approached. To his astonishment, inside the bundle was a newborn baby, with a note written in beautiful Chinese calligraphy: “Whoever finds this baby, please take good care of her. Happiness and fortune will follow you.”
Moved by the situation, Avraham handed the baby over to a guard and continued to his job. But that evening, when he recounted the story to Rochel, she was determined to find the baby. The next day, the couple returned to the station, tracked down the orphanage where the baby had been taken, and there they found her - tiny and helpless, with big dark eyes. They knew instantly that this was their daughter, the precious soul they had been waiting for. After several months of bureaucratic red tape, they were able to adopt her, naming her Hsin-Mei (pronounced Shin-May, meaning: the heart blossom of Taiwan).
Upon returning to the USA, Rochel and her husband faced a new challenge: converting their daughter to Judaism. They went to many Rabbis, but didn’t feel ready to take on the required mitzvos needed to acquire an Orthodox conversion for their daughter, and the conversions offered by other Jewish denominations didn’t resonate with them. Not knowing what to do, they decided to take a Jewish History course at the University of Richmond to learn more about their roots. It was there on campus that Avraham met an Orthodox Rabbi in the Hillel House and was invited to spend Shabbos with his family.
That Shabbos was a turning point for the Schwartzbaums. The day, filled with warmth and light, singing and delicious food, was what they needed to start them on their teshuva journey. They began learning with people in the Orthodox community and taking on one mitzvah at a time. They started lighting Shabbos candles, learning about Jewish laws, and gradually built a Jewish home filled with warmth and meaning. However, one challenge still remained: converting their beloved daughter Shin-May. After four years they met a rabbi who set them on the path to fully embrace a Torah-observant life. Rochel and her husband took on the mitzvos of Shabbos, kashrus, and family purity, and agreed to send Shin-May to a Jewish day school. At that moment, their daughter became a true Jewish soul and was renamed Devorah. Exactly 11 months later, as a gift they saw directly from Hashem, Rochel gave birth to their first biological child - a baby boy.
Rochel’s life continued to evolve, but the turning point came when they moved to Israel. It was in 1981 that she discovered Neve Yerushalayim. Living in Maalot Dafna, she traveled daily to Bayit Vegan to attend classes at Neve. The kindness, wisdom, and warmth she encountered at Neve made an indelible impact on her Jewish growth. Rochel recalls the incredible teachers who nurtured her and the deep learning that filled her soul with joy and purpose. “My time at Neve was life-changing,” Rochel shares. “It gave me the foundation I needed to grow in my Yiddishkeit and live a life dedicated to Torah and mitzvos.”
The nurturing environment and its dedicated teachers inspired Rochel to embrace Torah living in a profound way. Her journey came full circle as she, alongside her husband and children, made aliyah, deepening their commitment to Jewish life in the Land of Israel. Though her path was filled with challenges, Rochel’s strength and faith carried her through. Today, her story continues to inspire, reminding us of the many miracles Hashem is always sending us every day.
The full story on discovering little baby Devorah in Taiwan, and the Schwartzbaums’ remarkable return to Yiddishkeit and a life of Torah and mitzvos can be read in the Schwartzbaum’s autobiography, “The Bamboo Cradle,” published by Feldheim.