IN LOVING MEMORY OF CHAOUL AINI

SACRIFICING ALL FOR THOSE HE LOVED

MICHAEL AINI

ABRAHAM WAS TOLD BY HASHEM TO SACRIFICE ISAAC HIS ONLY SON. THE FIRST JEW WAS ABOUT TO SACRIFICE THE ONLY SECOND JEW IN EXISTENCE. THIS SCRIPTURE IS SO IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT DEFINES WHAT IT IS TO BE A JEW, A GREAT FATHER AND TO LEAVE BEHIND A TRUE LEGACY. SACRIFICE, HONESTY, HONOR, HUMILITY, LOYALTY, DEVOTION, COURAGE, COMMITMENT AND CHARITY ARE ALL QUALITIES MY FATHER HAD BUT THE GLUE WHICH BOUND THEM TOGETHER WAS SACRIFICE, AS EVIDENT IN HIS STORY AND IN HIS FAMILY.

They say we are the chosen ones, and I believe that to be true, because we are chosen to sacrifice our today for a better tomorrow. It takes seeds of sacrifice that we have to plant with blood, sweat and tears in our present time, so our children and children’s children can reap and sow the rewards that we will never see—that is exactly what my father did. Chaoul Aini was born on March 15, 1933, the eldest son of Jacob and Victoria Aini. Being the eldest of his siblings (Laura, Joe, Sellie, Nina and Albert) he knew what sacrifice meant at an early age.

Victoria, their mother, died at an early age leaving the children to grow up quickly and to help one another get by. My Grandmother Rachel Abed (from my mother’s side who had 10 children of her own to raise) helped them by cooking, cleaning and doing other chores. She shared her knowledge and motherly advice with all the young children.

My father literally married “the girl next door,” my Mom, Samira. Then there was the expulsion of Jews from Lebanon during 1967, he and my mother then sacrificed everything they had in Lebanon, as did all my aunts and uncles (Ainis and Abeds), as well as all the other Jewish families living there to leave for a better tomorrow for all their children.

When he arrived in NYC, he was a stranger in a strange land, doing menial work and hard labor to get by. He toiled the land in blood, sweat and tears, planting seeds, though he would never reap the rewards. He and Mother worked hard to give us a Jewish education so we could become the people we are today.

My father worked long hours and shunned the spotlight in all its forms, he was humble, honest and never spoke ill of anyone. He was a gentleman’s gentlemen in every sense of the word.

My brother Harry spoke about his integrity and how he returned a bag full of money that he found to the bank in the early 70s, at our fathers funeral.

In my brother Jacob’s eulogy he spoke about my father’s honesty and his motto “A good name is worth more than money in the bank.”

Both of my brothers share those qualities, among a multitude of others too numerous to mention, yet the glue which bound all of those qualities together was sacrifice, which my brothers continue to do in their lives.

As I was sitting shiva, I noticed that the entire family stopped whatever schedule they had and took time to pay their respects and share their warmth—our children, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, acquaintances all helped ease the process of sitting shiva.

Laurie, my brother Harry’s wife, opened her home twice (once for my Mom’s shiva), made the shiva easier for us to bear, due to all her beautiful qualities, kindness, thoughtfulness, humility and empathy.

Rachel, my brother Jacob’s wife, was like a daughter to both my parents, and a sister to us. She was there when my mother or father needed anything—no matter the circumstance, or the task—she always went above and beyond, in this world and even in the next, by making sure to keep them together in their grave site.

The legacy that my father leaves behind is in us—all of us—everyone he helped and those he met along his journey. His memory and legacy shall always be alive in his brothers, in his sisters, in his children, in his grandchildren and in his great grandchildren.

Michael Aini is a community member.