They Were My Whole Life

• Meaningful Blog

Sipora Sassoon remembers her seven siblings, in her own words.

It’s been ten years.

Ten years since that Friday night when the snow came down, the house stayed warm, and everything changed.

Sipora Sassoon was just fifteen when the fire broke out in her Brooklyn home. She survived. Her parents survived. But seven siblings — Eliane, Rivka, Yaakov, David, Yehoshua, Moshe, and Sara — did not.

She doesn’t just remember them. She carries them.

And when asked who they were, Sipora doesn’t hesitate. She paints their personalities with color and affection, each one vivid, funny, unique.

“They were each so special. Very unique.”

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Eliane

“She was, and she still is, someone that I look up to all the time. I can’t believe she was 16… she’s greater than who I am today.”

Sipora describes her oldest sister as the leader. Mature, clear-headed, deeply responsible.

“Everyone knew me as Eliane’s sister. I didn’t have to do anything. She had all the answers. She knew what was right and what was wrong. She would have done everything right in life.”

Eliane’s idea was the family recording their song, Cry No More.

“She gave us all our lines. When I hear it now, and I listen to which sibling sang what… it’s chilling.”

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Rivka

“She was only in first grade. If you saw her, you’d see it right away — the sweetness in her eyes. Her friends loved her.”

Sipora loved walking her little sister into school.

“I loved picking her up. Bringing her in. Walking her to her classroom. She just lit up the room.”

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Yaakov

“He had just turned five. A total bundle of joy. So funny.”

“He made everyone laugh. He completed us.”

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David

“You could see it on his face. He was the purest, kindest boy.”

“Always thinking of others. If you were around him, you knew — no one was ever going to hurt you.”

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Yehoshua (Shuey)

“Funny in his own way. He’d find ways to get out of school or camp and make it seem like he was doing the right thing.”

“One time he skipped school and came home with baby chicks. Named them after me and my sisters.”

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Moshe

“The sweetest boy. A real mush.”

“He didn’t understand how people could be cruel to others. He just wouldn’t be able to grasp it.”

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Sara

“Always light. Always laughter. If the house was quiet for one minute, she was the one coming up with something to do.”

“There was never a boring moment with her. She just made everything more alive.”

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“They Made Life So Bright”

“There was never a dull moment in our home. Always laughing. Always joking. Music playing all hours of the day.”

Today, Sipora says she tries to keep going with joy, but she also makes time to remember.

“On their birthdays, I let myself cry. I look at their pictures. I remember. And then I do something that makes me happy, because I know they’d want that.”

“I want to name my kids after them one day. Keep their names going. Carry on their legacy.”

“They were my whole life.”

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🕯️ You can listen to Sipora’s full story on the Meaningful People Podcast.