Choosing Life After Tragedy: Rachel Hassan’s Journey of Faith and Music

Looking at the photos Rachel Hassan sent from one of her performances, it is hard to imagine the painful journey behind the smiling woman on stage. In the pictures she appears vibrant and full of life, radiating energy to a hall filled with women who sing and clap along.

Speaking with Rachel feels just as uplifting. The conversation is warm, full of laughter, and easygoing. Yet a voice message she sent later that night tells a deeper story. She apologizes for responding late and explains that a migraine had left her unable to function for hours. It is only a small glimpse into the challenges she quietly carries.

Rachel Hassan performing (Photo: Aviad Fox)

The Trip That Changed Everything

Rachel was only 24 when she decided to undergo laser eye surgery to remove her glasses.

The clinic’s instructions recommended that patients arrive with someone who could accompany them home afterward, since their eyes would be bandaged. Rachel’s mother agreed to join her, even though she had a busy schedule that day.

Neither of them imagined that this trip would change Rachel’s life forever.

“On the way to the surgery we had one of those deep conversations between a mother and daughter,” Rachel recalls.

She laughs as she remembers that she was the one driving that morning, something her mother usually found difficult to accept.

“My mom was a very cautious driver,” Rachel says. “Thirty years on the road without a single accident. Whenever we drove together she would constantly say, ‘Rachli, be careful.’ But that morning was peaceful. She kept complimenting my driving.”

After the surgery, Rachel’s eyes were bandaged and she switched seats with her mother for the drive home. Exhausted, she quickly fell asleep.

She woke up to the sound of a massive crash.

Their car had collided head on with another vehicle.

Between Life and Death

Emergency teams arrived quickly after passing drivers called for help.

At that exact moment, a training exercise for Magen David Adom was taking place nearby. Because of this unusual coincidence, medical teams reached the scene immediately and began resuscitating Rachel’s severely injured mother. She was eventually airlifted by helicopter.

Rachel herself was taken by ambulance to Tel Hashomer Hospital.

Although initial tests did not reveal major injuries, she was in unbearable abdominal pain. Doctors rushed her into emergency surgery.

“I remember whispering Tehillim for my mother while they were preparing me for surgery,” Rachel recalls. “I probably looked crazy, talking to myself.”

When surgeons opened her abdomen, they discovered a life threatening internal injury.

“The doctors later told me that if they had waited any longer, I probably would not have survived,” she says quietly.

When Rachel finally woke from the complicated surgery, her aunt was sitting beside her bed.

“I immediately asked about my mom,” Rachel says. “My aunt lowered her head and said, ‘Rachli, they did everything they could.’ That was when I understood.”

Rachel in the hospital

Healing in the Hospital

Rachel received the devastating news while still under heavy sedation and severe physical pain.

She was unable to attend the funeral and remained hospitalized during the entire week of mourning.

Yet she says she never felt alone.

“I had an incredible team of volunteers who stayed by my side and took care of me with such sensitivity,” she says.

When Rachel speaks about her hospital stay, it is striking how little bitterness appears in her memories.

“I met amazing medical staff,” she says. “I could see in their eyes how holy their work is.”

She asks that the support staff be mentioned as well.

“I had two caregivers, Hagit and Ilana, who were incredible. They constantly encouraged me, reminding me to take care of myself and lifting my spirits.”

Learning to Walk Again

After leaving the hospital, Rachel returned home to begin a long and difficult recovery.

“I walked into my room and saw chocolates covering the walls from floor to ceiling,” she says, smiling through tears. Her family and friends had prepared the room to welcome her back.

But the physical challenges were enormous.

“I had to relearn everything. Walking. Moving my head. Basic things we take for granted.”

Yet Rachel does not remember that period as a time of despair.

“I was very busy returning to life,” she explains. “During that time I discovered powerful inner strength. What I remember most is the love and support I received from everyone around me.”

Rachel with her friends after returning from hospital

When the Struggle Arrived

Eventually, however, the emotional weight of the tragedy began to surface.

“At first people are around you all the time,” Rachel explains. “But gradually everyone returns to their own lives, and then the real coping begins.”

Months after the accident, Rachel began facing the long term consequences.

She struggled with recurring pain, difficulty during physical exertion, weight gain that affected her self image, and the emotional challenges of post trauma.

Wrestling With Faith

Did these struggles affect her faith?

Rachel pauses before answering.

“It is important to me not to weaken anyone’s faith,” she says thoughtfully. “I want to add goodness to the world.”

Still, she admits that she struggled.

“Yes, there was anger. I asked Hashem why this happened to me. Why is my life different from others?”

Even today there are moments when the difficulties seem to overshadow the good.

“And then I have to work to find the good again,” she says.

Every evening Rachel performs a small exercise.

“I look for three good things I did that day, five things I am grateful for, and three good qualities about my husband. It helps shift my focus from the pain to the blessings.”

Choosing Life

Six months after the accident Rachel reached a milestone that might seem small to others.

For the first time since the injury, she managed to empty the dishwasher by herself.

That moment symbolized something deeper.

It meant she was ready to return to dating and begin building the future she had dreamed of.

One of her friends suggested a match.

“When I asked why she thought we were compatible,” Rachel laughs, “she said there was only one reason. We are both Yemenite.”

Rachel hesitated but agreed to meet him.

Two months later they were engaged.

A Marriage Built on Strength

Rachel and Yehonatan became engaged on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, nine months after the accident.

“In our engagement announcement we wrote, ‘Let the year end with its curses, and let the year begin with its blessings,’” she says.

After completing the year of mourning for her mother, they stood under the chuppah.

Yehonatan also carries his own painful story.

Two years earlier he served as a commander in the Givati Brigade. During a routine operation in the village of Hawara, two terrorists attacked his unit with knives.

During the confrontation Yehonatan was struck by friendly fire, yet continued fighting and helped eliminate one of the attackers.

Shrapnel remains in his knee to this day, along with the emotional scars of the experience.

Rachel on her wedding day (Photo: “Efi the Photographer”)

Strengthening One Another

Both Rachel and Yehonatan live with physical pain and post trauma.

Does that affect their marriage?

“We both bring difficult things into the relationship,” Rachel says. “But Yehonatan gives me tremendous support and strength.”

She describes him as a joyful person who constantly lifts her spirits.

“Both of us understand what it means to keep choosing life despite the pain.”

Singing Her Story

Music has always been part of Rachel’s life.

“We are a singing family,” she says. “There was always a guitar in our house. On Friday nights we sang zemirot together in different harmonies.”

At age twelve she wrote her first song after her family was expelled from their home in Gush Katif.

Later she studied professionally at the religious music school Mizmor.

Today Rachel performs for women, sharing songs that tell the story of her life and the lessons she has learned along the way.

Rachel performing (Photo: Maya Tayeb)

A Mission Through Music

Rachel admits that performing on stage did not come naturally.

“I never dreamed of standing in front of an audience,” she says.

Over time, however, she discovered that singing gave her energy.

“When I see how music touches women’s hearts, it gives me strength.”

Her songs often deal with pain, faith, and growth.

But Rachel also carries another dream.

“I want to return to the Rachel who existed before the accident,” she says.

Her original goal when she began studying music was simple.

“To make the light of Torah accessible to everyone.”

She believes many people live according to Torah values without even realizing it.

“I want to show how Torah simply adds goodness to our lives.”

Rachel performing (Photo: Tzufiya Kafach)

Focusing on the Good

Recently Rachel succeeded in writing a new song after a long period of creative silence.

The song reflects the renewal she hopes to bring to the stage.

At the end of our conversation, she shares the most important lesson she has learned from her journey.

“It may sound simple,” she says, smiling.
“But it is truly worth it to focus on the good.”