Ellen Rudolph and her husband, Steve Lewis, were still trying to repair their Pacific Palisades home and rebuild their lives after last year’s fires when, two months later, the devastating news came. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy didn’t work, she said, and doctor appointments, therapy and insurance issues took precedence over home repairs. “It went so fast, we didn’t have time to pull our act together.”AdvertisementBy January, Rudolph said, she’d received an insurance check and saved some money for repairs at her home. Not knowing what else to do, she texted her friend, Cantor Chayim Frenkel from her synagogue, Kehillat Israel, in Pacific Palisades. Frenkel had been an old friend, introduced her to her husband in 1999 and officiated over their wedding in 2012.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 17, 2026 15:25 UTC