By: Tzirel Rosenblatt

The sudden loss of 13-year-old Rachel Aliza Nisanov has plunged an entire Queens community into mourning. Known for her quiet generosity, deep empathy, and radiant presence, Rachel’s life was cut short during what was meant to be a celebratory family vacation in South Florida.

As The NY Daily News reported on Sunday, Rachel was killed on Tuesday in a jet ski accident on Fort Lauderdale’s Intracoastal Waterway. She had been riding as a passenger on a watercraft piloted by her 16-year-old sister Aviva when the jet ski vaulted over the wake of another vessel and slammed into a dock. Her father, Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, who was nearby on another watercraft, leapt into the water and pulled his daughter from the waves, suffering scratches on his arms in the attempt. “I prayed to make sure that she’ll survive like her sister,” he told The Daily News, his voice heavy with grief.

Rachel was pronounced dead shortly after. Aviva, who was initially hospitalized in critical condition, has since regained consciousness and is slowly improving. Yet the family remains haunted by the tragic events of that morning. “The first thing [Aviva] did whenever she woke up, she asked, ‘Where’s Rachelli? Where’s Rachelli?’” recalled Rachel’s 17-year-old brother, Gedalya, in remarks reported by The NY Daily News.

In the quiet of their Kew Gardens Hills home, Rabbi Nisanov spoke with stoic dignity about the daughter he described as “an influencer, without social media or the internet.”

“She was a very special soul and she was somebody who cared about others. She was always making sure that her wishes meant nothing compared to others,” he told The NY Daily News.

Rachel, the youngest of eight children, set an example for her siblings in ways that belied her age. A sign that hung in her room read: “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” To her father, the message encapsulated how Rachel lived each moment fully and without hesitation. “She didn’t think about tomorrow. She always lived in the moment,” he reflected.

Rachel’s brothers recalled countless small gestures that revealed her boundless compassion. At her funeral in Jerusalem on Thursday, her older brother Nissan, 28, broke down as he remembered a childhood memory during the holiday of Sukkot.

“It was freezing cold,” he recounted, describing a night when he was asleep in the family’s sukkah. “I remember she went up and down the stairs with blankets. ‘It’s cold. Lay down for five minutes, I’ll come back in five minutes if it’s still cold for you. I want to see. Let me know, I’ll bring you a sweater.’ This was my Rachelli. This was our Rachelli. Always the extra effort, the extra care.”

Through tears, Nissan told mourners, “What I remember was that feeling that she gave me, that feeling that there’s somebody that actually loves me, she actually cares. She put in the extra effort to be able to give to me. That was who she was to everybody.”

Another brother, Gedalya, remembered his confusion when Rachel cried after receiving news of her acceptance into the “high school of her dreams.” “One of her friends didn’t get accepted,” he explained. “She already got in. Be happy. But no, she felt her friend’s pain.”

“She was so perfect. She was a beautiful girl in and out,” he said, his voice breaking, as reported by The NY Daily News.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told local media that Rachel was riding as a passenger on the jet ski Aviva was piloting when it hit the dock after attempting to navigate a wake. Witnesses described the crash as sudden and violent. Rabbi Nisanov, on another jet ski nearby, immediately rushed to their aid, sustaining injuries while pulling his daughters from the water.

Rachel was pronounced dead at the scene. Aviva was rushed to a local hospital, where she initially remained in critical condition. Her father later told The NY Daily News that she is now awake and “doing better,” though still struggling with immense emotional and physical pain. “She feels very bad. She apologized because of what happened. She remembers. I’m happy that she lived the day. [It’s] very traumatic [for her],” he said.

Rachel’s funeral in Jerusalem was attended by hundreds, including members of the Bukharian Jewish community of Queens, where the Nisanov family is deeply respected. As The NY Daily News report noted, Rachel’s parents had surprised her with the Florida vacation as a gift for completing eighth grade at Bnos Malka Academy, an all-girls yeshiva in Forest Hills where she had spent her schooling years.

“She was an example for all of us, never asking, always being satisfied,” Rabbi Nisanov said. He described her as a child who embodied selflessness, someone who instinctively put others’ needs above her own.

Community leaders spoke of the loss not only as a tragedy for the Nisanov family but as a devastating blow to the entire Queens Jewish community, where Rachel was known as a bright, kind-hearted presence.

Among the personal items the family shared with The NY Daily News was a handwritten packing list Rachel had prepared before the family’s trip to Florida. Meticulously checked off were items such as “jewelry,” “headphones,” “Gap sweater,” and “notebook/pen!” But it was what she wrote at the bottom that revealed her inner world.

“God, everything is gonna be ok right?” she scrawled, before adding her own answer: “I think so.” She signed it with her name.

Her father reflected on the words, interpreting them as a window into Rachel’s faith and trust. “When you believe you don’t have questions. And when you don’t believe you don’t have answers,” he said. “We are on a mission here in this world… Nobody chooses to go. When you realize that you have no questions for God.”

In the wake of the tragedy, an online fundraiser was launched to assist the Nisanov family with funeral and medical expenses. As of Saturday morning, more than $103,000 had been raised, according to The NY Daily News.

Messages of support have poured in from across the globe, with members of the Bukharian Jewish diaspora and beyond expressing solidarity with the grieving family. Friends described Rachel as “a bright light,” someone whose smile and kindness left an impression on everyone she encountered.

Back at the family’s home in Queens, Rachel’s siblings sat in quiet mourning, recalling her kindness through stories both grand and small. Her father, despite his grief, tried to frame her passing in terms of faith and acceptance. “We are on a mission here in this world,” he said, repeating words he had told mourners in Jerusalem. “Nobody chooses to go. When you realize that you have no questions for God.”

For those who knew Rachel, the loss feels almost incomprehensible. At just 13 years old, she had already distinguished herself as someone who instinctively prioritized others, who gave of herself in ways most adults struggle to emulate.

“She didn’t think about tomorrow. She always lived in the moment,” her father told The NY Daily News. “She was very special.”

The story of Rachel Aliza Nisanov is one of a vibrant young girl who, though her life was brief, left an indelible mark on her family, friends, and community. Her empathy, her small acts of love, and her ability to feel others’ pain as though it were her own have become the qualities most remembered.

As her family struggles with grief, they take comfort in the example she set — living each day with meaning, compassion, and faith. “Don’t count the days, make the days count,” read the sign in her room. In her 13 short years, Rachel did precisely that.

Her passing is a devastating reminder of the fragility of life, but also of the profound impact one person, even a child, can have on the world around them.