Freidin Family Newsletter

Despite having skipped a winter edition in Jan/Feb 2003, we haven't forgotten about publishing this Newsletter. Apart from the fact that it was a very busy time of the year, war clouds were hovering over the world, and the time didn't seem terribly opportune to put out an edition about family news. Not that the world has become any more settled, but even within the turbulence of the times, we seem to have arrived at a volatile sort of normalcy that makes resumption of this endeavor timely.

Two years have passed since the terrible tragedy of September 11, 2001, and even with the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein removed from Iraq, neither the Middle East, nor the world at large seem to be materially calmer or more settled. As we approach the Jewish New Year, our prayers will continue to be for the elusive peace that we all yearn for...

We actually passed an interesting technological milestone last year, with the September 2002 edition: I declined to publish the Newsletter in hard copy. While some people may not have gotten that edition, it appears that the audience didn't miss the paper, and we have thereby made a contribution to forest conservation!

So, we have entered a new era, where now the Newsletter will continue to appear, but only in its electronic form. There is a tremendous benefit to this: as the editor, I no longer need to feel restricted by the limitations of four sides of paper, or the concerns surrounding the use of images. Accordingly, our Newsletter can be more comprehensive, and include much more detail than has been the case in the past. Those who do not use computers will not be slighted. I am assuming that they can ask their near ones, who have a PC, to print them off a copy that they can read at their convenience. I am equally spared the burden of trying to be rigorously 'global' in my e-mail distribution. Thanks to Randi Ostro, all of you can distribute the URL for our website to those I don't normally reach, and that gives those people instant access.

There is a year's worth of news to catch up on, so I hope you will enjoy what you find within.

Shelby Dawn, born to Rod & Corey Cherkas in November, 2002. Little sister to Zachary Aaron Cherkas, and granddaughter of Philip & Elaine Shapiro. Shelby got her Hebrew name at the Shapiro Family Reunion (see below, for more details about the reunion) that took place in King of Prussia, PA over the July 4th weekend in 2003. She was named Tova bat Reuven V'Kineret. Here is a memento from that occasion:

Levi Yitzhak Goldsmith, born Thursday, Jan 9, 2003, to Joanna & Farrell Goldsmith, grandson of Fran & Allan Rosenblatt, great-grandson to Sylvia Krugman.

Shmuel Sabarov passed away on November 6, 2002 in Israel. Husband of the late Miriam ("Michleh") Freidin Sabarov, and beloved father and grandfather.

Harry Jablon, in London, passed away late Fall of 2002. Born Hirsz Jablonowski in Zelva, he escaped the Holocaust to serve with the Free Polish Army, and eventually settled in London, England. He was the author of a memoir about his life experiences, in which he takes pride in his Zelva roots. In the summer of 2001, Harry and his wife Valerie made a trip to the USA, where the met with an array of cousins. He is also related to the family of Faygel Garber York. At the time of his visit, we took a picture together that was published in this Newsletter last year (see the archive on this website).

Jack Fried passed away on April 2003 at the age of 92. A lifelong bachelor, he was the brother of the late Ben Fried, and of Sarah Kasen. Jack is remembered for his good humor, and optimistic spirit. Even towards the end, when I would see him, he would smile broadly, point to his head and say, "I've still got it up here!" He will be missed.

Seymour Lubetzky, a former Library of Congress employee, and the best-known cataloging theorist of the twentieth century, died in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 5, 2003 at the age of 105. Born Shmaryahu Lubetzky in Zelva, near Minsk in what is now Belarus, in 1898 or earlier, Lubetzky came to the United States in 1925. He earned master's degrees in German and in library science from the University of California, Berkeley. His first professional library job, in the depths of the Great Depression, was at Sequoia National Park. From 1936 to 1942 he was a cataloger at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he began publishing professional articles that questioned the value of then-current cataloging practice. The Library of Congress hired him in 1942 on a six-month consultant contract to look into LC's practices in bibliographic description. On the last day of his contract, he was rehired on a permanent basis as chief of the former Catalog Maintenance Division.

In 1960 Lubetzky became a professor at the UCLA School of Library Service. He retired from UCLA in 1969 but remained active in the field of cataloging theory the rest of his life. In 1977 the American Library Association awarded him the Melvil Dewey Medal "for recent creative leadership of high order," and in 2002 it gave him an honorary membership, the highest honor ALA bestows. In 2001 a compilation of his major writings, edited by Dorothy McGarry and Elaine Svenonius, was issued by Libraries Unlimited under the title Seymour Lubetzky: Writings on the Classical Art of Cataloging.

Sharyn Rubin advises that her previous report is still current. she writes: Our children and their significant others were with us for the Thanksgiving/Hannukah festivities. Kally and Barry brought Raimy with them from New York and our daughter Ranisa and her fiance Mark Davidson have relocated to Pittsburgh... which of course is just the greatest! Kally is working at Beth Israel Hospital as she awaits acceptance to graduate school and her husband Barry is finishing up his PhD from Columbia and his Smicha from Yeshiva University where our son Raimy is a junior. Barry just began teaching at The Ramaz School in Manhattan. Ranisa is working with University of Pittsburgh medical center's program for teens at risk for depression and/or suicide. She and Mark are planning a wedding where brother-in-law Barry will officiate.

Jack [Rubin] is doing remarkably well. Although his sight is virtually gone, he gets out most days and enjoys the JCC and various lectures. He is quite the people person, so many stop and chat with him whenever they see him. Larry is working hard in the men's retail business... he is one of the last standing of privately owned businesses. I am currently the executive director of the orthodox day school in our city... and that is keeping me busy and feeling productive -- on some days!

Once again, we are happy to announce the following weddings in the family, as follows:

Judyth Ellen Berger, daughter of Jack & Carol Berger to Harry-Paul Greenbaum son of Michael & Leona Greenbaum of Great Neck, NY, on November 2, 2002 in Wyckoff, NJ. The bride is the granddaughter of Sarah Berger and Dr. Moe & Frances Kleinberg. The event, which was the first wedding held at the newly remodeled Temple Beth Rishon of Wyckoff, NJ, was attended by family from far and wide, including the bride's uncle and aunt from England, Drs. Nicholas & Jay Flemming, accompanied by their son, Peter Flemming, a cousin of the bride.

Odded Ritz's words speak for themselves:

The wedding of Aviv Bueno and our daughter Ronit Ritz took place at Aviv's parents home on June 12th, 2003. The guests were our close relatives (very few in Israel) and friends. It was a happy Greek style wedding as our new family comes from Greece. Aviv's uncle, with his band, gave us some taste of the happy Greek music, which immediately brought every one to the dancing floor.

The bride was shining and the bridegroom was very happy. The parents were in a good mood, and the grandmothers were very happy. My mother Manya was dancing a lot and gave a good show on the dancing floor. No one could realize her age (97).... She left the house as we did at 4AM the next day! Less tired than we were, amazing!!!

We note that David Frum published a book earlier this year, called 'The Right Man.' It was based on his experiences as a speechwriter in the present Bush Administration. The book was on The New York Times 'Best-Seller List' for quite a number of weeks....

During the Spring of 2003, Sharon Ann Javer starred in the lead role of a 'Jewish Interest' play, titled 'Beau Jest' at our Temple in Wyckoff, NJ. This was a first effort on the part of the congregation, where interested members have come together to form a 'Drama Circle' in the Eastern European tradition. The two performances of the play were very well received, and the Drama Circle is planning to put on Neil Simon's 'Plaza Suite' this fall....

Building on its success, two years ago in Toronto, the Shapiro Family hosted a reunion over the July 4th weekend. This time, the Pennsylvania branch of the family ran the affair, and it took place at a hotel in King of Prussia, PA. Though dominated by a U.S. contingent, many of the familiar faces from the family were there (see prior report on the Toronto reunion on this website). It was a pleasure to have Gertrude "Gutka" Boyarsky with us again, since it is her custom to summer in Monticello, NY. She was accompanied by her son, Joel and his wife Ellie. Once again, Lee Feldscher oversaw the discussion of the Shapiro Family history and genealogy, and I had an opportunity to put in a brief overview on emigration from Zelva. For me, it was especially gratifying to be able to personally meet with Mona Amilani and her daughter Donna Lee, whom I have known for well over ten years, but only by e-mail. No Shapiro Family reunion is complete without its 'signature picnic,' and this was no exception: everyone ate too much! A highlight of the event was the baby naming of Shelby Dawn Cherkas (see report above), in the presence of her entire east and west coast families...

We are pleased to report the celebration of the Bar Mitzvah of Dor Yekhiel Yitzhak Freidin, in Israel on July 27, 2003. Brother of Shiri & Shani. He is the son of Zvika & Pessia Freidin, and grandson of Moshe & Shoshana Freidin of Tel Aviv.

Dor Freidin

On July 27, Jack Berger participated in a 50th Anniversary Reunion of his elementary school graduating class. This was a very heartwarming occasion, since there were quite a number of classmates who had not seen each other since 1953. As is common in cases like this, much time was spent getting caught up, and finding out what people had done with their lives. The day was made special by a repast prepared under the direction of Carol Berger, and her good friend and confidante, Carol Mainwald. The two Carols, affectionately known as 'C&C Caterers,' have garnered an impressive reputation for doing informal cooking for personal affairs, usually Temple-related. Anyone interested in seeing pictures from this event is invited to the class website at:

http://yibrookline.org/1953.html

This short note is to let you know that my work on Pinkas Zamosc has progressed well, and is on schedule. I'm down to the last 350 pages of this 1265 page tome, and I'm hoping to have it ready for publication sometime in the first quarter of 2004. Time and space does not really permit me to extol the virtues of the way this book was compiled. It is a remarkable piece of work. In due course, I hope to communicate with you, and solicit your financial support for its publication, just as I have done with the prior books I have published.

Our most precious, and irreplaceable asset, is the memory of our seniors. All too often, we take them for granted, and only when it is too late, do we turn around and realize that we should have taken the opportunity to question them, and interact with them, so the memories that they have accumulated are not lost, but conserved for future generations.

This understanding is not won easily. Nor is it always convenient to set aside the time to do this, when we all are confronted with the day-to-day exigencies of life. Nevertheless, we do benefit from those who pay attention. Probably the best example of this is The Book of Remembrances compiled by Philip & Elaine Shapiro. This volume embodies the effort that Phil & Elaine made, to sit with, and tape the various elders of their families, many of whom have since passed on. Yet, this book will remain as a precious family resource for all time, being as vital to the great-great-grandchildren of those people as it is to their contemporary descendants.

In this spirit, I am pleased to present a letter sent to my by Israel Drory (born Zelicovich in Zelva) from Winnipeg earlier this year. While I did not prompt him to do so, he was apparently moved to try and set down his recollection of a list of people that he brings to mind from his youth. This is presented here in his own words.

I have become exceedingly lazy in regards to writing letters, and understandably, I ask your pardon. I received the Freidins of Zelva Newsletter, and I have to admit that I didnít find a single name that I recognize, and I donít know whom you are talking about. This has given me an inner impetus to recollect the names of the people who left Zelva, for other parts of the greater world, and here they are before you.

I remember: Avreml Mintz (Bialeh). He and his sister went to Moscow: land of The Garden of Eden to come. Avreml Kutcher to America. The Family of Rashi Perlmutter, four sons: Meir the youngest, was a student together with me in school, Yankel, Mottl and Abraham.

Abba Poupko: A clothing store in the ëRad Krommen.í The Kaplan Family, a clothing store, the family of Itcheh Lantzevizky, his daughter Dinaícheh was killed in New York (?) working in a pharmacy.

The two Loshovitz brothers who went to Argentina. Shakhna and Brukhka Salutsky went to Australia.

Between 1925-1925, the following went to Canada: my brother-in-law Yaakov Shapiro, Bereshkovsky, and Itzl Futritzky. I do not know if this is a brother or a cousin to Eliezer Ritz from Israel. [I believe this is Izz Ritz, brother of Eliezer (Lou) Ritz -- JSB]

When I came to Israel ñ there were 80 people from Zelva, and I have no idea how many of them still remain. Possibly Yitzhak Shalev (Shulyak) might know.

The two daughters of Mottl the Shoemaker reached America. The daughter of Yeshayahu Foderamsker (Khienka) are also in New York.

There are several second generation Zelva families in Toronto: there is not a relationship of landsleit among them ñ it would appear that they are not interested. I have received the (enclosed) address for Gloria Cantor. It is possible that (this generation) is not interested in its relationship to other members of the Zelva community.

I have been to (the Cantorís) home in Winnipeg tens of times. The mother of Sidney (Lew) was a friend of my sister Liba Shapiro.

The teacher, Shmuel Boruch Freidin, was my teacher at the "Tarbut" School, and Yossel Freidin was a"Shtepper," who prepares the shoes for shoemakers to fashion the final result. [At the Shapiro Family Reunion, Mildred Shapiro Ragosin told us that she also was a student of Shmuel Boruch Freidin -JSB]

There were a number of the Kaplans in Moscow, but I do not recall when they left Zelva.

It appears to me that you like to do translation. I would like you to translate "Ahavat Zion" by Abraham Mapu.

I do not know a single person from Volkovysk. I offer you my best wished that you succeed in publishing "Volkovysk," the way you did "Zelva."

Do you have a connection to people from Zelva, apart from your own family?

Others have already written about Jenin and Qalqilya, and I have nothing to add ñ Sharon has paid them back with what they deserve ñ but this will not bring the peace.

I finish, Jack, with wishing you good health, and that you will continue for a long time doing what you love best. It is too bad that the Raising of the Dead is also a pipe dream.

I am among the skeptics who doesn't see much value in going back to Der Alter Haym, when there is nothing much to see. Yet despite the fact that sometimes there are only bare traces of Jewish life left, many Jews find some sort of closure in visiting a place that has ancestral context to us. There is the frail hope of finding some residue of family, shreds of evidence, or fleeting memories among the very old, who still might recollect what it meant when Jews lived amongst them not so long ago, but it already seems like an eternity.........

Our family and landsleit have been no exception. In recent years, we have documented the travels of Dr. Richard Katzman, Mark Moorstein and David Siskind, all of whom visited that part of Belarus from which our ancestors came. The news they have brought back is depressingly familiar: little to no recognition of a Jewish past, coupled with a neglect, and sometimes abuse, of Jewish burial places.

To this record, we can now add the findings of Dr. Gary Rachelefsky of Los Angeles, CA, who is a scion of a Dereczin family. He returned to that shtetl during August 2003, and his report confirms what we already know. Yet, he brought back some interesting visual records of his trip that are worth sharing.

Some insight into this situation can be gleaned from the following item taken from the website: jewishwebindex.com/Belarus.htm:

Belarus Cemetery Law - a law was enacted that is applied to cemeteries of all faiths, including Jewish cemeteries. Any cemetery unused for 25 years can be reclaimed for other purposes. Owning to the murder of entire Jewish communities by Germans and their Lithuanian, Latvian and Ukrainian partners in the 1941-44 period, the bulk of Jewish cemeteries fall under this law during the yeas 1966-69.

Across the Pond in the Groves of Academe...

During the last week of August, I participated as a guest speaker at a symposium at Oxford University, titled: "Yiddish After the Holocaust." I would like to share some of my thoughts with you.

The hosting department was the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, located at Yarnton Manor, a facility that is about five miles, or so, outside of the city of Oxford itself. It is a former estate, in a lovely bucolic setting that is well suited for reflection, thought and contemplation -- far from rough and tumble of day-to-day exigencies. Details about OCHJS can be found at their website:

This symposium would not have been organized, were it not for the generally recognized fact that Yiddish, as a language, is in a serious decline that was accelerated by the calamity of the Holocaust. Indeed, of fundamental concern to those who hold Yiddish dear, is the threat that the language could disappear entirely. This concern formed the subliminal agenda of the entire conference.

While all those present were lovers of mameloshn, there were very few who considered themselves as optimists (i.e. there is a viable future for the language as we know it today). Most did not turn away from the demographic and linguistic reality, that a viable population base did not exist -- nor was it likely to be regenerated -- that would embrace Yiddish as its language of daily living and discourse.

Further, this concern would not have even existed, were it not for the fact that Yiddish experienced a literary and cultural flowering in the 150 years, starting at the dawn of the 19th century, that propelled it into the ranks of those world languages, in which mankind's most fundamental hopes and aspirations, are articulated in its highest form. Accordingly, a central issue, that ran through this symposium, was how to make the 'Yiddish Canon' (a poorly defined entity, by the way), vibrant and real for future generations.

A basic problem undermined the thrust of this gathering: this was a place where academics were meeting to exchange views that were grounded in various scholarly pursuits. The fundamental problem of trying to conserve and nurture Yiddish is a labor-intensive, long-term commitment to developing a scholastic infrastructure that runs into a considerable amount of money and human resources. While acknowledging this to be the case, this group was neither equipped to discuss this central issue, nor capable of projecting a vision of what such an undertaking might look like. Another way to look at this limitation, is that these were not 'managers.' Rather, each, in their own way, was a 'subject matter expert.' As a result, the symposium ended without an 'action plan.' However, while 'we here did not highly resolve' anything, a 'community' did come into being that, seemingly to me, didn't exist before. This may be the halting, first step to getting action-oriented.

A terrible incubus lies across the body of World Jewry, that dates back to the mid-19th century, when Yiddish and Hebrew contested for primacy as the national language of the Jewish people. That struggle, which split the Jewish community, created an implacable hostility by Zionists towards the 'language of the Diaspora.' The price for the victory of Hebrew, was to deal Yiddish a body blow that became mortal as a consequence of the Holocaust. Even now, sixty years after the Holocaust, when Hebrew is the uncontested national language of the Jewish homeland, considerations regarding Yiddish are treated by the Israeli educational and cultural establishment gingerly, and somewhat coolly. This is no small matter when it comes to marshalling and allocating resources at a global level. The challenge here is to change the point of view, so that the 'Yiddish Canon' is viewed as a national treasure -- worthy of nurturing and conservation -- rather than the legacy of two millennia of a European Diaspora experience, best forgotten.

However defined, the 'Yiddish Canon' is seen to contain 'Holocaust Literature' written in Yiddish. The 'Holocaust Memorial Books' (or Yizker Bikher, as they are known in Yiddish) are a proper subset of the 'Holocaust Literature.' My case was to argue for priority in conserving and nurturing this segment of the Canon, on the basis of the importance of their content for three reasons:

Conservation to me implies translation into English. By making a text available in English, broader access will be afforded to all posterity (Jewish and non-Jewish alike), whereas letting them sit in their original Yiddish form, consigns them to becoming esoteric reference material for a highly constricted universe of scholars.

In all, it was a very interesting experience for me personally, and I think the audience reacted favorably to what I had to say. Whether this will ultimately manifest itself in something more than what seems to be happening on the world scene in Yiddish literature, remains to be seen.