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Volume 14 Number 2 September 2005
My cousin Bea Melnick is the one who says that growing old is not for sissies. Well, the first half of this year has been filled with various struggles to deal with health problems, fortunately none that were terribly serious. My wife Carol has regained the substance of her mobility, after her ankle surgery of last November. I got an earache at the end of July, and even though the infection was knocked out in hours, I am only now getting rid of the lingering stuffiness on the right side of my head....
I am pleased to report that the translation of the Szczebrzeszyn Memorial Book was completed in the early spring. Our expectations for support were realized, and we were able to run off 200 books, of which 52 have been lodged with various libraries and archives in the English-speaking world. I continue to get encouragement from librarians, in particular, who note the value of an English text, which the average reader-researcher finds accessible, as distinct from the original Yiddish, which is often beyond the reach of such interested people....
Once again, let me urge all of you to WRITE. The substance of this Newsletter totally depends on what YOU TELL ME, since I am not in the business of making up stories. Also please make sure you distribute the URL for this website to those members of our extended clan that you think I may not have reached directly. The nice thing about e-mail, is that it only takes a simple click. It also relieves me of having to maintain a comprehensive distribution list, which is a daunting maintenance task.
Once again, we see the ebb and flow of life in our ranks. Let us continue to count our blessings. We want to extend our best wishes to all who receive this message for a Happy & Healthy New Year 5766, in which we pray for significant progress towards the elusive peace that all people of good will yearn for.
Family Births
! cIy kzn
Our seventh grandchild, and fifth grandson, Gabriel Jared, was born in San Mateo California, youngest brother to Zachary (The Muffin) and Jordan (The Hoga) Berger.
This recent picture of him is indicative of the fact that he
appears to be thriving.....
*
We received the "wonderful
news," from grandparents Allan & Gloria
Cantor, that Devora Esther Cantor
was born to Rabbi David and Christine
on August 29th, 2005, weighing 7 lbs, 20” in length, a sister
to Yoash, Avniel
and Shoshana. Grandpa Art &
Donna (Nini) Barnson were in
Mazel Tov to
All!
In Memoriam
Ruth B. Roth, the Secretary-Treasurer of The Zelva Benevolent Association reports the passing of Sam Sherinsky, the President, early in the year. Sherinsky, a resident of Brooklyn, NY, had served in this capacity for many years.
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We are saddened to report the passing of Manya Kaganovich Ritz on the morning of February 16, 2005 at the age of 99. Pre-deceased by her husband, Eliezer (Lou) (Futritzky) Ritz, and her daughter Maxima Neutra, she is survived by her son, Odded Ritz, his wife, Jocheved, son-in-law, Eli-Emil Neutra, her grandchildren, Ronen, Osnat, Ilanit, Ayelet, Ronit, Uri and their families, and eleven great-grandchildren. Odded has expressed the fact that all of the family was comforted not only by her longevity, but by the fact that her mind remained sharp and clear to the end.
Here is an early picture of
Lou & Manya Ritz, taken in
1940:
Below, is a contemporary picture, taken in her last days, showing Manya with Odded, and little Maya Benvenisti, her great-grandaughter.
*
We are also saddened to report the passing of Abe Friedman (born Wilenczyk, in Dereczin), father of Michael Friedman, in Florida, on March 20, 2005. In his late nineties, his son Michael said of him, that "Those who did know him knew of his remarkable concern and care for the entire family. He was a truly extraordinary man."
We extend the sincerest condolences of our entire family of readers to those who have been bereaved.
News from All Over
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We are pleased to report that Carol Berger is recuperating well from her ankle surgery. Late in May, she acquired a new Honda Odyssey Minivan (suitably named 'Homer' by daughter Sharon Javer), and equipped with hand controls, she is merrily resuming her plunder of the area retail establishments, making her own personal contribution to the GNP.... After considering a number of positions, Dr. Daniel Berger joined a practice in Newton, NJ in mid-January of this year. Shortly thereafter, he moved his family to nearby Hamburg, NJ (giving some credence to the hackneyed joke that all of us Bergers live with, i.e. that you are a 'Hamburger'....), where he is less than an hour away from us.....This past August, he received some national recognition for his modified technique in performing a cesarean section. Below is the picture that appeared in the local press, which covered the citation he received in Dr. Bruce Flamm's column "Clinical Pearls" in the national medical newspaper "OB.Gyn News."
With the completion of the Szczebrzeszyn Memorial Book, I immediately turned to my next target of opportunity: the translation of the Cieszanow Yizkor Book. This is the ancestral home of my father-in-law, in the southeast corner of Poland. I hope to have this book ready for publication in late 2006.... As previously reported, wedding bells did ring on July 23, 2005 for Melissa Jackelow and Kyle Clendennen. Melissa is the daughter of Eddie & Gloria Jackelow of East Meadow, NY......... We report on Mildred "Sandy" Freeman's relocation from 'around the corner' in Mahwah, NJ to Maryland.... |
Late in August, our dear aunt, Harriet Freed underwent surgery for a hip
replacement. Despite a rocky recovery, necessitating some corrective
additional surgery, she now appears to be solidly on the road to recovery.
She is getting around using her walker, and has been relieved of the pain
that drove her to the operation in the first place....While not the
desired circumstances, her medical treatment brought her sons, Jonathan and Benjamin back home, and afforded us an
opportunity to spend some time with them...We were also delighted to offer
special birthday greetings to uncle Joshua
Freed, who reached his fourscore milestone on September 22.
We wish him many, many happy and healthy returns....
In this vein, we wish to extend our
heartiest best wishes to Beatrice
Melnick, who reaches the milestone of her 85th birthday
this week. Again, we wish her many, many happy and healthy
returns....
Back in April, we were
delighted to hear from Charles
Kasen, who resides in Plymouth, MN, outside the twin cities
area. Charlie writes: "I'm
semi-retired, and my middle daughter runs my business. I have 3 daughters
Alissa, Haley and Danielle. Alissa has two children: Zachary, 12, named for my brother
Zach and Zoey 2 named for my brother Marty. My Haley has three boys: Joshua Henry,10, named for my father,
Brandon Alexander, named for a
dear friend, and Dylan Andrew,
named for my fathers sister Ruth. We all
live within a mile of each other. Both my girls with children are
without there mates. My Danielle
is divorced we are all very close we see each other just about daily, and
my Haley and I work together when
I work. I have a winter home in Plantation, Florida where we spend Jan.
and Feb... and I go myself several times a year... The Almighty has
blessed me with a great family and I enjoy my time. I have several
hobbies: I collect classic cars, motorcycles and boxing memorabilia. I go
to most of the classic car auctions and stay in contact with all of my
high school buddies. I hope I didn't bore you with my update Take care and
send my love to all of my Freidin
family. Youngest daughter Rachel Berger is returning home after a two-year stint in Long Island working for a mortgage warehousing company. Despite a successful engagement, she prefers to find analogous outlets for her skills in the Bergen County area, where she will be closer to her family. She takes up residence in the premises recently vacated by her older brother, as our home continues to be the staging point for adult children jockeying to better situate themselves.... In addition to reporting the birth of a new granddaughter, Allan & Gloria Cantor advise their relocation to a bungalow condominium in the suburbs of Winnipeg. Instead of downsizing, they will be upsizing, so family and friends can easily be accommodated.... Early in September, Jack attended a luncheon in New York City with a group of his High School classmates, some of which who had not seen each other in nearly fifty years. A good time was had by all...
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Diversions
Along with my older sons, middle daughter and one daughter-in-law, I enjoy fishing as a sport. Of late, the New Jersey waters have proven to be problematic, as excessive fishing (especially commercial) threatens ongoing depletion of stocks. As an example, some twenty years ago, it was possible for the sport fisherman to "keep" a fluke that was as little as 12" long. Today, that limit is at 16.5", which is indicative of the problems associated with conserving the species. The same appears to be true of the Atlantic Bluefish, thought to be one of the finest fighting fish to be caught, though opinion remains sharply divided over how good it is to eat....
For the past two years, my son, David, was persuaded too make a summer trip back east with his family, rather than have his creaky old parents go out to California. Part of the incentive was to "go for blues" with his older brother Daniel and the Old Man. This turned out to be such an abysmal disappointment (i.e. no fish), that he went back to California, and sulked for the entire past year....
Finally, not being able to bear it any longer, he, along with a friend, went off to San Diego, boarded a charter boat, and went tuna fishing off the coast of Baja California. This picture attests to the vindication achieved.
It is reported that the yellowtail tuna made a very good meal, once they were properly filleted, and cooked.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
When I first began to work on the Yizkor Books from the environs of Southeast Poland, where my paternal roots are, my father's cousin, David Carver, introduced me to an interesting young non-Jewish Pole, named Tomasz Panczyk. It happens that 'Tomek' (his nickname) was born in Szczebrzeszyn, the birthplace of my father. Tomek has dedicated a good part of his energies to attempt conserving the history of the Jewish presence in his birthplace. He operates the website, http://www.geocities.com/shebreshin which supports this initiative.
When I committed to translate the Szczebrzeszyn Memorial Book, Tomek was very enthusiastic. A couple of months after the completion of this work, he was nominated to participate in the Polish-Jewish Exchange Program sponsored by the American Jewish Committee. As part of the orientation into this program, he traveled to New York City, where on September 14, 2005 he attended an AJC reception in honor of Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski, who was in town for the U.N. Summit Meeting.
President Kwasniewski is an interesting man. When the truth of the massacre of the Jews at Jedwabne broke on the awareness of the world, he saw fit to lead a delegation to that site, and formally offer the apology of the Polish people for the atrocity committed by native Poles -- not Nazi Germans --of burning the Jews of Jedwabne, alive in their synagogue, in 1942. While the past cannot be undone, such an act of contrition by the head of a state is noteworthy. Because of this, I dedicated a copy of the Zamosc Memorial Book in his honor. That copy lies in the Vatican Library in Rome.
Tomek knew of this, and in discussing his potential encounter with the Polish President, we decided to offer him a personal copy of the Szczebrzeszyn Memorial Book, with a personalized bookplate of his own. Tomek rendered the bookplate in Polish, and it is reproduced below:
Tomek told me that he did get to present the book, although he is uncertain as to what President Kwasniewski will do with it.
Perhaps that will make for another story..............
! Un,j,u Uc,FT vcIy vbak
u"xaT'v
A Happy & Healthy New Year !
5766
The
Freidins of Zelva
Family NewsletterEditor-Publisher................................................. Jack S. Berger Webmacherkeh.................................................... Sharon Javer Web Host Emeritus.............................................. Randi Ostro Publisher Emeritus..........................................Samuel K. Rubin
The Family Newsletter of the Freidins of Zelva is published periodically to foster communications between the descendants of TANHUM YITZHAK FREIDIN ritual slaughterer of the town of Zelva in the Grodno Province of Belarus. For further information, the Editor-Publisher may be reached as follows:
Jack S. Berger
12 Janice Court
Mahwah, NJ 07430-1515 USA
Telephone: 201-529-3391E-mail: mailto:%20JSBerger@Sigmaxi.org
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