Hava Nedaber Ivrit:A Family Reunion In Israel
Each month in this space,
L'Chayim will present a Hebrew
lesson entitled, "Hava Nedaber
Ivrit!" (Let's Speak Hebrew), whose
aim is to encourage further study of
Hebrew. The lesson will include a
brief story utilizing the Hebrew
words to be studied, a vocabulary
list with English translations and a
family activitiy which involves using
the new words. The lessons will be
prepared by Nira Lev, associate
professor of Hebrew language and
literature at the Midrasha College of
Jewish Studies. Mrs. Lev also
teaches Hebrew language and
literature at the Community Jewish
High School at the United Hebrew
Schools.
Following is this month's
lesson:
"Mishpacha Gdolah" was
always my chalom when I was
•
growing up in Israel. Our
mishpacha was very small because
most of my krovim, my mother's
horim, achim and achayot, and
most of my father's krovim were
killed in Europe in the Shoah. As a
yalda ktana I always thought:
"Yesh lee mazal to have my saba
and savta (on my father's side) and
my beloved doda Rachel (on my
mother's side)." Doda Rachel, my
mother's young achot followed my
mother to Eretz Yisrael as a
chalutza and she and her family
were our closest mishpacha.
On the chagim, when all
mishpachot gather to celebrate the
chag together, I always felt the
tza'ar and the ke'ev of not having
harbe krovim. I often thought of all
the dodim, dodot, and b'ney
dodim that I could have had.
While emee knew ma kara to
her whole mishpacha, there was
some "mystery" that baffled both
avi and savi. Saba used to tell us
about his ach and achot who left
home in Russia with the matara
and tikvah of reaching either Eretz
Yisrael or the "Goldene Medinah.'
The whereabouts of these ach and
achot were never known. My saba
never found out what happened to
them lamrot all his ma'amatzim
and this became a frequent noseh
in our seechot at home.
Several years after Milchemet
Ha-aatzmaut, avi, who was an
engineer and a katzin in Tzahal,
was sent to Artzot Ha-brit to further
his studies. He lived in New York
and used to read the eton
b'Yiddish. He was especially
interested in the mador la'chaepus
krovim where people placed
moda'ot looking for krovim who
disappeared during the milchama.
Avi, the born optimist decided to
place a moda'ah looking for his long
lost dod and doda. He was told that
there is no tikva to find them but
after placing the moda'ah he waited
kol yom for a phone call bringing
him the b'sorah that one of his
krovim was found.
The long awaited b'sorah did
not come until he had already been
back ba'bait, in Israel. Our simcha
and hitragshoot cannot be
described. We learned that our
krovim did not read the eton
b'Yiddish and they heard about the
moda'ah from one of our uncle's
patients.
We found a mishpacha gdolah
living in New Jersey, and an intense
hitkatvoot followed. I was delighted
to use my newly acquired skills in
the English language and a real
chaveroot grew out of the
michtavim. Our krovim became
interested in Yisrael and came on a
bikkur for my son's brit.
Years later, when we came to
Artzot Habrit, they welcomed us like
horim chavim and so they have
treated us ever since. Being away
from our mishpacha krova in
Yisrael, they have been our
-
mishpacha. When they all came to
our son's Bar Mitzva, together with
kol ha-mishpacha from Yisrael, this
was the most exciting, beautiful
eechud mishapachot We have ever achot
attended.
Meelon (dictionary)
mishpacha
family
gdolah
big
chalom
dream
krovim
relatives
horim
parents
achim
brothers
achayot
sisters
Shoah
holocaust
yalda
girl
ktana
little
Yesh lee mazal .1 am lucky (I have
luck)
saba
grandfather
mavta
grandmother
doda
aunt
chalutza
pioneer
chagim
holidays
chag
holiday
tza'ar
sorrow
ke'ev
pain
harbe
many
dodim
uncles
dodot
aunts
b'ney dodim
cousins
emes
my mother
ma kara
what happened
avi
my father
savi
my grandfather
ach
brother
sister
matara
aim, goal, objective
tikva
hope
The "Goldene Medinah"The Golden
Land (The U.S.A. in Yiddish)
lamrot
inspite of
ma'amatzim
efforts
noseh
subject
seechot
conversations
,Milchemet Ha' atzmaut ..The War of
Independence
katzim officer
Tzahal ....The Israel Defense Army
Artzot Ha'brit
the U.S.A.
eton
newspaper
b'Yiddish
Mador
column in a newspaper
cheepus krovim . looking for relatives
mador le'cheepus krovim .. a column
in the paper where people look
for lost relatives. (especially after
the Second World War)
Moda'ot
ads
moda'ah
an ad
kol yom
every day
b'sorah
good news
simcha
joy
hitragshoot
excitement
hitkatvoot
correspondence
michtavim
letters
bikkur
visit
horim chavim
loving parents
eechood mishpachot family reunion
Desta's Journey
Directions: Follow the aleph-bet, all the way through tet, to help Desta, of Ethiopia, join her family in
Israel. Move one space up, down, right, left, or diagonally for each letter until you get Desta through the
maze. Warning: There may be a few detours along the way.
ANSWER ON
PAGE L-8
innommilpyrigguolinnin3runniutiudibii
Desta is a fictional character. Her story can be found in the novel The Return, by Sonia Levitin. This book and others on
the plight of Ethiopian Jews can be found at your
local library or bookstore.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
L-3