_144 6ti

iew ,artglw Bureau Helps Locate Soviet Relatives

tl

By MIRIAM WEINER

stayed awake. She sat in the bed
and thought about her promise.
She remembered all the times she
had gotten angry too fast. She
remembered all the times she
yelled with no good reason. Again,
she promised with all her heart to
make this year a new beginning.
Gluckle jumped up on the bed and
the two of them fell asleep.
It was Yom Kippur morning.
Father came in to wake Elana. She
wanted to sleep for five more
minutes. He said, "There just isn't
time." He pulled the blankets off
the bed. Elana wanted to yell, but
she remembered her promise and
stopped.
She put on her good dress
and went downstairs. She took a
plastic cup from the top of the sink
and filled it with orange juice.
Michael came in and said, "You're
not supposed to eat or drink —
stupid." Elana had forgotten. She
started to yell at Michael and then
stopped herself. She threw the cup
into the sink. Some of the orange
juice splashed on her dress. She
walked out of the kitchen.
She met Mother in the hall.
First Mother said, "Good morning,
dear." Then she said, "There is
something on your dress; you will
have to change." Elana screamed,
"I know," and ran into her room.
At Yom Kippur services Elana
began to cry. When they read the
long list of things people do wrong
called the Al Heyt, Father noticed
the tears. Michael thought it was
funny, but Mother put her hand on
his shoulder. Father took her into
the hall. She said, "I lied to God."
Father didn't understand. She said,
"On Rosh Hashanah I promised
that I would never get angry and
yell at anyone ever again." Father
understood. He said, "No one is
perfect." Elana didn't understand.
Father said, "Real t'shuvah is
very hard. Everyone misses the
mark; that is why we have Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur every
year. These holidays help us to
direct our hearts and try our best."
Elana just said, "Real t'shuvah is
very hard." Together, they went
back into the services. Elana
whispered, "Mother, I'm sorry I
yelled." Then she said in her
heart, "Today, I am again going to
make a new beginning — again."

Reprinted with permission from
Building Jewish Life, Tora Aura
Productions.

Not long ago, the Jewish
Agency in Jerusalem had to provide
a bigger mailbox for one of its
departments — the Search Bureau
for Missing Relatives. The incoming
mail from the Soviet Union was
over-flowing with inquiries from
Russian Jews wanting to find
relatives in Israel.
The Search Bureau is run by
Batya Untershatz who immigrated
from her home in Vilna in 1971. One
year later, she went to work for the
Search Bureau and today processes
approximately 600 mail inquiries
monthly along with another 200
telephone/walk-in inquiries.
According to Batya, these figures
represent a 400 percent increase
from 1989, dur primarily to
immigration from the Soviet Union.
The Search Bureau mailbox
brings letters from virtually all over
the world. A typical day in Batya's
office ... a letter from Michael A.,
now living in Lynn, Mass., who
sends in a completed search form
to locate the descendants of his
cousins, Yaakov and Rachel Cohen
who came to Palestine from the
Ukraine in the 1920s. Batya starts
her search through the 300 "Yaakov
Cohens" listed in Israel. First, she
narrows down the list to those who
were of Russian origin and then
further eliminates others by
immigration date. The next "cut" is
by birth date. All that remains are
ten very old men.
Batya explains the system of
identification numbers which are
assigned sequentially to family
members thus enabling her to
locate "Rachel" by identification
number with the correct "Yaakov
Cohen" family.
Next, Batya identifies two
daughters of Rachel and Yaakov,
both of whom were deceased.
However, she is able to trace their
descendants and puts them in touch
with a very happy Michael in Lynn,
Mass.
The Search Bureau was
founded to assist in re-establishing
contact between Jewish survivors in
Europe and their relatives in
Palestine and in overseas countries.
Batya is virtually a one-woman
office and what she accomplishes is
remarkable.
Though she has seen the fruits
of her labors many times, Batya
continues to share in the excitement
and tears of reunions between
family members and friends.
Those who seek her services

include emigres from the Soviet
Union looking for family members
and their descendants who left
Russia in the early 1900s,
genealogists, Holocaust survivors
looking for family members, and
anyone who wonders if a branch of
his or her family could have gone to
Israel and to this day, remains
unknown to them.
Keeping in mind that computers
were not around in the late 1940s to
record the names of survivors, it is
easy to understand why it was
virtually impossible to consult the
various lists of compiled names.
Many survivors eventually made
their way to Palestine. Through the
Search Bureau, it is possible to
locate those who did, if they are still
living.
The Search Bureau has records
on file from 1948 to 1984 which
include the name and address of
every living Israeli citizen as well as
those who have died within the past

five years. Records after 1984 are
protected by confidentially laws.
Recent name changes can be
found, too.
Batya also consults another set
of records consisting of search
requests received in her office. The
file card includes the name and
address of the person initiating the
request and in some cases, his or
her place of birth and parents'
names.
Further records available
include a register of new immigrants
compiled by the Jewish Agency's
Department of Immigration
beginning in 1919; published
survivor lists, landsmanshaftn
records, telephone books, and
records maintained by the burial
societies, some dating back to 1839.
A search request can be done
by mail. For information, contact
The Jewish Agency, Search Bureau
for Missing Relatives, P.O.B. 92,
Jerusalem 91920 Israel.

Puzzle Answers

NATHAN ANO ALISON GOT INTO

A BIG FIGHT JUST BEFORE

ROSH HASHANAH. HELP NATHAN

FIND HIS WAY THROUGH THE

MAZE OF JEWISH STARS SO THA

HE CAN SAY HE IS SORRY TO

ALISON.

Star+

PUZZLE BY

JUDY SILBERG LOEBL

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

L-7