מאגר סיפורי מורשת

favorite things to do were to read books, write, to ride her bicycle on the summer times and to take care of babies. My grandmother's favorite subject in school was English. In her school, that was not religious, there was not a special uniform but girls wore skirts. You couldn’t wear sport shoes, just loafers, a type of a shoe. My grandmother loved school and never got in trouble.

Grandma Ellen has one brother, Robert, a mother Julia z"l and a father Sami z"l. On vacations, holidays and weekends, the family went to their summer house, that was in a forest. There was a lake there and she would pick flowers, blueberries and strawberries. My grandma loved to read, play ball, jump rope, hopscotch and babysit in her spare time. Her best friend was Regina. My grandmother met Regina in Junior high. They liked ice skating, going to museums, hiking and walking together.

Grandma Ellen was not always religious, but her grandparents were and every Shabbat her grandfather would take her to shul, and he would talk to her in Yiddish, which was her first language too.

My Grandmas Work

Grandma Ellen’s job was teaching. She taught elementary school, kindergarden, first and second grade for almost 10 years. Everything was special in school for Grandma Ellen but the most special for her was that the school worked on a program to get children to read more books. They made a movie about that program, and my grandma was in the film. She explained about how the program works. It was a great experience for my grandma.

Grandma Ellen’s Decision to Make Aliya

After two summer vacations in Israel, Grandma Ellen and Grandpa had to make a big decision. Should they make Aliya or stay in California? Grandpa Richard would have to stay in America and continue working there, while Grandma Ellen would have to take care of the children ages four to ten on her own in a new country. They would need to find an apartment and school for the children.

Years before, Grandma Ellen’s mother Julia was a secretary in a school in New York. She had a friend who was a religious Jew. Her name was Bella and she was divorced. A Rabbi in Jerusalem wanted to marry her, and she had to make a decision, too. Should she leave her home and start a new life in Israel? Granny Julia encouraged her to go, and in the end Bella went to Israel and got married with the Rabbi.

Just as Grandma Ellen was trying to make her decision, she met Bella in Jerusalem. When Grandma Ellen was about to leave back to California at the end of her vacation, Bella came to say goodbye. They went together to the Kotel and Bella told Grandma Ellen that there was someone special sitting at the side. It was Avital Sheransky, before her husband Natan was released from Russia. Grandma Ellen expected to see a sad, melancholy woman with tears in her eyes. Instead, Avital was glowing with beauty and happiness. Grandma Ellen was surprised and inspired by her. She gave her the courage to make Aliya. Bella and Avital did not know how important this was to Grandma Ellen.

Years later Avital Sheransky and Grandma Ellen were together in a big important meeting. They could not talk, so Grandma Ellen told her she would write to her, and she told her this story.