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Grace "Gittle" & Michael "Menasha"

Grandma Grace and Grandpa Michael are my mothers parents. I never had the honor of meeting my grandfather Michael, but I am proud to carry on his name. My grandparents had the foresight to leave Poland prior to the Nazis invasion of that country. They fled into the relative safety of Russia, where my grandfather helped the Russians fight against the Germans. Unfortunately the rest of the family was still in Poland when Hitler's army invaded the country. A few of my great uncles fought to their death in the Warsaw Ghetto, however we believe most of the family was murdered at the death camp Trablinkah. The memories of the Holocaust were too painful for my grandmother to speak about, so we have many holes in our family tree which we hope to one day learn more about. 

After the war my grandparents (along with my mother, who was still a baby) moved to the newly formed country of Israel. There my grandfather fought in the Israeli War of Independence as well as other early wars where Israel was forced to defend her existence. 

The picture to the right shows Michael & Grace, and my mother Haya (in patterned shirt) and my aunt Yaffa (striped shorts). This picture was taken in their back yard in a suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel called Hadar Yosef. After about a dozen years in Israel they moved with my mother and aunt Yaffa to Southern California. Michael passed away before I was born, and left behind my grandmother and her two daughters. Years later my mother was married and I was born. I have been told that my birth was an important event for grandma Grace. She had a strong bond with me as I was her first grandchild and took the name of her deceased husband. I remember her as a caring grandmother who made the worlds best chicken soup. 

Yaffa is my Aunt. The picture to the left shows (from L to R) Haya, Grace & Yaffa. In Hebrew the word Yaffa means beautiful. This was an appropriate name for my aunt as she is a beautiful person both inside and out. My mother and Yaffa are very close today and live near one another. I am fortunate to be able to spend time with her especially on occasions like Shabbat and on birthdays. 

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