Saturday, July 29, 2006

Rose's name in Rostov was Raizel

Just to record here the other wonderful discovery from our visit to the Hebrew Tailor's Assn cemetery--the Hebew inscription on Rose Ratner's grave refers to her as 'Raizel', which is Yiddish for 'Rose'. Some Google accounts say Raizel is actually Hebrew for Rose, but I had always thought of Rose as Vered or Varda, but my Eevreet is lamentably more rusty than it used to be. Anyway, its exciting to have the correct name to go with the young woman from Rostov-on-Don during her girlhood and when she was looking out the upstairs window to check if her would-be suitor Abraham Ratner was sufficiently presentable for her to come downstairs and make an appearance. (He was). The name Raizel tangibly connects us to the mysterious pre-American life of Rose and the whole Tulbowitz clan and that makes it very precious to me.

Thanks, Jo, for providing Mom and Dad's anniversary. June 7, 1947, five days after Helga received her American citizenship. It must have been an incredible week.

2 comments:

  1. I can't recall mom talking much about getting her citizenship. Would there have been a ceremony, including making an oath?

    I share your pleasure in learning about Raizel.

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  2. Hi, Shoshana is also used in Hebrew as "Rose" along with Vered.
    Any chance your Rabinowitzs were originally spelled Rabinowicz? I'm tracing family from Kletsk or Kleck in Polans/Belarus.
    My older brother Mike and I went to BLC from the mid 60s through 70s.

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