ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 115453 - Translation - Yiddish - Poland - Pinsk - Garfinkel


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - Yiddish
Approval Date: 9/27/2026 4:40 PM
Family Surname: Garfinkel
Country: Poland
Town: Pinsk
Date of Image: April 1925

Click the picture to enlarge

This is a postcard sent by my grandfather Louis Garfinkel (Gorfinkel) to his wife Sarah. It was sent from New York City to Pinsk, Poland, postmarked April 22, 1925. It is in densely written Yiddish, he was challenged to see how much he could get on one postcard. I hope that if you zoom the image the writing will be sufficiently magnified to be readable. I am hoping it contains information that will help us understand his time in New York while he was preparing to bring his wife and children to the USA. Thanks.

Response

10/4/2026 2:49 PM

This is a condensed summary:

To my much beloved wife and children!
Although I wrote you a letter yesterday, I think it necessary to let you know that I sent $200 to you today. You will let me know as soon as you get it.
Dear Sorele, I told you in my last letter that my aunt sent $10 for your mother. It should have cost $1.50 to send, so I told you to give your mother $10, and as soon as they write that they have it my aunt will pay me back.
Dear Sorele, it will certainly be difficult for you to read my writing, but I'm sure you can. I find special pleasure in writing small words, and you will definitely have a lot to read.
I am working, but not like before. This week I had $40 and today I made $1.50, but I hope to have more work this month and then I will go to Boston for the (pre- / travel?) season. I have $575 left in the bank, and I hope I won't leave empty(?) this year, because my bosses in Boston told me to come as soon as I finish this season and I hope to go at the end of May.
I wrote in the previous letter that I couldn't send my father the amount he expects, only $25.
You will wonder why I didn't send you more than $200, maybe it won't be enough, but as soon as I start here I will send more.
Write to me (...) Passover at home and how the children felt. I am very worried about my little daughter's illness, nothing is more important.
I couldn't finish the postcard yesterday because the electricity went out. Now I can reply to letter 130.
You ask why other women are better than you. I tell you that we can't attach ourselves to other people's luck; we must hope that our son will also shine, God willing.
And what the American told you, that we work on Passover, depends what one wants. I tell you that I didn't work on yomtov.
What my mother told you, that if it had been clean at home I wouldn't have left, is nonsense. I went because of economic circumstances.
The horses that they bought and don't let our children ride, I advise you to buy other tchotchkes for our children, so those children should be jealous of them. My children should have luxuries too.
Systematic sums(?) is indeed right; get a carriage and take them also through. If they were near(?) their father, they certainly wouldn't lack money; don't lend them more. I know if you borrow money you must pay back money, not snot(?) and zlotys. I tell you again not to do it.
I am very glad to hear about our children's smart intelligence.
Your loyal husband and father who kisses you from afar, Leyzer Garfinkel

Everyone wonders at my postcard, that it contains over a thousand words and a few and sixty lines. Don't throw it away. Tell me if you can read it. Regards to my parents, brother, and sister-in-law.

ViewMate Posting VM 115453

Submitted by Jeffrey A Levy

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles. University students can apply for the Bennett & Robin Greenspan L'dor V'dor Legacy Program, and those "out of school" can help preserve Jewish Heritage in Poland with unique study & volunteer experiences.

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 115453

Submitted by Jeffrey A Levy