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Daniel, son of Meir, Hamlis   Daniel was born in 1865 and died on 6.9.1919. He was a community leader and a modest, honest man. He conducted a traditional home – open to everyone. He insisted on giving a good education to his children. They were also involved in the life of the Jewish community in general and Zionism in particular. May his memory be blessed!   Leah Hazin-Kutcher   Kindergarten teacher Leah Hazin-Kutcher (wife of the poet Yaakov Kutcher) Leah died in a nursing home for aged, sick, single women. She just fell asleep and did not wake up again. She left no relatives behind. Leah had earned many honors, especially in the field of education and culture in the Diaspora over a period of 50 years. When she was still a young girl, a daughter of pious parents and a granddaughter of the town Rabbi, she dared to rebel against tradition. She studied the Hebrew language and became a teacher of other young girls who were keen on learning Hebrew. She did not take any payment for these lessons, most of the time. Leah and her students were the first ones in Bendery to speak Hebrew at home and on the street. Many of them eventually became teachers. Leah`s dream was to study education and to become a kindergarten teacher. The best place to do it was in the Prebl Academy in Warsaw which was headed by the late Yitzhak Alterman. How does a young woman from a Godforsaken place in Russia at that time and without funds reach a metropolitan distant Polish Center? Leah`s will and energy paved the way. When she finished her studies in Warsaw she returned home and opened the first Hebrew Kindergarten in Bessarabia. The Kindergarten was very successful. She was a talented teacher and was beloved by her students and their parents alike. She was also admired by Zionist circles who appreciated her work. A few years later she moved to Kishinev where she opened Yavne Kindergarten. It, too, was successful.

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She continued her work for nearly 40 years. She taught Kindergarten and other grades in other towns in Romania and Bessarabia. The network of schools in the Diaspora grew and expanded in the meantime. There were more institutions and teachers. Hebrew became the official language in Jewish schools, recognized by the authorities. Many students attended these schools and many graduates made Aliyah. They fulfilled Leah`s dream. I was among them. She continued her work until the Holocaust. She reached Eretz Israel later in her life, after much suffering and with no material goods. She was all alone, as were many others who came from those countries. She was elderly and life as a newcomer was not easy. However, she managed to establish herself by giving private lessons. She lived for some years in her simple home in an immigrant section. She was old and alone. She received all visitors with warmth and without any complaints about her lot. She never spoke about her rich past. She only talked about her students with love, like a mother discussing her own children who are now far away. During the time she was ill, when fear and despair were reflected in her eyes, I wanted to encourage her and I began to bring up memories. Among other stories, I recalled a fancy Hanukah party in Gan Yavne with all the details. I even began to sing the Hanukah song she taught us: “Children take the candles, walk two-by-two on Hanukah…” “The children's eyes sparkled and the happy parents watched with love and awe” “You – the miracle worker,” I added. She wiped her tears and her pupils expanded and grew brighter as she tried to absorb the special feeling brought on by her memories. “Sing it again!” she asked me in a weak voice. Her students, male and female, loved her and she loved them. She is the one who put the first Hebrew word in their mouths and she lit the fire of love of homeland. This is the dream that brought us here. We will always remember her in our hearts. Leah A.   Nahman (Neshke) Hazin Nahman was the son of Malka and Avraham-Eli, our parents who were slaughtered in the Holocaust. My brother, Neshke, came to Eretz Israel as a pioneer in 1935 after graduation from the Schwartzman Hebrew High School. In Eretz Israel he worked most of his life in the Ata factory in Kfar Ata. He was modest, aristocratic in character, honest and loved by his family, his friends and acquaintances.   Nahman (Neshke) Hazin   In memory of my family members who are no longer alive: Rabbi Nahman (judge) and his wife, Rebbetzin Hannah, their daughter Rebbetzin Babke, wife of Rabbi Sh.Sh. Wertheim, their sons Aaron and Motel (Mordehai) Hazin.   In memory of Dr. Sara Hazin She was my relative, born in Bendery. I was very close to her in my childhood. When World War I broke out she volunteered to serve on the front as a nurse. She even earned a commendation for her dedicated work. When the Revolution began, she did not join the Communists; by doing that she remained loyal to her tradition. However, she still offered her services as a nurse to the Soviet regime. When Hitler's army, may their memory be erased, invaded Bessarabia, she went with all the other refugees to Uzbekistan. She lost her whole family on the way, but the catastrophe did not break her spirit. She gave medical help to suffering Uzbeks.

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After the war, before the Iron Curtain came down, she was permitted to leave the country for three months on a tourist visa. She arrived in Eretz Israel and remained there. She was absorbed in Tel Hashomer hospital under the auspices of the women's organization Yael. She was popular with her co-workers and the patients nicknamed her “Mother Sara”. She was totally tied to her country and everything in it. She only had a few years to be with us before she became ill. Even when she was lying on her death bed in the hospital she was full of humor. It was pleasant to have a conversation with her. On my last visit with her she pointed to the word “State of Israel” stamped on her sheet. This gave her great satisfaction. She was childless and there was no one with her when her soul returned to her creator. Perhaps that “State of Israel” stamp was her only and last consolation. She was, for a short time, a partner with that small state she loved so much. May her memory be blessed!   L. Sh. Hayat Family Shimon-Shlomo, son of Zeev, Hayat He was born in Bendery in 1872 and died there in 1913.   Shalom, son of Shimon-Shlomo, Hayat Born in Bendery in 1897 and died in 1941   Heny Hayat, daughter of Alter Litvin Born in Tatarovna in 1872 and died in Riga in 1952   Marcus (Motel) Hayat Born in Bendery in 1895 and slaughtered in Baku (Caucasus) 1922

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Yosef, son of Shimon-Shlomo Hayat Born in 1907 and died in 1929   Israel, son of Shimon-Shlomo Hayat Born in 1904 and died in 1928 The Family of Yehoshua, son of Issar, Tiomkin Our father, Rabbi Yehoshua, son of Issar-Dov, Tiomkin was a descendant of the Tiomkin dynasty. Others were the appointed rabbi Yonah Tiomkin in Yelisovetgrad and his brother Dr. Vladimir Tiomkin from Odessa. Yehoshua was born in Minsk in 1866. His father died when he was a young child and he moved, with his mother, to live with his uncle, R. Arieh Tiomkin. He brought up our father. He began his studies in Volozhin Yeshiva and continued in a government-run teacher's seminary during the Tsar's times. He received a certificate as a general teacher. This certificate allowed him to live anywhere in Russia. This right was unavailable to other Jews. He then studied dentistry and graduated, but he really wanted to teach. He found great satisfaction in teaching and he was able to integrate his vast Jewish knowledge with Russian culture. Our father's first steps in teaching were in the opening of a Hebrew middle school in Priluki together with the linguist Avraham Avronin. There he married Malka Bershtein, our mother. Due to our father's profession they moved from to town to town whenever they were invited by the Jewish community. Their members wanted to give their children a Jewish and a secular education. This is how they reached Bendery where he was appointed principal of the Russian Talmud Torah. (The building was donated by Mr. Velvel Rabinovitch.) Our father ran the Talmud Torah to the end of his days, assisted by the Hebrew teachers. He was a proud Jew and entered into many arguments with the Tsarist authorities. Sometimes he clashed with them about the percentage of Jewish students allowed to enter the school. He never feared the authorities and he knew how to stand his ground. He knew his students and their abilities well. He influenced them to complete their studies. His personal attributes earned him respect and recognition by the government functionaries. He even won a medal for his service in the field of education. In 1929 he went to Galati in Romania to visit a dental clinic. He died suddenly and was buried there.

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Malka Tiomkin   R. Yehoshua, son of Issar-Dov, Tiomkin     Rosa (Tiomkin) Immanuel   Malka Tiomkin, Sonia and Bat Sheva

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Malka Tiomkin Our mother, Malka, was born in Priluki, District of Poltava. She received a Jewish education and was also comfortable in Russian culture. We spoke Russian at home, but since both of our parents felt strongly about the Jewish people, they brought us, the children, up in that spirit. Thanks to the education and guidance our father gave us we were accepted at the government Russian high school. Upon graduation we applied to the university. Due to the 1917 revolution we had to interrupt our studies. Only our oldest sister, Rosa, had managed to complete her dental studies in Odessa. During World War II, when the Russians entered Bendery, our mother and sisters were exiled to Central Asia. Our mother, as well as our sister Sonia, died there. Their burial place is unknown. Sonia was a teacher, beloved by her students. She excelled in science and she taught it to her students. The youngest sister, Bat Sheva, died young and was buried in Bendery. May their souls be bound among the souls of the living! P.B their daughters   Shoshanna (Rosa) Immanuel Daughter of Yehoshua Tiomkin The oldest daughter of the teacher Y. Tiomkin was a dentist. When she arrived in Eretz Israel in 1920 she was referred by Menahem Sheinkin to Safed. She worked there and also in the entire Galilee as a dentist. She had Jewish, Arab and English patients (government employees). She performed her tasks with loyalty and devotion. She was recognized for her good work. Among her patients was the Mufti of Safed who treated her with respect. Her reputation even reached Kuwait and its Sultan came to Safed to be treated. Afterwards he gave her a gift as a thank you. Shoshanna was not a member of a Zionist movement in Bendery, but when she came to Eretz Israel she fell in love with it. She died on 8.10.1974 after a lengthy illness. She left behind an only son, an engineer. May her soul be bound with the souls of the living!   Batia Kimayev (nee Tiomkin) She was a member of the Third Aliyah group. From the early 1920s she worked on her farm in Hadera. She died on 20.1.1975. May her soul be bound with the souls of the living!

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Rabbi Mordehai (R. Motel) Yatom   R. Zeidel (shohet) Yatom   My father, R. Motel, son of R. Zeidel, the shohet, was the first ritual slaughterer in Bendery. My mother (nee Slipo) was also born there. There were four sons and one daughter in the family. After World War I the family of R. Motel moved to Peschenka (Ukraine) where he was the chief rabbi. The Rabbi and his family went through many trials and tribulations there. The town had changed hands during the civil war in Russia and the Rabbi had to greet warmly the representatives of each new regime. In the days of Petlura he almost died. Petlura's officers had sentenced him to death and sent two soldiers to escort him back. On the way to carry out the verdict they met a priest who asked him where he was being led. R. Motel told him his story. The priest said: “I will go with you. Whatever will happen to you will be my destiny, too.” The Rabbi was saved from death. Whenever he prayed and reached the words “Redeemer and Savior” he would cry and bless the good-hearted priest. In 1917, the family returned to Bendery. R. Shloimke appointed R. Motel as his assistant. When R. Shloimke died, R. Motel became head of the Beth Din. He remained the Rabbi in Bendery until 1934. He died young at the age of 57. One of R. Motel's sons, R. Yosef Yatom, became a Rabbi in Kaushany when he returned from Russia. The regulations in Romania stipulated that in order to graduate from high school one had to pass final examinations in Romanian. Rabbi Yosef studied at the Schwartzman High School for one year. According to Yosef Rabinovitch there were several adults at that time that had returned from Russia and had to study in Romanian. R. Yosef Yatom was an outstanding orator and spoke on behalf of Mizrahi. Another son was a ritual slaughterer after his grandfather's death. The sister married a rabbi from Transylvania (Ashkenazy). After R. Motel's death her husband took his position in Bendery. Brother Moshe, a teacher in Maneshti, died young. All the Rabbi's children studied in yeshivas and served as rabbis in Russia and Bessarabia. The family was dispersed in different places.

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I made Aliyah with Hapoel Hamizrahi in 1934. In 1935 B'Nai Akiva was founded in Bendery. My brother Baruch was a counselor in that movement and their meetings were held in his house. All members of my family belonged to Mizrahi, except for Moshe who was a Revisionist. Except for me, all my siblings remained in the Diaspora. When I came to Eretz Israel I settled in Rehovot where I established my home.   Moshe Yatom, son of Eliahu and Sara (Grandson of R. Mordehai Yatom)   Eliahu Yatom He was born 11.1.1938 in Rehovot. Moshe graduated from Tachkemoni High School where he distinguished himself as a counselor in the Scouts movement. He fell fulfilling his duty on 7.4.1956 when he fell in battle. He was buried in the Army section of the Rehovot cemetery.   R. Mordehai-Dov Katz (brother in-law of Rabbi Mordehai (Motel) Yatom   His wife Etel-Shifra Katz (daughter of R. Zeidel the Shohet) Shmuel Katz (picture on page 399 right) (Son of Mordehai-Dov and Etel-Shifra) Shmuel was born on 1.5.1909 and died on 27.4.1971. His love of his people and his country was developed while he was still a member of Zionist youth movements in his hometown –Bendery. His personality was colourful and he knew how to treat other people well. He was honest and correct in his daily life. He was a deep thinker and a cultured man. All these characteristics were evident in his work as a bookkeeper at Tnuva. Shmuel was a dedicated family man and worked hard at bringing up his children. He served as a model for them.

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Shmuel Katz   He was always careful not to hurt anyone. He was responsible and diligent, and he was well-liked by everyone. In spite of his heart condition he continued to work hard at home and at his job. He died at the age of 72. His family, friends and admirers will remember him forever. His wife Buzia and his sons Dov and Haim   Zeev Carmi   Zeev died at a demonstration against the closing of the borders to Aliyah, in 1946. “One must not dodge responsibility, even a child like me.” This is what he said as he left his parents at home in Haifa when he went to join the demonstration. They were protesting the expulsion of illegal immigrants from the shores of Eretz Israel. He was only 14 ½ when he died. This is what his fellow movement members wrote in his memory: “Zeev joined our group about one year ago. We worked together to build and shape it into a united community. Zeev lived our life and together we overcame obstacles we found on the way. He was often the first in line in any activity. His memory will remain with us in the many drawings he prepared for our yearbook. Certain events created difficult times for our kibbutz and some of our members were taken to Rafiah. Zeev tried to do the work of those who were absent. He showed his great loyalty to the kibbutz and its members in the message he sent just before his death. Even now Zeev showed his readiness to demonstrate with many others because he felt great harm had been done by the authorities. The remnants from the Nazi Holocaust, who had suffered so much, had been denied entry to Eretz Israel. He fell during the struggle of our people. A cruel destiny has separated us, but his memory will always be in our hearts.” Offer Group Kibbutz Mizra Hashomer Hatzair

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Meir Levy (Monia Lev)   Meir was born in 1902 to his parents Israel and Dina Levy. He was a brother to David and Simcha, Manya and Rivka. He began his studies at the age of 3 in the Heder of Avraham Lavonsky. He continued his studies with Alter Shuster, Shmuel Krassilover and Yankel Lonievsky. When he was 9, he and his brothers were accepted at the Railroad Workers School. They were the only Jewish children. Their father was a government clerk in the railroad company and that is why they were able to attend this school. . At the age of 12 he passed entrance exams to the Schwartzman Hebrew High School. His teacher was Feinish who had been a student at Herzliah High School in Tel Aviv. He had returned to Bendery before World War I. When he was 15 he traveled to visit his brother David who was a director of a fruit export company in Samarkand. When he returned a year later, Bendery was already under Romanian rule. His brothers David and Simcha and his sister Manya remained in Russia. He saw them again many years later. In 1965, he went with his sister Rivka to the Soviet Union. He was able to see those relatives still alive. In 1920, Monia joined Zeirei Zion. This was a youth group planning Aliyah. Others in the group were Avraham Sirkis, L. Chubruncher, David Weisser, Pnina Wertheim, Pinhas Bendersky and his wife Hava and Mrs. Tiomkin. They left for Galatz with the help of Shmuel Pinless. They received, from the British consul, a visa to Constantinople. There they met Dr. Tiomkin who was the one responsible for Aliyah. He sent them to a transit camp – Mesilla Hadasha (new path). It had been deserted since the war between Jamal Pasha and the Greeks. Six weeks later, a large group arrived from Russia. It was led by Berel Raptor. Everyone boarded an Egyptian freighter- Mahmudya. After a difficult voyage of 14 days they docked in Jaffa. They first went to Petach Tikva where they stayed together and looked for work. It was only in 1921, after the riots when the Arabs left their jobs, that these pioneers took their place for a short time, In 1923, Monia and David Hayat went to visit the family in Bendery. There he was drafted into the Romanian army. He was able to free himself after a short while. He returned to Petach Tikva where his girlfriend Bronia was waiting to marry him. Monia served in the Petach Tikva police as well as in the British police. Later, he was a foreman in Mehadrin, a company that planted orange groves. He retired from there. It must be noted that he was able to bring his parents to Eretz Israel. They lived to a ripe old age in Tel Aviv. Monia died on 16.12.1971, a month before his 70th birthday. He left a wife, three sons and four grandchildren. May his memory be blessed!

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