Dusetos, Lithuania (Page 195)

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“Jidauka, You Have Nothing To Do Here!” (cont.)

While the Jews of Lithuania were ostensibly living in safety… Rivka Levitt in full Hashomer Hatzair uniform watching the chess playing of her Levitt relatives in Radvilishok [Radviliskis] (?)

Many left Eretz Yisrael … Levitt Family in South Africa, from right to left: Bezalel (Charlie), Chaya-Tema and her husband Dov-Berl (son of Hirshl and Tzirl Levitt), Zvi-Hirsh (Harry), Yaacov (Jack) Halperin and Shifra (Sophie) (Levitt), Yehudith (Julia) Levitt (daughter of Avraham)

Yitzchak and I got married, and we made aliya to Eretz Yisrael in January 1930. In Eretz Yisrael the economic situation was dreadful! People would sleep during the day so that they wouldn't need to eat, because there wasn't anything to eat. Many left Eretz Yisrael. Many left to continue their studies. And who remained? We, who hadn't studied, who hadn't finished high school; we, the simple people. I remember that they used to sing then: ”Who travels to Paris from Eretz Yisrael? Only she who has graduated from high school… ”

While I was a member of Kibbutz Givat Brenner, I became mortally ill, and friends came to the sick room to say goodbye to me. A miracle occurred and I recovered. The nurse who had attended me at my bedside afterwards came to the kibbutz to visit me and brought me a note in her handwriting, on which she had written the words I had shouted in my delirium, while I was on the verge of death: ”I am young. I came to build Eretz Yisrael, and am I already going to die?”

Yitzchak was his mother's only son, and she remained alone in the shtetl. When she fell ill we had no choice but to bring her to Eretz Yisrael, but not to the kibbutz. What would they do with an old woman in the kibbutz? The kibbutz also didn't grant us financial help. We left the kibbutz – I hoped that it was only temporarily. We rented a cowshed to live in, and we also brought the old mother there, and she remained living with us to a ripe old age. We managed to bring her to Eretz Yisrael with a guarantee of £50, which we received from Miltzen and Dr. Litvak from Rehovot.

When I left the kibbutz I worked in a citrus grove and earned 20 grush a day, while others were only earning 16-17 grush.

Jewish Women Working in the Citrus Groves Batya (in the front): “I earned 20 grush a day, while others received only 16-19 grush.”

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