Hello everyone,
1953-1957
My memories from the years I spent in our new neighborhood, between Tel Aviv and Jaffa, are filled with colors and different aromas... I was at the age, where children begin to discover the world around them and the new Joys of Life! We played game and looked' for the the 'Pirates' we read about, in the books we I borrowed from the public library and searcred for Hidden Treasurers... In school, our beloved teacher Gila, asked us to read outloud, pages from the Bible or Literature books It seems that whenever my turn came to read, the sound of my voice, was captivating my classmates, who would
sit 'Mesmerized' and very quiet... For the first time that day, there
was a total silence in the classroom, which was full with forty restless students... Besides discovering the 'Power of my Voice', I became
known for my 'Acting Skills' and was reciving the 'Main Parts' in the school plays... My gift of writing poetry at the age of nine, turned into writing 'short stories' and later on, to 'Satirical Reviews' (mostly about our teachers...) as well as Articles about current events, which were published in our school's Newspaper...
As you learned from my previous posts, I have always been (and still am) a Compulsive Reader... During the years, I 'consumed' all the Hebrew translations, of the books in my parents library: Oskar Wild,Dickens, Somerset Maugham,Tolstoy and others: Anna Karenina, War and Peace, Shakespeare's
(Romeo and Juliet!) and French novels by Emil Zola, Guy de Maupassant, Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas... In addition, I read the Hebrew translations, of books by American, English, Italian, French and German writers... Some of these romantic books, which were about Heartbreaks, Suffering and Rejection which most of the time, had an 'Unhappy Ending'. One of them was a small book, bound in faded green leather, named "Climates"; written by the French author Andre Maurois...This book would have a lasting affect on me... Sympathizing ,with the the 'pain and suffering' caused by 'Unfulfilled Love', created a 'Subliminal massage' in my Romantic young mind':X"There could not be Love without Pain!"x and this belief, would ahape swveral of my 'Relationships' in the future...
Around the age of twelve, the boys and girls in my school, began to forget the 'Hatred between the sexes' and began to discovered one another... I was like a spectator, standing on the side ,watching the frenzied dance of 'Juvenile Love': Boys asking girls to 'go out' (often through a messenger) Girls, do the same and cry, when the boy fell in love with their 'best friend' (usually the messenger)... A 'Couple' would "go out" for three days and then ''Break up!" until they found a new 'object' for their budding love... I was looking at this 'Circus' of daily changing emotions and romances, blooming and wilting away and observing the "Madness" around me, with a Mature and Detached Amusement...
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| With Mr. Shribman (my first love) |
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| Our principal and teacher Yehudit |
I, did not fall in love with one of my classmates, like my friends did...The reason was, that I have 'already fallen in love' with the 'Handsome Principal' of my school; Mr. Shribman! I was cretin I would love him forever, until the day I die! It was as I was just like the heroine from the book 'Camille (by the writer Alexander Duma) who died from a"broken heart" (and Tuberculosis...) I used to visualize myself on my 'Death Bed' wiping my tears with the embroidered handkerchief, which I took from my mother's bag (No Paper Tissues in those days...) and was whispering my 'Last Words', in a Shaky Voice; just like Greta Garbo, in the movie version of the book..."Goodbye Mr Shribman, don't forget me please... I will love you forever until the day I die!"
The students in our school, were afraid of the Principal! When he came to the Playground, they would quickly walk away or hide... I on the other hand, was always running to greet him with a big sunny smile "Good morning Mr. Shribman!" and was rewarded with a warm smile, a stroke of my hair and at times even a hug! I was sure he was in love with me too! Maybe he was a little; after all, how could his heart not melt, by the pair of hazel eyes, field with admiration, adoration and total devotion of first love? How could anyone, not be moved and touched by the Naked Innocence and Purity which was reflected in those eyes?
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| Berkowitz |
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| Daniella |
Life was sooooo good! I was always laughing, running, singing and climbing on trees... I had many friends, but was
particularly close to three of them: Miriam, my friend in the wheelchair, (The Day I Lost God) Berkowitz (Abraham) and Daniela Berkowitz was born in Romania, his parents were survivors of a Nazi labor camp which crippled his mother and broke his father's back and spirit... Together with their three years old son, they were sent to a
prison camp in Cyprus, where the British(who ruled Israel) sent the illegal Jewish immigrants, who were trying to enter Palestine, in old and dilapidated boats to escape Hitler's Crematoriums...Daniella, my other close friend, was only four years old, when her father brought her to a Polish Monastery, where the kind Nuns hid Jewish children from the Nazis... Her parents were trying to escape the Nazis... After the war, they were able to pick her up from the Monastery and arrived to Israel to start a new life... Both Berkowitz and Daniella, who were not born in Israel, carried 'emotional scars' from the time they were seperated from their parents... Berkowitz feared the 'Bullies' who were tormenting him, for 'Hanging Out' with the girls and called hin "Curley Girly!" Daniella, who suffered from 'Separation anxiety' ,would be craying if she was away from her parents...Like the times our class went on a 'school trip' or when she tried to 'Sleep- Over' at a friend house... The two of us were"adicted" to books and became close friends. Daniela shared with me a vivid
memory, from the day her father came to pick her up from the Monastery at the end of the war and she ran to hid behind one of the Nuns... The only way he was able to gain her trust, was by giving her a few slices of salami, a peace of bread and an apple...
We created a small group of four: Miriam, Daniella, Berkowitz and me...The
reason we were calling Berkowitz by his last name, was because there were two more
'Abrahams' in our class, so the teachers used their last names to avoid confusion... Besides being the members of the Students Government, the four of us became very close friends; visiting each other's homes, doing homework together and going to the movies... Since there was no television in Israel, during those years, we were all 'Avid Readers' and enjoyed discusing the the books we read and enjoyed analyzing the content and characters ... We were taking turns pushing Miriam’s wheel-chair, down the sidewalks and together,we carryed her in the wheel chair, to the fifth floor of
Daniela’s apartment building, which had no elevator... The four of us would sit for hours, talking about the books we read, argued (for the sake
of arguing) and were laughing out loud... We spoke about our dreams and
aspirations for the future, the professions we may choos and which one would suit is best...
After growing up, Daniela became a Professor Assistant at Tel Aviv University, Berkowitz accomplished his dream of becoming an Archeologist and Miriam, ended up as a Telephone Operator... I couldn’t
decide between being a" Teacher, Actress,Writer, Party planner, Journalist, Theater Director and a Psychologist. When I look back, I am astonished to realize, that eventually I would accomplish all my expectations, including of getting out of borders and boundaries, of our tiny
country Israel and travel the world... I yearned to see the places which I have read about in the books: London, Paris,Verona in Italy (where Romeo and Juliet loved and died in each other's arms) I wanted to see the 'snow covered mountains' of Switzerland,where Hidi used to live and above all, I hoped to live in America, the Vast Continent I read about in one of my favorite books: The Last of the Mahicans...
For years, Arab terrorists would sneak in to Israel and attack
settlements, along the borders we shared with our hostile neighboring Arab countries: (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt) Buses, traveling on lonely roads,were often ambushed and the passengers murdered or in the 'Kibbutzim' (community farms) which were set on fire, together with the kids their beds... We hated those killers, the "Mistanenim" (as they were called in Hebrew) "Isn't it enough that so many Jewish families, where wiped out by the Nazis? Why does it have to happen to the survivors, who were able to escape the horrors of the Holocaust and finally
arrived to Israel, our Biblical homeland hoping to live peaceully in our promised land... "It isn't fair!" These words would be repeated time and again, when the hatred of our Arab neighbors, erupted again and news about more killings and burning people alive, reached our
young ears... It was painful to ask "Why?" and get no
answer... This pain was one of the few dark clouds, which abstracted the blue sky of my amzing childhood... In 1956, the Sinai War broke out! Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian president, threatened to close the Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and by doing so, provid a vital travel route for the ships traveling to Europe and Asia... After Israel was attacked by the Egyptian army,' Zahal'; our small army fought its way through
the Sinai Desert and reached the Suez Canal, assisted by military forces from England and France... "At least now we have the Desert to protect us! The enemy will never be able to penetrate our borders again and threaten the settlements and families, who live there!" Israel was floded by a wave of 'Sweeping Patriotism" and was busy sending 'Care Packages' to our dear brave soldiers... The girls in school were knitting caps and socks for the solders;"Our Heroes who are willing to sacrifice their lives for our safety!" During the knitting periods, Berkowitz was sitting and knitting with the girls... The boys called him: "Curly Girly" and were teasing and making fun of him... I was the only one who stood up to them! With my hands on my hips, 'green fire' in my eyes, I insisted they should "Leave him alone, or I am going to stick you with my knitting needles!" Pointing the needles as I walked twords them and enjoy whacing them, as they run away... During those days we did not hear or know much about 'Homosexuality'... All I knew was that my friend Berkowitz was suffering again after escaping the Nazis! His small family of three, would eventually be sent by the British to prison in Cyprus and several months later, they arrive in Israel and settle down in Jaffa, the small vacated Arab city near Tel Aviv...
After school, we often spent time in our 'Scouts Movement',
which took us on many trips, where we slept in open fields and cooked meals on a fire, out doors... We were owe stricken to realize that our feet were touching the same
ground, on which our Biblical Forefathers walked: Joshua and Samuel, King Soul, Debora the prophetess, King David, king Salomon and our 'Super Man Samson! We could almost feel the vibration
of their footsteps, penetrate and touching our souls...We were full of pride to belong to this country, the land of Israel, where our forefathers lived for so many years! Israel; the only home of the Jewish people... We gatherd around an open fire, roasting potatoes and singing... I don't know if there was another
country which was 'Serenaded to' as much as our tiny
beautiful Israel was... Love songs about the Jordan river, the sand dunes in the south, the snow caped mountains in the north our beautiful blue lake the Kineret, our beautiful lack in the Galilee and our capital Jerusalem; the Eternal City! At night after singing, we would
form a circle and dance the"Hora"! Our small faces, beaming with the Joy of being Alive! We were 'In Love' with Israel, our beautiful tiny Biblical country! Eventually, my years in the Elementary School, were coming to an end... I was finally growing up, ready for the next stage of my life; the up coming Four years
of High School; 'Sokolov High' in Jaffa...
With Love and Light,
Shira
