For the Home
Pot
United States
Sydney T's paternal great-great grandfather, Shalom Benzion G, came from Poland to New York around the year 1914. He left everything in Europe, including his family, to start a life in America. He got a job in the garment district which allowed him to move his family to America. Every year at Passover, Shalom Benzion cooked special food for the holiday. At that time,the most popular food for Passover was eggs. He owned a pot that was only used on Passover to boil his eggs. He purchased this pot in the Lower East Side of New York. This pot is symbol of all the struggles that Shalom Benzion G faced and overcame.
It lives in the T household as a reminder of his dedication to Judaism.
Tea Kettle
U.S.
Andrew P received this teapot from his paternal grandmother. Golde K got this tea pot as a wedding gift. Her story is very sad, but it explains why this teapot is so special to the whole family. Golde was around 14 and lived in Poland with her parents and her sister which we call Tanta Paule. It was the time before the Holocaust. Her parents were worried about Golde and Paule. So they decided to have Paule and Golde leave Poland. Their parents passed away shortly after. Most of the K family died in the Holocaust. They didn’t bring much money or anything. Almost everything was left behind, but they worked through it, and they were fine. So This teapot is so special because it’s the only thing the family has from Grandma Goldie. She used this as her Pesach teapot. It was passed on to Andrew's grandmother and then to Andrew. Even though it's not in use, it’s still just as good.
This memory/memento will be timeless.
Music box
United States
Alexa S’s family has a music box that has been passed down for generations. When Alexa’s maternal great-great grandmother Masha came through France from Poland to Ellis Island with her brother Mattis, (Matisyahu) they soon got separated. Mattis decided to immigrate to South America. Alexa’s music box was originally made in New York, but her family owned an import export company in South America. So when Alexa’s great-great uncle Mattis came to the U.S to visit Masha, he brought the music box that was imported to him, to give to her.
This music box is significant to the S family because it has been passed down for generations.
Chinese Spoon and Letter Opener
China
Rachel S’s heirloom is originally from Shanghai, China. Her objects are a Chinese spoon and a letter opener. They belonged to her maternal great grandmother, Rahma Katie A (who Rachel’s mother was named for.) Rachel’s artifacts are significant to her family because her maternal great grandmother was blessed with 10 children, 40 grandchildren, and
more than 100 great grandchildren. Her treasures were shared by all of them, and these pieces are beautiful and especially valuable to Rachel’s family. They connect Rachel to her and her heritage. Rachel’s grandmother’s parents were Sephardic Jews who lived in Iraq for many years. They moved to India (Bombay) where her great grandmother was born in 1898. As a baby she was taken to Shanghai where she lived for more than 50 years, grew up, got married, and had her children. These objects are some of the beautiful things she had in Shanghai. She then managed to take with her on her journey
from Shanghai to England, to Canada, and eventually to New York’s Sephardic community in Brooklyn.
She then managed to take with her on her journey from Shanghai to England, to Canada, and eventually to New York’s Sephardic community in Brooklyn.
Soup Ladle
Austria
Ben B received these items from his maternal great-great grandmother Rachel. Rachel bought these kitchen items in 1920 in Vienna, Austria. Rachel had attempted to move to the
United States with her soup ladle and terrine, but the United States
would not allow her to enter the country. She then decided to go to
Cuba. These items will always be a reminder of Rachel’s journey to
America and her dedication to Friday night soup for Shabbos.
These items are really important to the
B family.
Wine Press
United States
This wine press belonged to Ella L’s great-great grandfather, Pesach N. During the prohibition in the 1920’s, when it was illegal to buy or sell alcohol, Zadie Pesach purchased this wine press. Like many Orthodox Jews,
he needed wine for kiddush and special religious occasions. He kept it in his basement of his home in Brooklyn, NY.
Besides wine, Zadie Pesach made something called vishniac which is a type of liquor. Ella L’s Papa recalls that they would pick cherries from a tree in his backyard and put them in the wine press. They would go blueberry picking in the Catskills and put those blueberries into the press as well. Pesach Neustadter died in 1949 at the age of 74. The wine press was given to Mitch L who had it in his possession until August 2014. Then he moved and at that point gave it to Ella L’s grandfather who cleaned it, gave it a fresh coat of paint, and presented it to Ella L’s family. Ella L’s Zadie Pesach was famous for always being late. When someone would question him about this quality, he would say: “If I was on time I would be dead. ”When Pesach was younger, he was scheduled to catch a boat from Europe bound for the United States. While he was waiting for the boat to arrive, he went into a bar for a beer or two. He didn’t realize how much time had passed, and the boat left without him. The boat never ended up making it to America. It sunk and his family sat shiva for him thinking
he was dead.
A drink of beer saved Pesach’s life, so how fitting that he would own a wine press in the future.
Pot
Russia
Yehuda M’s artifact is a pot that originally came from Pinsk, which is now part of Russia, but at the time it was part of Poland, and belonged to
his paternal great-great grandmother, Esther Mindel F. She got it when she came from Pinsk and received it from her mother as a wedding gift when she was married a year earlier in 1907. The date the pot was made is unknown, but it is believed to be in 1905. The pot is pareve and was used by Esther to cook fish. Esther Mindel came to America with her sister-in-law and
niece as well as the pot on Chol Hamoed Pesach, 1908. She was one of the
few who didn't get seasick and breezed right through Ellis Island officials.
Yehuda’s family has kept the pot because it is a family connection to Europe and Esther Mindel.
Knives
Italy and Germany
Gabriel R’s maternal great grandfather Sidney Storch served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II. He spent time in Italy. These knives came from Italian soldiers who were injured or killed while fighting against the US. The knives were used in combat by the soldiers against allied forces. One Italian knife is short and thick with an eagle on the bottom of it. The other knife is long and very thin and has a design on the blade. Gabriel never met his great grandfather who died before he was born.
These knives make Gabriel think about Sidney's bravery, valor and compassion.
Bowl
Hungary
Anika R received this silver bowl from her paternal great grandmother Gabriella L. Anika R’s paternal great grandmother, Gabriella, buried this silver bowl underground during the Holocaust. After the Holocaust, Anika’s great grandmother’s uncle found the silver bowl and dug it up. Anika’s
paternal great grandmother lost her whole entire family in the war.
This heirloom is currently in her daughter, Miriam’s, house.
The object has been passed down to Anika R,and she uses it to remember her
ancestors and their stories.