Pesia-Feiga and David Rakhlis

This is a picture of my maternal grandmother Pesia-Feiga Benderskaya, Rakhlis in her second marriage, and her second husband David Rakhlis. The photo was taken in Zhytomyr in 1936. My mother's father died in 1905 when my mother was a child. All I know about him is that his name was Meyer Benderski. My maternal grandmother Pesia-Feiga was born in the village of Romanivka. After getting married my grandmother lived in Zhytomyr. She had four children when she became a widow. My grandmother remarried. This happened at the time when my mother was still staying with my grandmother's uncle. There was a widower by the name of David Rakhlis who lived in Zhytomyr. His son's name was Motl. David was a glasscutter. David and my grandmother had known each other since they were children and David always liked my grandmother. He came to see her father, Nuchim-Faivish, to ask his consent to the marriage. Nuchim-Faivish had ten unmarried daughters. He said David could marry any of them, but if he wanted to marry a widow, my grandmother, he would have to pay back the amount that my grandmother's father gave her as a dowry. David didn't have the money and left. He began to save money and when he had the necessary amount he came to see Nuchim-Faivish again. David paid the money to my grandmother's father and married my grandmother. My grandmother went to live with him. David cared a lot about my grandmother. When she got osseous tuberculosis David paid for her to get medical treatment. When she couldn't walk he carried her around regardless of his neighbors teasing him about it. My grandmother recovered. David had a big house with 7 rooms in the center of Zhytomir. There was a front and a back door in the house. My grandmother moved into this house. My grandmother and David were very religious. My parents were religious, too. My grandmother had a twig tray where she put meat to have all blood flow down to make it kosher. David and my grandmother went to the nearby synagogue on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. Women sat on the 2nd floor at the synagogue. My grandmother had the most expensive seat at the synagogue.