Dobrina Rivkind’s maternal grandmother’s sister Nekhama Khanina with her family

Dobrina Rivkind’s maternal grandmother’s sister Nekhama Khanina with her family

The picture was taken in 1946 in Tashkent. The sitting woman is my maternal grandmother's sister Nekhama. Nekhama's husband is sitting beside; I do not remember his name, unfortunately. Standing are their 3 children, from left to right: Raisa, next to her Lev and then Vera.

All of my mother’s relatives come from shtettles. not far from the town of Vitebsk - a rather large city in Belarus. My maternal grandmother's name was Tsylya Khodek, nee Rukhman. She was not tall, with gray, beautifully set hair. She did not work as many women did in those days, and took care of the family. Grandmother cooked very well, she knew all Jewish cooking traditions. For example, she cooked very delicious stuffed fish. In general I remember grandmother to be very tidy, she was a very good housewife.

Grandmother had a sister, whose name was Nekhama. (She also had a brother, Simkho, who was deaf mute, but I know nothing of Simkho's life.)Nekhama married a Jew, Khanin, and they had three children: daughters Raisa and Vera and son Lev. Their family lived in Vitebsk. When the World War II started they were evacuated to Tashkent and stayed there after the war was over. Nekhama remained there with her daughters and son until she died in 1964. Her son Natan was a colonel, they said he was a very nice person. Her daughters, Raisa and Vera, lived in Tashkent for a long time after. Raisa was a medical worker and Vera worked as a teacher. 

Open this page