Jankel Basok, Boris Rubenstein's grandfather

My maternal grandfather. Yankel Basok, born in Belarus in 1866. Grandfather was of average hight, very imposing, and wore a beard. He was a melamed by trade, which means he taught children in an orthodox school-- a cheder. At one time he had his own Cheder (probably suported by the community). As this was Grandfather's basic occupation, financially his family lived modestly. When I knew grandfather, he was old, not engaged in any public businesses, and taught Yiddish to his grandchildren. For about a year he taught my cousin and me. It found great pleasure in studying, although Grandfather was very strict in teaching Yiddish. It was very difficult to get an excellent mark from him. He also knew Russian well, and had a very beautiful handwriting. He died in Nikolaev,1938.