My mother Hana Mexina.
My mother could read and write in Yiddish and Hebrew and knew prayers by heart even at her old age.
In 1904 my parents Mendel Mexin and Hana Balahovskaya got married. They were introduced to one another. They had a traditional Jewish holiday with the huppah and there was a rabbi present. After their wedding my mother moved to Novo-Ukrainka. They rented half a house. My father worked for a timber dealer and my mother was a housewife. In February 1941 my father died My mother was alone in Dmitrov and my husband and I decided that it would be better if she moved in with us. My mother joined us in March.
My mother was living with us. At that time the synagogue was closed and my mother was praying at home. She kept observing the Jewish traditions. I was trying to help her. We were cooking the Pesach dishes together. I bought matsa from a private bakery. My mother observed Sabbath, we lit candles at home and cooked meals for Saturday. My husband and I weren't religious, but we understood how important this was for mama and that we had to support her.
In 1947 my mother went to my sister in Moscow. She lived there until 1957 and returned to us being a very ill person. In Moscow my mother had pneumonia resulting in a heart disease. My mother died in 1961. We buried her according to the Jewish ritual at the Jewish cemetery in Chernovtsy.
