Taube Yudelevich

This is my mother Taube Yudelevich. The picture was made in late 1960s in Kaunas.

In 1955 my father died. His death was easy and sudden, but too early- he was only 60. He was buried in Jewish cemetery in Kaunas without any rites. I had lived with mother since that time. In 1957 my mother managed to get a permit for guest visit in Israel. Of course, she had to use connections. Mother's pal Kaganene, who was in charge of protocol department in Ispolkom, knew somebody in the Ministry of Foreign Affaires. She convinced him that mother would be coming back and said that she would be her guarantee. Mother was issued a visa 1957 and she spent two months in Israel. She saw Isaac, father's brother and all her relatives. Upon return from Israel, mother started marking some Jewish holidays. We bought matzah on Pesach, lit candles on Chanukkah the way it was before war. 

I always got along with my brother, but mother had always been an only true friend. Maybe that was the reason why I had always compared her to women, who came across in my life. I remained a bachelor. I do not regret it. I do not like answering question regarding my private life in the sense that I do not have it. Believe me, my private life was rather boisterous, but I had not met a woman with whom I wanted to live together. 

In the 1970s our friends immigrated to Israel, USA. I understood that my negative attitude to the Soviet regime required some actions from me. Israel always appealed to me. But I am a conservative man and it is hard for me to imagine that I have to break things conventional for me, get used to new town, country, language, friends. Besides, my mother had been rather sick in the last years of her life and I had to take care of her. Mother died in 1976. She was buried next to father. I have lived by myself since then.