Lodz, 20 August 1934 To my devoted, beloved brother, as well as nephew, and niece, Zissman, You will certainly be angry with me, devoted Sol, for my having received two letters from you and for not having answered either of them. So, I write you that I myself feel guilty. The reason is a bit of laziness, a bit of worry, etc. Furthermore, I don't want to cause you pain constantly because you certainly don't have any pleasure from my letters. And taking all this together, I realized that almost four weeks had passed since I received a letter from my devoted brother, and I still hadn't answered. It seems to me that it's high time that I answered you. First of all, dear Sol, I ask for your forgiveness for making you wait for an answer. Second, I wish a mazel tov to you and also to your father and family. You write me that Ruth, your youngest sister, is engaged to a lawyer. Dear Sol, reading what you wrote about your sister, Ruth, I pondered over it thoughtfully... In my home there hangs a picture in which you and your three sisters were photographed. I stand by the picture and concentrate on it. I am reminded of things and recall something that happened twenty years ago. Yes, a drama of life which we are not able to forget so quickly. I read in your faces that no matter how much life wants to make you forget your God blessed, young, deceased mother, nevertheless all of you are standing in the picture just as if you were orphans... Most of all, it's apparent from Ruchel; not so much from you, Sol; less from Bryndl and Ruth. Yes, Sol, your sister was still a child then, perhaps all of eight years old; the years have passed quickly, and today your Ruth is a twenty-year-old (sic) young lady, beautiful as gold, mature, fine, grown up, so that the young man who has fallen in love with her is making no mistake. It's just a pity that your late mother, may she rest in peace, did not have the honor to accompany her children to the marriage canopy. I don't know, Sol, whether Ruth experiences that ache, that pain, of yore that you do, that Ruchel does. Whatever the case may be, the wound is far from being healed... As for me, I cannot extend my good wishes to Ruth personally. First of all, she doesn't know me as an uncle. Second, I don't know whether she knows Yiddish. Therefore, Sol, I ask you, in my name and in the name of my wife and the whole family, to extend our best wishes to her. We hope that the match will be a happy and fortunate one so that the path of life upon which she is now embarking will be bedecked with flowers. My wish is to see the fruit on the branches of the prematurely felled tree...bloom and grow!!! Further, what's happening with Ruchel? Is she well? Is she still working in a hospital as a typist? How does she feel? Does she ever mention me? Does she ever recall me from her childhood years? How are Bryndl and her family doing? Are they making a living? Are they well? How is their son? He must be a fine young boy by now. Now, what's new with your father? Is he well? Is he happy...I wonder? Does he ever mention my name? Does he ever recall his one-time friendship with me? Give him regards from Feivel Slovner and from Noah Chmielnicki. Now, devoted Sol, as to your writing me to see the movie "The House of Rothschild" if I have an opportunity, I can write you that the movie has not yet been shown in Lodz. However, I understand from the newspaper advertisements that it must be a biographical tragedy of recent times... And in what home, Sol, do biographical tragedies not happen in these times...? Now, in your second letter, Sol, you give me answers to my questions to you. However, your clever answers are so complicated that I'm not able to draw any conclusions from them. First of all, you tell me not to quit my job because I don't yet have anything better; it's self-evident that I won't pour out any polluted water until I have pure water. But in any event, if one works hard, beyond one's strength, one wants at least to make a living from his work, and under no circumstances can I make a living...just the opposite. As to my wife, what do you think I require of my wife, Sol? She should help me to work? She should help me to earn money? Chas v'cholilah. I know that she is ill, weak, with a weak heart. I am abused by her and am tormented by her, up to the limit; however, when it goes beyond the limit...all of the anger spills out and I write a letter to Sol...if not to Sol then to whom? Ah, Sol is smart and will know how to answer such a letter. However, temporarily, one is relieved... Further, as to what you wrote me about my Joseph, dear Sol, I haven't decided anything up to now. First of all, I haven't yet found a trade which I might send him to learn. Secondly, he and Rivkele left for Opoczno four weeks ago for a vacation. He hasn't returned yet. I figure that the children will return over the next few weeks, and then we'll have to decide what to do because just hanging around is no (acceptable) plan... In any event, we have to abandon (the idea of) continuing to go to school for the time being because I neither have the wherewithal nor is there any reliable hope of securing it, although it bothers me somewhat because, after all, I don't have ten sons. In fact, I have only one son, and with all the means available to me I would like to start him out on a path and make a (self-reliant) individual of him. However, what can one do when the times and the circumstances don't permit it? We have to accept things as they are... As to your writing to me, Sol, that I should register him at the American consulate, I can tell you, Sol, that this is also difficult for me. First of all, the American consulate is in Warsaw, not in Lodz. So, we would have to take the time to make a special trip to Warsaw and register him there, and the times and the circumstances just don't allow it right now... However, I'll wait. Perhaps in time an acquaintance or a friend will be in Warsaw; I'll try to do it (then). In any event, it's not a substantial (possibility), and one has to wait; what the brain cannot solve, time will solve. We'll have a chance to write a lot and talk a lot about my Joseph. However, at present a new year is approaching. So, my devoted brother, I come to wish for the new year that your prayers to Almighty G-d will be answered with a happy, healthy year and long life. At the present moment, I cannot wish a lot for you, but, but may what your uncle wishes you and your family come to pass. It's possible that I will write you another letter before the Holidays and, if not, I wish that you all may be inscribed and sealed for a good year. My wife, Aunt Malke, sends regards to all of you and wishes you much happiness for the new year. The children also send regards to you and wish you the best. If G-d wills it, they will come home and will write to you themselves. Aunt Estherl and Uncle Lazer, Aunt Poria Lewin, cousin Pinya Lewin, and the whole family send regards to you and wish everyone a happy new year. With respect, Wolf Lewkowicz I saved this page for myself because I intended to complete my balance sheet for this past year and send it to you, but this minute I concluded that it's superfluous because, as I examined my ledgers for this past year, I realized that it's a useless balance and that it's far safer not to open them up...unless the new year brings us something good so that we will be able to cover all of the deficit. May the Holy One, Blessed be He, help us so that the coming new year will bring us more good health, more happiness, more success, etc. Heartfelt regards to all, and I hope that everyone will be inscribed and sealed for good. With respect, W. Lewkowicz Thanks for sending me the newspapers regularly. I receive them every two weeks on a regular basis, and I read everything with clarity. Special regards for your wife, for your son, Leonard, for Ruchel, Bryndl, and Ruth and her fiance. Wolf Lewkowicz Lipowa 44 Lodz, Poland Write me whether you and your family, on Sunday, July 29, attended the "Jewish Day" at Soldier Field as a part of the World's Fair. All material Copyright 1995 by Marshall L. Zissman and Sol J. Zissman.