Lodz, 7 October 1934 Devoted nephew, as well as dear brother, Sol Zissman, I am waiting impatiently for a letter from you. As I calculate, I should have received an answer from you by last week. Instead of a letter, I received $10 from you. In fact, on the eve of Succos, as well as during the intermediate days of Succos, I received newspapers in which there was a piece of paper on which you ask what my silence connotes. This causes me to wonder whether you didn't receive my letter, or whether my letter was delayed in arriving. In any event, dear brother, be assured that a letter of mine is on its way to you. However, since six weeks have passed since my earlier letter, I am now writing you a second letter. First of all, devoted brother, let me thank you for the generosity which you demonstrate towards your uncle by not forgetting to send me assistance from time to time. To portray for you with exactitude and detail in a letter the sort of circumstances that prevailed when I received your money...and as to the purpose to which I put it, and how urgently it was needed...would take too much time and paper... Unfortunately, I am not able with my steel pen to express my gratitude for your generosity to me. No, Sol, our love, our devotion, is boundless. No one in the world is capable of evaluating our devotion. Someone else in my place might express himself better, might give you more compliments. However, unfortunately, I don't have the talent to be obsequious to you. I will only say to you, Sol, that if ever in your life you should, chas v'cholilah, be in need, may your treatment of your uncle stand at your side (as a protector)... Don't think, Sol, that your uncle has become accustomed to the torment... Life is very difficult, perhaps even more difficult than it used to be... However, in each difficulty, in each predicament, you react, Sol, with a letter of encouragement, with financial help, etc. Truly, if we were to really reflect upon it, we could consider it to be divine intervention. That G-d simply chose you to be (His) messenger to help me pleases me. I would be even more pleased if fate were to bring us together and we were to see each other, face to face. Then, perhaps, we would know each other better. During the last four weeks, Sol, everyone was under the influence of prayers, songs and praise on the one hand, and repentance, forgiveness and atonement on the other. However, Sol, taking all of this together, this time I didn't even let a tear drop, (I prayed) simply by rote... To the contrary, when I came home from my hard work on the eve of Succos, and my wife handed me the $10 which you sent us for the Holiday, I sat for a while and reflected. And, in fact, at that moment I sensed a pressure, a heartache, and willingly or unwillingly I shed a tear over it!!! Now, thank G-d, we have stowed away all the Holidays. New times and new problems are approaching. We have gotten a year older. I don't know how anyone else in my position feels, but I'm satisfied that I'm dragging another year around on my shoulders. Today is my 48th birthday. I assure you, Sol, that 2/3 of my life has already passed. As a result, a few years of my life are left; we go downhill faster than uphill... Although I haven't accomplished anything yet with respect to my children, as long as we are alive we want to experience a bit of pleasure from children. I always had other dreams about bringing up children...about a career for children. Unfortunately, the times and the circumstances are such that a father is not a father, and a child is not a child... Understanding between children and parents is lacking, even between husband and wife; you can imagine what it's like between labor and capital... Yes, Sol, your words in your earlier letter to my Joseph are not (mere) words, but pearls. He's simply too young to assess them, but I comprehend very well what you write and I read your writing with a great deal of understanding, and each of your words is a word of encouragement for me. Your writing encourages me, awakens me to life, to existence. And if one considers it carefully, you are just like the doctor who visits the ailing patient and, although he recognizes that the illness is incurable, he doesn't lose his bearings and keeps administering injections. Whether they help or not, the doctor has carried out his responsibility to the patient. Well, it seems to me, Sol, that I have chattered enough already. Really, why am I causing a commotion with you there? After all, don't you have your own worries there? What else does Uncle Wolf want from you? Really, Sol, how are you feeling, and how is business? How is your wife, your son, Leonard, your in-laws, father, sisters, et al. Are they all well? Are all of them earning a living??? I have nothing to write to you about politics because, reading the newspapers before I do, you're certainly quite familiar with the current political figures. A bunch of bandits. Each one just like the others. Well, nothing else of importance to write about. Hearfelt regards to you and your worthy wife and son, Leonard. Heartfelt and loving regards to your sisters. Regards also to your father and in-laws. My wife, Aunt Malke, and Rivkele and Joseph send their heartfelt and loving regards, and Aunt Poria and Pinya Lewin send friendly regards. With respect, Your uncle, Wolf Lewkowicz Lipowa 44 Lodz All material Copyright 1995 by Marshall L. Zissman and Sol J. Zissman.