Family
When I look at those who came before me, I see mirrors of myself. Something of my own face is in theirs, and something of my own nature too: their stubbornness, their restlessness, their longing for a better life. I honor their lives and I honor their sacrifices. Many of them survived hardships I can scarcely imagine, losses and uprootings that would have broken most people.
They kept going for the sake of children and grandchildren they would never meet. I am one of those grandchildren.
Because of them, I am who I am, and for that I am grateful beyond measure.
My great-grandmother Liebe Bernstein
My great grandmother, Liebe Bernstein with (L-R) Pauline, David, Jack and baby Jechiel
Liebe Bernstein with sons Mayer, Ben and Morris
Liebe Bernstein
My grandfather Philip with sisters Pauline and Anna
My great-uncle David Bernstein
Reunion in England with families of David and Jack Bernstein
Edel Edelson, my maternal great-grandfather. He came from Poshvetin in Lithuania aka Panevėžys.
My maternal great-grandmother Rivka Edelson
My paternal grandfather Philip Brigish (Bernstein)
My father Harry with his father, Philip
My grandfather Philip and grandmother Janie at my parent's wedding - 1939
My grandmother Janie Brigish (Ress)
My maternal grandfather, Joseph Porter
My maternal grandmother, Shana Portwer (Edelson)
My mother, Fanny Brigish (Porter)
My mother Fanny with her mother Shayna
My mother Fanny Porter with her four brothers (L-R) Maurice Porter, Aaron Porter, Philip Porter and Marcus Porter
My mother Fanny and father Harry at their wedding - 1939
My father, Harry Brigish
My father Harry Brigish with Helen Suzman and Robert F. Kennedy - Johannesburg, 1962