2 December 1946 ב"ה

 

Beloved siblings עמ"ש

I thank you, dear Fay, for your comprehensive letter. It is true that lately I have been busier and therefore can write less often.  Nevertheless I am very happy that you dear Fay have taken upon yourself to write regularly. I will make an effort in this letter to write about myself in greater detail and answer some of the questions that you dear Fay have asked me.

First of all I should like to tell you that I fortunately passed the examinations concerning which I wrote to you in my last letter. On the basis of these examinations I have been admitted to the physics studies and have thereby attained a goal which few of my fellow students have been able to achieve.  Since the facilities and laboratories (for atomic research) required for these studies are set up for only a limited number of students, those who pass these selective examinations have the possibility of studying physics as their major subject.

You can imagine the degree of stage fright with which we anticipated these examinations, which were pushed off at the last moment due to the delay in our professor’s return from Italy. So that actually only today I am starting to get to grips with the studies for this year.

From what I can deduce from the study plan I will be occupied this year at the University much more than last year. In the first place I will have to spend much of the day in the laboratories, that is what the independent character who has taken on the work in the laboratories needs to do. Thus this year’s studies in general, including lectures, are organised with much greater intensity. In addition I have resolved to finish the final exams in the auxiliary subjects (mathematics, chemistry) by the end of this year, which will take away the rest of my spare time. So, if I can manage to stick to the plan as presented here it will only be possible if I can be freed from having to earn the necessary money for my support.

I could of course postpone my final examinations in the auxiliary subjects to the end of next year, which would possibly enable me to continue giving lessons. However that would mean spending an extra year at the university, and I would not receive my diploma until the end of the fifth year. This would, no doubt, be an unnecessary loss of time and money.

I now turn to you to ask your opinion on this matter. I myself do not know the status of our share of our grandfather’s ז"ל fortune. I know even less concerning the rest of our pieces of jewellery probably being kept in safekeeping with Berl נ"י. I must therefore request of you to send me further details about all this, if possible with amounts. It is my hope that you might succeed in enabling me to have about 120 pounds at my disposal for this year.

I especially turn to you dear Fay תח' and request of you to speak with Uncle Berl concerning this matter, to lay out the matter for him, hear his opinion and send me a detailed report.

No matter what, you need not be concerned about me. For the present Uncle Pinju נ"י is agreeable to lay out the necessary money for me.

During the Chanuka holiday (one week) I was at Uncle Pinju’s נ"י, and helped him getting settled into his new house. You no doubt have heard that Uncle Pinju נ"י  is now working as a manager in a construction venture company (Habone) and has built a house for himself. This house belongs to a new settlement constructed by Chaverim of Hapoel-Hamizrachi, close to Bene Brak (20 minutes by bus from Tel Aviv). You can’t really call it a house. It’s a two-storey little house in which 4 parties live as joint owners of the house. Yet things are pretty roomy and comfortable. The move entailed quite a bit of work. Not only did we have to move all the stuff, including furniture into the new flat, we also had to move things of Chane Hinde ז"ל that had been in storage in Tel Aviv. Among those things were also our stuff (2 boxes). By this means I had the opportunity to get at these things.

So you see, dear Fay, you wrote to me about these things at just the right time. We unpacked all the stuff from the boxes and arranged it, for the most part, into a linen closet. I believe that the possibility may present whereby I can send you a part of it. Let me give you a brief overview of the things that are there so that you can decide what is worthwhile to sent:

1. Bedding – a few pillows, a pair of “Duchende” (duvets).

2. Linen – linen towels (17), bed linen, hand towels (10), tablecloths (12), shirts, aprons, etc.

3. Clothing - a few dresses and skirts, pullover, etc.

4. Covers and curtains.

5. Dishes: dairy, meat, Pessach and the pressure cooker

6. Books – a box full of books and scripts from our late father ז"ל.

As you can deduce from this list, I could use much of it now or later for myself. Sending you all this material might not be worth the money. On the other hand there are things such as dresses which you three girls (ladies) could well use… I don’t know whether it pays to send you dishes, which take up a lot of room here. I myself can no longer distinguish the meat from the dairy. Some of the shirts and towels I have already taken for my own use. The books will be arranged in racks which Pinju erected in a room for this purpose. I have allowed Aunt Gitel, hopefully with your permission, to use some of the covers and curtains for now.

I believe that is all that I have to report to you, briefly, in this matter. So think about it and let me know. I believe it might even be easier, rather than sending you all those things, to give them along as freight with someone travelling to London. Perhaps the visit of Leo and Gusti שיחי' might offer a suitable opportunity for this purpose.

I had also wanted to include in this letter answers to some delicate questions that you dear Fay had asked, such as terror. I would prefer to postpone answers to these questions for the next letter, since it is rather late now. I will offer my opinion concerning the book “Thieves in the Night” after I have read it.

Please extend my best greetings to all the relatives and acquaintances.  Uncle Pinju and aunt send their heartiest greetings. Please write – all of you including Tuly – and tell me more about yourselves.

Yours forever,     

Zwi

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