In this photo we can see my cousin Beki in her wedding dress. The interesting thing about this photo is that the groom has been cut off from the picture. My cousin Beki’s first marriage was to a man she met in Israel and she sent her grandmother her wedding picture. This was a very traditional behavior. Unfortunately this man she married had some sexual problems and my cousin divorced him. Beki’s maternal grandmother, my paternal grandmother, Rasel Baruh cut off the groom from the picture as soon as she got the news of her granddaughter’s divorce.
Beki later married Misel Saul and she had a very happy marriage. Beki and Mishel had two children named Edna and Beni. Beni worked as a manager at one of the branches of Bank Hapoalim in Israel. He had a son and a daughter. He got divorced after having been married for 28 years. On the other hand, Edna has an extraordinary life story. She didn't get married till the age of 38. She became pregnant from her boyfriend at 38. Her boyfriend was against her giving birth to the baby. Edna thought that this was her last chance and though the boyfriend rejected the child, she gave birth to him. Today this boy, named Mishel is a 19 year old young man, and though his father is still alive, he doesn't know him. And the father doesn't want to see him either.
My husband and I made our first trip to Israel in 1955, because going to Israel was my husband's greatest dream. We spent very nice days with my cousin Beki there. That trip was like an adaptation of Ortakoy life in Israel to me. My cousin Beki went on with her knitting. But this time it was really to support the family budget. Beki would usually make borekas and cakes at home, because the pastry business wasn't that advanced during those years in Israel, and she also wanted to earn some extra money. Her husband Mishel and my husband got along very well. They introduced us to their friends. We witnessed for the first time how the soil was made fertile.
