Embedded Files
See also letters to and from Magdalena's mother in that time period.
Marriage Certificate
Marriage Certificate
Married celebrated in Montreux [Switzerland] the 26th of October 1916
Has the wrong birth month for both of them.
Announcement
Announcement
October 2016.
Wedding announcement
On her marriage (dated Sept. 10, 1916)
On her marriage (dated Sept. 10, 1916)
Geneva, September 10, 1916[1]
Blessed, loved and cherished
Married couple, up to 120 years![2]
Be exalted or suffer,
The heart needs a second heart
A joy shared is a joy twice
A pain shared is a pain half.[3]
This is the main focus of life. But unfortunately the war precedes the victory and a forced heart, isn't it a defeated heart? In order to conquer a heart, it doesn't take superhuman exertion ?, omission ?, cunning ?, struggle? yes of real war ??? Now you have already made peace !! Amen! with Masel, God will certainly bless you, because he is the first step towards world peace! The world really lacked good, pious examples !! The world longs for peace, you have already achieved it! Keep it too, don't forget, dear Jonas, that a Brit made fun of man's stupidity & said: “Cette chimère me fait pitié de voulois garder entière celle qui n'est que la moitié "[4]!! and you, dear Malsyla, don't polish the male gold too much, because polished gold shines more, but loses a lot of weight and intrinsic value! Man and woman have to fit into one another like the protruding and inward parts of a ship, in order to sail all the safer and more cheaply across the boisterous sea of life. - - You invented the secret to it, you clever ones, you now know the secret of peace, you know the magic spell: love: & you have probably noticed that a true peace victory is only possible through love. If you always want to defeat each other, there is only one thing to do: love each other !!! So, love, love, love, three times up !!!! - Cheers to the newly married couple !! And high the happy mood !! Because, my dear ones, “the mood flattens the highest mountains and raises the valleys to heights, it is the mirror of the universe and of life as a whole. It creates good & bad, war & peace. Since I cannot come myself, so p (I'm going away on Tuesday: so take the following 2 stanzas from me: as the most precious gift of a mortal:
With good humor, cheerfulness and love
Give the strongest blows!
It is probably the best I can give you for your earthly get-together: May it become your motto for life & may your happiness be so great and strong that I should also get something of it for myself. A real flame gives and warms itself and everyone who approaches it warmth! - Written with sincere respect & love for you by your heat seekers
J Jehudis.[5]
Unfortunately I have to leave on Tuesday but hope to be back in time. Otherwise I would have loved to come to Clarens! I'll be back on October 20th at the latest, but sooner! You will be in Geneva by then. -
Best wishes from Moscow, Nov. 23, 1916
Best wishes from Moscow, Nov. 23, 1916
Grandfather's mother (Klara Jonas), Aunt Fanya, and three others
Moscow, November 23 [6]
My dear children!
The pleasant news of your wedding made me heartily happy. I wish you, my dear children, a lot of happiness and blessings. Be, dear Rafal, a wonderful and devoted man, and you, dear Madzia, a good wife. Live your life peacefully in complete harmony. Now I only dream that the war will end soon and I will see you healthy and happy. Dad already wrote to you that we were recently in Kiev. The meeting with my mother was very touching. Unfortunately, her life there does not matter. I enjoyed Rebecca a lot. Yefim gets a lot of money, and in general they live very well. I am delighted with Kiev itself.[7] At Christmas, Persia[8] will go there with Lelya[9] and Fanya. We have nothing new at home. We are all healthy. Children are very happy with Moscow. We live quietly and well. Write, my dears, how do you live, how did you settle down? Have you, Pascal put together a suitable wardrobe? Write about everything more often. I kiss you hard,
your loving mother.
Give my heartfelt greetings to dear Sonya and the children.[10] Today Mr. Wolf received your postcard dated November 1st. He wishes you all the best today. Signature
My dear! Please accept my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes from me. I kiss you hard, hard. Fanya
I congratulate you my dears and wish you happiness in life. Signature
Accept, my dears, my heartfelt greetings and warmest wishes; God grant that [...] young happiness to be spouses of all life. Kiss you, […]
Notes:
Not sure why this letter seems to imply that they were already married when it was written.
I was unfamiliar with this Jewish tradition to bless someone to live 120 years, or here to be married 120 years. See, for example, this discussion of its origins.
This is a poem written by Christoph August Tiedge, a German poet who lived from 1752 to 1841.
"I pity this chimera for wanting to keep whole that which is only half." I cannot find the source for this quote--in fact, only found it in one German book, and one Romanian magazine, just attributing it to the French.
Going by the transcriber, I have this as J. Jehudis. I did find a listing for a "Jehudis, Jsaak, 1892, voyageur de commerce, Russie, Makorow, célibataire" [Jehudis, Jsaak, 1892, traveling salesman, Russia, Makorow, single] as a candidate for naturalization in Geneva in 1914 (and subsequently granted naturalization). Thus, the Russian connection makes sense. [While the writing doesn't match, I did wonder whether this is the same person as the 1926 letter, since the names seems so close (J followed by a three-syllable surname also starting with J).
Just for historical perspective November 23, 1916 was less than 4 months before the Tsar abdicated.
My genealogy has no name for the parents of our great-grandmother, Klara Jonas nee Bernstein. Rebecca Bernstein was Klara's sister, but we don't know her married name. Don't know if Yefim (sp?) was her husband, but we know she had two daughters.
Presumably another sister, I had her name as "Percha". Looked up "Перся" in Google but don't find any hits as a name.
Seen other references to a Leyla, but don't know who she is.
No idea. Maybe the mother of the children Granny was taking care of in Geneva?
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