Bubbe's Place: Stories

Malka and Lizzie Zimmer

We wandered from grave to grave aimlessly. Mama stopped me near a modest double headstone. "Here lie two special women, a mother and daughter. I want you to hear their story."

I stood there quietly while Mama told the following story.

There was a righteous Jew who went from Koshovoto to America. In America he did not forget the widows and orphans of his old shtetls. On Passover 1915 he sent a letter to the rabbi in Koshovoto. In the envelope was a carta (Ticket) to America for the widow Lizzie and her eight-year-old daughter, Malka. With the carta came a korts brief. (Short letter) It read, "I am sending you two tickets to travel to America, but when you arrive you are own your own. You can not expect more help from me since I have a big family of my own to support."

Lizzie was overjoyed. She did not hesitate or question. She was determined to grab this opportunity and travel to America with her daughter. When her neighbors warned her that she would be poor in America and would have no friends, she laughed at them. She replied, "America is a golden medina (Land). The streets are paved with gold. There is no poverty in America."

What a fool she had been. In America she was takeh orem. (Really poor) In America if a mentch (Person) could sustain himself by eating words, she would not have gone hungry. In Koshovoto a poor person could grow a potato, an onion, and then eat soup. In Koshovoto there was always a kind neighbor who would share their Shabbat dinner.

The neighbors were right. Poverty in America was worse. In America no one saw your poverty. But in America there was always hope for a better tomorrow. The dream of a better tomorrow was sorely missed in Koshovoto.

During their first week in America, Lizzie and Malka faced one problem after another. Fortunately there was someone from the Jewish community to help them overcome each problem. To begin with they needed some cash. The officials in Ellis Island wanted Lizzie to have a few dollars on her person before they would admit her to America. America already had enough beggars. The Yiddish interpreter in Ellis Island saw that Lizzie had no money, no address, and no relatives in America. Quickly he contacted the Jewish Aid Society. A representative from the society brought cash and an address where Lizzie and Malka had a room with board waiting for them. Without the cash and the address, Lizzie and Malka would have been sent back to Europe.

After the papers were stamped, "Approved", Miriam, a lovely lady with a very limited knowledge of Yiddish, delivered them to their new home, a boarding house. Thanks to God, the landlady, Sylvia Cohen, spoke the Mama loshen, (Mother Tongue) Yiddish. Sylvia assured them that her kitchen was glatt kosher. (Strictly kosher) Sylvia, the landlady, and Miriam explained that Lizzie and Malka would eat breakfast and dinner at Sylvia's table. They would sleep in a little room on the top floor of the house. They would enjoy this bargain for $2.00 a week. Lizzie and Malka were very impressed by their landlady who was so Americanized. (Assimilated)

Lizzie and Malka were tsoogehvoynt (Accustomed) to living with little or no physical comforts. The room was tiny and dark. The window faced a brick wall. They shared a bed. That was fine. It was a comfort for mother and daughter to share a bed in this strange place. They shared a bathroom with the other boarders. For sanitary reasons, each room had its own toilet seat. They had to bring their seat back and forth with them. They didn't always have hot water, but they had running water. This too was a miracle and much more convenient than Koshovoto's well and buckets. Lizzie and Malka reminisced, "Remember no matter how deep the snow was, we had to draw water from the town well and schlep (Carry, drag) it home. America is truly a wonderful place, even if its streets are not paved with gold."

Miriam found a job for Lizzie as a maid in a hotel. It didn't matter to the hotel management that she could not speak English. Miriam taught Lizzie how to get to work and to come home again. Miriam apologized, but she insisted and made Lizzie understand that Lizzie had to work on the Jewish Sabbath. Lizzie felt guilty about working on the Jewish Sabbath. Silently she prayed that God would forgive her for doing it. She only worked on the Sabbath to survive in this, strange land. Miriam taught Lizzie about American money. This was important so that unscrupulous people would not cheat Lizzie. Miriam told Lizzie that the Jewish Aid Society had paid the landlady for two weeks room and board. After two weeks Lizzie must give the landlady $2.00 every Sunday when she came home from work. Lizzie didn't make any friends at work. She couldn't talk with them. The work was hard, but she never thought about trying to get another job. She just accepted what she had to do to survive in America. She directed all her dreams onto her daughter. When she was tired, she concentrated on thinking how much better Malka's life would be. Malka would speak English. Malka would have an education. Cleaning hotel rooms was a small price to pay for Malka's future.

After Miriam had helped Lizzie organize her American life, she turned her attention to Malka. She explained that in America boys, and girls too, attended the public school. They sat in the same classes and studied the same subjects. There were no religious classes in the public school. Everyone learned to read and write and do arithmetic. It was all taught in English. Malka would need to speak and understand English as fast as she could. Lizzie and Malka would both need to speak English, so they must practice at home and stop speaking in Yiddish.

Lizzie and Malka were amazed. In Koshovoto boys went to one school and girls went to another. Boys studied many more things and many more years than girls did. In Koshovoto girls went to school for only two years. Sharon told them that American children, boys and girls, went to school for eight years. At 14 most American children went to work. But if the family did not need the child's wages, the child could stay in school for twelve years and graduate from High School!

Then Miriam told them about an even more astonishing free institution. It was called, " A Free Library." Who in Koshovoto had ever dreamed of such a place? The libraries had thousands of books and they lent the books free to everyone who joined. It didn't cost anything to join. You just needed to know how to spell your name. If you wanted to read, whatever you wanted to read, it was there in the Free Library! Lizzie and Malka said in unison, "Thanks to God for such a place!"

Miriam told them that the name of their local library was The Seward Park Branch. This library not only had English books, it had books written and printed in French, Polish, Russian, Chinese and even Yiddish! When she told them that many new Jewish immigrants went to and used this library, they begged her to take them there. Miriam did. Outside the Seward Park Branch Library was a fountain. Miriam explained that Andrew Carnegie gave the money to build this lower East Side library. While the two women and the girl were admiring the big building, they saw that people stopped and washed their hands in the fountain before entering the library and touching the precious books. When Miriam said that she would take them inside, Malka and Lizzie hurried to the fountain and washed their hands. Then they dried their hands on their petticoats before entering.

Miriam promised to take Malka to school at 8 A.M. the next morning. Malka must be washed and dressed with her hair combed at 7:45. They would walk to school together and Miriam would register Malka for an American education. Lizzie would not have to come with them. She would need to go to work. That was more important than being with Malka. Miriam would take good care of Malka for her.

Malka was very small for her age. Miriam and the school secretary thought that Malka did not understand their question or else that Malka did not know her true age. Malka insisted that she was eight. She looked like a small six year old. It didn't really matter. She did not know English and six or eight she would have to start in first grade.

When Malka stood, the ladies told her to stand straight. When she walked, they noticed that her gait was not normal. They realized that Malka had a physical problem. But they were kind women and decided to let it slide. They knew that the mother and daughter needed time to acclimatize, to adjust to their new land, their new language, and to modern life in America. They didn't want to add another problem for Lizzie to deal with. So they said nothing about Malka's health.

Quietly Miriam and the school secretary agreed that they would not report their observations to the health department. They knew that immigration would send back to Europe any person with health problems like contagious diseases, mental retardation, trachoma, etc. They didn't think Malka would fall into one of the ill health categories, but they didn't want to jeopardize her acceptance to America either. They agreed to see and say nothing.

In the months that followed, Malka soaked up learning like a sponge. The school days always seemed too short for her. Soon she was going from school to the library. She would do her homework there and if she had a problem the librarians were always willing to help her. When her homework was done, she would look for books that she could read with her limited English. Lizzie would come to the library from work and they would walk home together discussing the day's events. In the evenings Malka would try to teach her mother to read and write a little, but Lizzie was too tired to concentrate. She thought that it was enough for her to be able to sign her name. Read? Malka could read for her. Instead of studying Lizzie wanted to chat and spend time with her first and best American friend.

Who was this friend? It was Sylvia Cohen their landlady. Sylvia was a widow. When her husband died, she began to take in boarders. By renting rooms in her house and serving the renters two meals, breakfast and dinner, she made more money than any job would pay her. She had money to pay the mortgage each month, and to pay for repairs (God forbid) and to pay the taxes at the end of the year. She even had a modest savings account. What she didn't have was a family.

She had eight rooms that she rented. Occasionally, for a short time, a woman would rent a room. But most of her boarders were men. Sylvia loved having Lizzie and Malka in her house. Sylvia had no relatives in America. Her husband was dead. She had no children. She had no sisters or close friends. Lizzie became her friend, her surrogate sister. They would talk in Yiddish every evening when their work was done. Soon they were doing the dishes together and cleaning up the kitchen. Sylvia was in love with Malka too. Soon the two women would go together to the school to talk with Malka's teachers. Lizzie was the mother and Sylvia knew the English.

Their relationship was cemented the day that Sylvia asked Lizzie to call her Shevi and Malka to call her Tanta Shevi. (Aunt Shevi) She explained that in Europe her parents had named her Batsheva. All her loved ones and friends had called her Shevi for short. When she came to Ellis Island, the man said that Batsheva was impossible to spell or say. Then he asked if she was ever called anything else? She answered truthfully that family called her "Shevi". He seemed pleased and said that it was a good American sounding name and he wrote down "Sylvia." She didn't want trouble with an officer in Ellis Island so she kept quiet. Then forever after, Americans called her Sylvia. She missed being called Shevi. Still she warned them, that it was her private name, not to be uttered in front of fremder (Strangers).

After a year in school, Malka had been skipped to an age appropriate class. The teacher and Malka both knew that she would soon skip another grade. The teacher, Miss. Brown, was concerned about Malka's stunted growth and possible spinal curvature. Miss. Brown was always urging Malka to "Sit straight!" and to "Stand straight!" Finally Miss. Brown spoke to the school nurse. The nurse sent home notes about good nutrition. She wrote that Malka needed to drink more milk, to eat oranges, and green vegetables. Lizzie tried to provide the foods that the nurse spoke about. To stretch the milk supply, Lizzie added a little water to each glass of milk.

When Malka was twelve, she became very self-conscious about her physical shape. She cried to Lizzie that the other girls were much taller. She was dwarf like. Lizzie ordered her to never to say that she was dwarf like! Malka cried that the other girls were growing breasts on their chests. Why was her chest different? She told her mother that in the gym locker room, the girls pointed to her chest and asked, "Malka, how come your chest looks like a chicken? Will you marry a rooster? Are you going to lay eggs when we all have children?"

The gym teacher ignored the locker room laughter. Instead she ordered Malka to straighten her back. Malka tried, but she couldn't do it.

At first Lizzie told Malka not to worry. She promised Malka that she would have a growth spurt and catch up to all the other girls. She reminded Malka how far behind she was in school at eight, and how she had caught up academically. Malka would not listen. Malka insisted that she wanted to go to a doctor and she couldn't wait any longer.

Lizzie was frightened but at last she agreed. She talked with Shevi. "Shevi," she asked, "Are doctors in America expensive? How do I know if a doctor is good? Oh Shevi I am so afraid."

Shevi replied, "We will go talk with the Rebetsn. (Rabbi's wife) She will know or she will find out for us."

The Rebetsn was accustomed to helping poor immigrant women with their numerous problems. She kept records of her referrals and followed these up with notes on how the women were treated and how successful the treatment was. The Rebetsn told the women to take Malka to the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. She said that it was a wonderful hospital. Two sisters, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell and Dr. Emily Blackwell and their friend Dr. Marie Zakrzewska started the Infirmary in 1857. It was the first hospital run by women for women and children in the United States.

Lizzie asked, "Can a woman be as good a doctor as a man?"

The Rebetsn shook her head, "Back in 1857 a lot of people asked that question. And the first two times a patient died, the hospital was attacked by neighborhood mobs that were convinced that the lady doctors were killing their patients. But this is 1912, fifty-five years later and the Women's and Children's Infirmary on Bleecker Street is well known as a wonderful hospital. And if you go there money will not be a problem. Your Malka will get the best care.

They went. The doctor examined Malka carefully. She took x-rays. She asked Lizzie exactly what she fed Malka when she was a baby and a young child. In the end she said that Malka had had rickets, a bone disease, when she was a baby in Koshovoto. The rickets caused her skeletal deformities…the forward projection of the breast bone, the spinal deformities, and yes some pelvic deformities too. No Malka would not grow out of these deformities. If she were lucky, she would be four and a half feet tall. No she could never have children of her own. She explained that rickets was caused by starvation. [Today we know that Malka had had a vitamin D deficiency due to her terrible diet and the dark windowless house in Koshovoto and the clothes that covered her and kept her skin from the sun. Edward Mellanby discovered Vitamin D in 1922 while he was researching rickets.]

The three women left the doctors office in tears. For weeks Malka, Lizzie, and Shevi cried and mourned. Finally Malka announced, "I am done crying. I need to make a new, a different life plan."

Lizzie wiped her eyes and said, "We are survivors! We will make a new plan." Shevi wiped her eyes and agreed.

Malka continued, "No man will marry me. No child will call me mother. But I will not waste my life! I will simply love and work for a larger family, for my whole community"

Malka looked for work the year when she completed the eighth grade. Because of her Physical shape no one would hire her in a position where she would meet the public. Who would buy anything from a misshapen sales person? No boss wanted a deformed woman in his office, no matter how brilliant she was. Malka's opportunities for employment were severely limited. She finally found a job working in the laundry of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.

When Malka was off in the Free Library, Lizzie and Shevi would sit and cry. "It is such a waste! She has such a good mind and all people can see is her misshapen body."

They were wrong. First the nurses noticed her and then the doctors noticed her. She always came early. She would bring children's books and read to the children in the long hours before visitors were permitted. She would read the children's charts and when she went to the library, she would learn to red the medical books. Soon she was able to notice even slight changes in the nurses' patients. She would alert the nurses to any changes she saw. In time the doctors noticed her skills at observing and reporting on their patient's progress. Now the doctors and nurses saw past Malka's misshapen body and helped Malka become a valued and respected nurse.

Lizzie and Shevi grew old. Malka became their caregiver. As time passed, Malka took over running the boarding house. She had no time to cook and clean there so she hired an immigrant woman to do those chores. When the old ladies died, Malka inherited the boarding house.

Malka and her mother Lizzie were women worth emulating. They overcame so many obstacles to grow into modern independent women. Their lives were another of God's miracles.