Opoczno, 16 January 1927 To my dearest and most devoted brother, as well as nephew, and niece, I received your dear letter of December 16 yesterday under the following circumstances. The day before yesterday, I was at a marketplace 28 kilometers from Opoczno and my cousin, Moshe Zilberspitz, was also there. Going home, we rode together on the same wagon, so that we engaged in a conversation about you, about your childhood, about your separation from us, about your letters, about the love and devotion which you demonstrate to us, and so on. You can picture, dear brother, that the entire five hours that we rode we spoke only of you, and the conversation was so sweet and pleasant. Unaware of the bad weather, I didn't notice that the entire 28 kilometers had flown by and that I was once again in Opoczno. Crossing the threshhold, everyone ran toward me with a happy cry, "A letter from Shloyme and also a $10 check." Concerning the check, later. I am not capable of conveying on paper how much joy your writing evokes in us. Your writing, your manner of expressing yourself, your fidelity to, and love for, us no one in the world is capable of putting a value on, except for me, my sister and brother-in-law. We carefully and clearly reflect upon your letters, and we see in you not only a sister's son, a youngster, but a mensch with all of his powers of understanding, who is worthy of being referred to with the appellation of mensch. Yes, devoted Sol, I am not able to find any expression or any words to respond to your devoted writing to us with which you seek to cheer the wounded hearts of your uncle and aunt. We sit now, the three of us, by the table, I, Uncle Lazer, and Aunt Estherl. My sister says, "Would that I were able to compose such a letter; you would see all that I would write about." Uncle Lazer says that, with your intelligence, you understand in Chicago everything that's happening in Opoczno. For example, you understand what Aunt Malke thinks of me... And I, dear brother Sol, sit and think to myself about what to write, how to answer such a generous and devoted brother. I am a bit nervous, deeply involved with business matters. However, I would really like to get everything else off my mind. I concentrate on my memories, and I recall that, in fact, this Saturday it will be 18 years since I was called to the Torah before my marriage. And I see you before my eyes as you, in fact, on that same Sabbath began the study of the Five Books of Moses. Yes, Sol, eighteen years, eighteen sorrowful years have disappeared since then. I have lost half of my life during these eighteen years, and yet that Sabbath is engraved in my memory. I attempt to close my eyes, and then I see you and your friends, the Hebrew teacher, parents, family and friends. Everyone, everyone, surrounded you. Everyone came to hear and see your friend bless you. At the time, I thought to myself, "We are planting a new young tree now. May G-d grant that this tree may mature with healthy roots, with strong branches and with sweet fruit." And, thank G-d, after eighteen years I see the tree matured, developed, fruitful. Although I am far from the tree, still its aroma reaches me. I pray to G-d, the Almighty Creator, that your roots become so strong that no wind or storm be capable, chas v'cholilah, of affecting you. As to your writing that you would be happy to see us again, with G-d's help everything in the world is possible, particularly with you Americans. I believe and am convinced, dear Sol, that if only you have the opportunity, you will surely not be restrained and you will come to Europe, to the land of your birth. The day of your arrival will be a national holiday for us. For the time being, we can only dream about it. Aunt Estherl has already accelerated the time of your coming and, early this morning, she awoke from a sweet dream in which she dreamt that you arrived with your dear Esther and that you danced so strenuously that the slats of the bed danced along with you... As to your having become a citizen, so I congratulate you. I know that, in America, it's a big thing to become a citizen; it's not Poland or Romania. As to your purchase of a building, I wish you a lot of luck. May you move in safely and live there in good health with your dear and devoted wife. And when you have the store in order, everything put in place, then remember to send us a picture of the building and of you and your wife and, if possible, of your sisters. Now, as to the wedding of your sister, Bryndl. Dear Sol, I note in your writing that you are not wholly in agreement with Bryndl... But what can we do? We recognize many things as crooked that straighten themselves out and, contrariwise, straight things which become crooked... Even though Bryndl didn't send me a wedding invitation, knowing in advance that I wouldn't be able to come to the wedding because of the quota, nevertheless we wish her good fortune. If she would be kind enough to send us a picture of herself and her groom, we would consider ourselves highly fortunate. I also ask you to write how Ruchele is feeling and how she makes a living! Further, dear and devoted Sol, as to your not fully understanding my letter with the two enclosed cards, you found it necessary to send along a check for $10. So, devoted Sol, I say to you that with this you have backed me up against the wall. First, I didn't demand and didn't ask for anything. Second, every time that I am under pressure and feel coerced, I want to unburden myself to someone to whom I feel close. And whom do I have here? To whom can I pour out my heart? I search around so long until I find you, my closest and best friend, to whom I always unburden myself. And I seem to feel eased. When I received the two cards from home, I was up to my neck in aggravation from the business, from the loss, and so on. And knowing that, as a husband and father, I had more or less fulfilled my responsibility, or perhaps not, how can Uncle Emanuel help...? Only to sell one's last pillow if it were necessary, chas v'cholilah, and not to stir up uncles and aunts; it's good to have such people at ritual circumcisions, at weddings, at engagement ceremonies. But what's the use? My wife's nature won't be altered. I really feel sorry for her having such an unlucky bungler for a husband. However, what's the use of trying to arrive at an understanding with her now as to those things that I haven't been able to arrive at an understanding on for the whole eighteen years... I wasn't out to squeeze any money from you with my writing, dear Sol, rather I was just getting it out of my system to my best and closest friend and brother. I wanted to send the check back to you, not because I have already become a wealthy man, chas v'cholilah, but simply because I want to work with all my strength and to win for myself a small piece of existence. On the other hand, it's very nice for you to have sent money for the business; at the same time, you want to satisfy your Aunt Malke...but can she be completely satisfied??? Well, dear Sol, I've had a good chat with you in this letter, and I believe that you will consider my writing carefully and understand it well. You are familiar with my plans. Until February 1, I don't know what sort of world I am in. The chances are 99 out of 100 that I will remain here for another year. Aunt Malke does not want to move here. She remains satisfied to be in Lodz while I am in Opoczno. I will write more about this. I can write that, for the time being, one can make a half-way decent living here. Although it's not great, it's so-so. The reason that I send so little home is quite simple.; I want to remain an honest man. I want to repay everything that I borrowed and that I obligated myself for. I am acquiring a good reputation here thanks to my promptness and thanks to the help of my sister and brother-in-law. I have totally devoted myself to the business and work with all my strength so that the business will be able to continue to exist. Later, if I have accomplished something with my work, I will then begin to think about family matters. So, regards and kisses from your loving and devoted uncle. Regards and kisses from your Aunt Estherl, Uncle Lazer, Aunt Malke and cousins. With respect, Wolf Lewkowicz Heartfelt regards for your dear wife, Esther, for your dear in-laws, father, sisters, family, uncles, et al. All material Copyright 1995 by Marshall L. Zissman and Sol J. Zissman.