Rivka Nissim

The Long Journey Home of Our Grandmother Rivka Nissim-Mavashev

In every person’s life, there are moments that they remember forever. One of the happiest moments for me was when I completed the search for our grandmother Rivka’s parents, brother, and sisters. Unfortunately, I was born after our grandmother had already passed away, and my father’s family deeply mourned the premature loss of their beloved mother. In the Mavashev family where I grew up, little was known about my mother’s family tree. In the house, there were photographs of our grandmother Rivka and grandfather Avraham Chaim on their wedding day in Jerusalem, as well as a photograph of Grandma’s sister with her husband on their wedding day. The children knew that Dad brought Mom from distant Palestine, and she spoke Ladino, the language of the Sephardic Jews who originated from Spain.

Upon their arrival in Israel in 1979, my father, Shmuel Mavashev, met with his uncle Itzhak Chaim Mavashev’s family to learn more about his father Avraham Chaim’s fate. We got to know the wonderful families of Esther and Mordechai Gul and their children, the Babaev family, the family of Yakov Mavashev, his wife Aliza, and their children, and the Blor Mavashev family. Through them, we met all the Mavashev families who had come to Palestine in the 1930s. However, we could not gather any new information about our grandmother. None of the relatives from the Mavashev family knew anything about the whereabouts of Grandma Rivka.

Time passed, but the idea of finding his mother’s relatives never left my father. The biggest stumbling block was that none of the children knew their mother’s maiden name, and for some, there was a language barrier that made searching seem futile. A radio message, written by me with the help of my friends, yielded no results. I understood that searching for a person without a surname was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Meanwhile, time flew by, and there was still no information about the existence of Grandma’s relatives.

My father and I began the process of selling our grandfather’s house in Jerusalem. One day, on our way to the lawyer’s office, we stumbled upon the office of the Chief Rabbinate of the Jews of Spanish descent. Upon hearing our story, we were told that in 1905, during the Turkish rule in Palestine, all birth, death, and other records were kept in Aramaic. We were instructed to leave our grandmother’s details (name, year of marriage, the name of her husband), our phone number, and wait. We didn’t have high hopes, but we thought it was worth a try. About a month later, we found ourselves on the same street and visited the rabbinical office again. There, a pleasant surprise awaited us. On a small piece of paper, it was written, “Rivka, daughter of Mordechai Nissim, married Avraham Chaim Mavashev on 14.8.1905 in Jerusalem.” Our joy knew no bounds. Now we had a real task ahead of us, and along with it, a real challenge – “where to begin?”

It turned out that there are hundreds of people in Israel with the surname Nissim or Nessim. As part of my search, I planned to visit museums. I started with the Museum of the Diaspora and Jewish Heritage, and then the Museum of the History of the Jewish People Worldwide. The surname Nissim and Nessim was quite common, but I couldn’t find anyone named Mordechai among them.

I read online that I could submit an application to the State Archives in Jerusalem. They informed me that I wouldn’t be able to handle the search for the archival documents they would provide on my own. All records from that period were in Aramaic. The internet came to my rescue. One day, while “surfing the web,” I accidentally stumbled upon a genealogy center in Jerusalem that specialized in family searches. After writing to them, I became a member of the Israeli Genealogy Center. Attending a conference at the center, I realized the incredible journey people had undertaken to find their relatives. They shared stories that were both remarkable and deeply moving. There, I met the center’s director and received some valuable advice.

First, I joined the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago Family Search Centers.

Second, I wrote an article in Hebrew, and my sister, Sveta Kazieva (Borokhova) from San Diego, translated it into English. These articles, along with photos of our grandmother and her sister with her husband, were posted by me on the websites of these organizations. Additionally, I created a page on MyHeritage.com to build our family tree.

My husband, Mikhail, and I planned several trips to Jerusalem. One of them was dedicated to visiting the Nahlaot neighborhood, where Jews of Spanish descent lived. The idea of walking through the district in the heart of the old city of Jerusalem, consisting of 32 neighborhoods and 100 synagogues, was not only crazy but also, as it turned out, meaningless. We returned home in complete despair. Our thoughts were consumed with the question, “What’s next?”

Mikhail and Frida Namatiev

Our next trip to Jerusalem was focused on visiting the “House of Vinera” museum, which houses documents and photographs of families who arrived there after being expelled from Spain. Unfortunately, the museum was closed. I entered the first house I came across. The kind host explained that the museum had been closed six months ago. Hearing my story about searching for my grandmother’s relatives, she kindly decided to help us and gave us the phone number of a guide who had worked in this neighborhood for many years and knew the history of all its residents. Rachael, the guide, told us that she hadn’t heard of the Mordechai Nissim family but strongly recommended that we contact Ephraim Levi, responsible for translating records from Aramaic to Hebrew and for searching for Jews expelled from Spain, at the Jerusalem Municipality.

Doubts began to creep in. Perhaps we were looking for the wrong people, and our grandmother had a different surname? I thought. But some force was guiding us, and my husband and I found ourselves at the door of the Jerusalem Municipality. Ephraim turned out to be an invaluable worker with an amazing memory, and the invaluable computer of our time showed that our grandmother’s surname was Nissim, and she was the daughter of Mordechai Nissim.

I told Ephraim the story of my years-long genealogical search. After listening carefully, he said, “Search for Rav Shmuel Nissim, Rav Yakov Bhor Nissim on the internet. If you can’t find them, come to me, and I will help you with archival documents.” Mishé and I left Jerusalem with a feeling of dissatisfaction but were more convinced than ever that my grandmother Rivka was the daughter of Mordechai Nissim. The next day, I turned to the wonder of technology known as the computer once again. With its help, I discovered that Rav Shmuel Nissim lived in Jerusalem and was the president of Jews of Spanish descent in 1880. Through the genealogy website MyHeritage.com, I learned that he had four sons: Hakham Yakov Hai Bohor, Hakham Mordechai, Moshe, and Eliahu Nissim. I immediately noticed a section labeled Hakham Mordechai, which featured a family tree with 16 children, two wives, photographs of brothers, children, and the first wife’s grave. To my surprise, the family tree was expertly constructed. I was particularly interested in the absence of a photograph of his daughter Rivka, but the “Place of Death” section indicated “Bukhara.” I couldn’t believe my eyes. I needed proof.

Despite the late hour, I called my father. After confirming that his grandfather Mordechai had two wives (something my father had never mentioned), I recalled my last conversation with my Aunt Tamara, who tried to explain to me that her grandfather Mordechai had 5 or 6 children, and after the death of his first wife, he married again. At the time, I couldn’t understand which grandfather she was referring to. As I was diligently researching the family of my great-grandmother Ona Davydova-Mavasheva, my Aunt Tamara was very excited during our conversation and shed many tears, pleading with me to find her mother’s family. I was equally emotional and decided to postpone our conversation. Little did I know that this would be our last discussion. I closely examined the faces of Mordechai Nissim’s and Perla’s children, which not only made me believe but firmly convinced me that they were the sisters of my grandmother. The sisters Tamara and Luna resembled Aunt Tamara and Aunt Maria, and the sister Reina resembled Aunt Sara. It was late, but I still decided to call my father again and exclaimed, “I found them!”

We didn’t sleep the whole night. I thought about my father and how he would deal with this information. The next morning, Mishé and I went to see him to share the discovery and show him photographs of his long-lost family. My father studied the faces of his mother’s sisters and would often say, “It’s a pity my brothers David and Abo and sisters Frida, Tamara, and Sara didn’t live to see these joyful days. How they anticipated this moment!” My next task was to find the relatives of my grandmother, most of whom lived in North and South America. I asked Albert’s son, who is fluent in English, for help. He noticed that a young man named Eran, living in Jerusalem, had created the family tree. It was a cloudy day with light rain. Numerous questions kept running through my mind, questions that had remained unanswered for many years, leaving me with nothing but guesses. In my hand, I held the phone number of Eran’s parents. Tomorrow, I will speak with Shmuel, my grandmother’s nephew. It was difficult for me to imagine how I would begin my story. After all, 109 years had passed since my grandmother left her family home, and many of her relatives were no longer in this world. What did those still alive know about their grandfather’s lost daughter? Would they be interested in learning about the fate of their long-lost aunt Riva, what parents told their children about the sister who had gone to distant Bukhara, and what information they had about our family, the family of Avraham Chaim and Rivka Mavasheva? I expected to find answers to these questions. The long-awaited morning had arrived. “Hello, my name is Frida,” I said. “Could you please tell me if your mother’s name was Simkha?” I inquired. “Yes,” a pleasant male voice replied. “This may sound strange to you,” I continued, “but your mother is the sister of my grandmother, Riva, and thus, she is my aunt.” After that, I had a lengthy conversation with Simkha’s son, Eran, who, despite his young age, had dedicated himself with great dedication and love to creating the family tree of the Nissim family. If he hadn’t noted the place of his grandmother’s death on the family tree, I would never have found her relatives. A few days later, a photograph of my grandmother appeared on the family tree, right

But she didn’t return alone. Alongside her on the family tree are her husband and their 8 children, all living in Jerusalem in the home of Shmuel and Edna Azrieli. From them, we learned that after Perla’s death, there were 19 grandchildren and a large number of great-grandchildren. Soon, the long-awaited meeting took place in Jerusalem at the home of Shmuel and Edna Azrieli. From them, we learned that after Perla (the mother of our grandmother Rivka) passed away, Mordechai married for the second time to a young and virtuous woman named Luna Zeituni. In their union, they had 10 more children: Esther, Simkha, Moshe, Ehuda, Rachel, Mazal, Rafael, Elazar, Yakov, and Perla. Our grandmother’s grandfather, Rav Shmuel Nissim, was born in 1841 and was known for his humility. He oversaw the Misgav Ledach Hospital in Jerusalem for 28 years, which he founded. Later, he became the chairman of the High Court of the Sephardic Jews in Jerusalem and led the charity institute. Rav Shmuel passed away in 1916 and is buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

His son, Yakov Hai Bhor Nissim, was the sexton of the Yakov Hai Synagogue. At the entrance to the synagogue, Yakov Hai Bhor planted a eucalyptus tree, which still adorns the street where the Nissim family lived. He is buried in the Sanhedrin Cemetery in Jerusalem, next to the grave of our grandfather, Avraham Chaim Mavashev. This year, my father and I visited his grave. One of the sons of Rav Shmuel Nissim was Moshe Nissim. He was sent from Palestine to Samarkand to teach the Bukharian Jews the Hebrew language, ensure the observance of kashrut, holidays, and Jewish customs. He left his wife and children in Palestine. At the beginning of the revolution, he expressed his desire to return to Palestine to be with his family, but he was arrested by the authorities. Overcome by sorrow, he fell ill and passed away.

Moshe Bar Nissim, the son of Yakov Hai Bhor Nissim, was an assistant to Ehuda Ben Eliezer, who revived the Hebrew language, which later became the official language of Israel. After his mentor’s death, Moshe continued to produce two dictionaries in Hebrew. Details about his life and work can be found on Wikipedia. Eran told us that in 2010, he visited the Mount of Olives, where the ancestors of our grandmother Rivka are buried, including her parents. Our grandmother’s family lived in the neighborhood of Mishkenot-Sha’ananim in Jerusalem, in the Moshe Yamin area. Mishkenot-Sha’ananim, which translates to “Abode of Tranquility,” consists of two buildings. The first was constructed in 1860, and the second in 1866. It had 28 one-and-a-half-room apartments, its own water reservoir equipped with an innovative device for those times – a pump. Additionally, there was a ritual bath and a bread oven. In this neighborhood, our grandmother Rivka was born in 1892, the daughter of Mordechai and Perla Nissim. In 1905, she joined her fate with Avraham Chaim Mavashev.

If you were to ask me what motivated me and why I devoted many years to tracing my genealogy, I would say this: I wanted to ensure that we, the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Avraham Chaim and Rivka Mavashev, do not become people who are ignorant of our roots and heritage.

And here I am, Frida Mavasheva, the daughter of Shmuel Mavashev, granddaughter of Rivka Nissim, happy to have found, reconstructed, and presented to my dear father Shmuel, beloved uncle Rafael, cherished Aunt Maria, brothers, sisters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren the lost page of their mother’s and our grandmother Rivka Nissim’s life, thereby closing the circle of a centuries-long separation between our grandmother and her genealogy, leaving a legacy of our ancestors for future generations.

This is the joke fate played on them, gifting them love and separation.

Eran Azrieli-grandson of Simha Arieli (Nissim) half-sister of grandmother Rivka (Nissim).

The family tree of the son of Rabbi Shmuel and Tamar Nissim – Hacham Mordechai Nissim – along with his first wife Perla Dudi Tarablous (5 children) and his second wife Luna Za’itoni (11 children): Rivka Nissim, the eldest daughter of Perla Dudi Nissim (Tarablous), is depicted in the top right corner.

The family tree of Hacham Mordеchai Nissim and Perla Dudu (Tarablous) Nissim. On the left side is the family tree of Abram Haim Mavashev and Rivka Nissim.

Sisters and brothers Rivka Nissim

Shmuel (moulli) Azrieli, Jose A. Nessim, Eran Azrieli, Salvador Sarfa , Fredda Safdeye, Ronald Jack Nessim, Paule e Nessim

Israel. Long-awaited reunion of Shmuel Mavashev’s family with relatives of his mother Rivka Nissim.

Historical meeting. On these photos, Shmuel Mavashev and his daughter Frida met with the grandson of Tamara (sister of Shmuel’s mother Rivka)- Benjamin and his wife Esther from Miami, Florida. They were visitng Israel and were surprised to know that son of Rivka, Shmuel Mavashev, is holding their hand.