A Tribute to Erwin and Riva Baker (continued)

girl, had visited her pregnant sister around Tisha B'Av (a fast day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples) when Mala went into labor. Rivka was alone with her and did not know what to do. She went into a panic. She finally touched base with her mother and thank G-d, the baby was delivered safely. Mala went on to have other children. Rivka had photos of all of her siblings except Mala.
4. NUCHUM was very devoted to the family. He worked on his father's farm. He had not married prior to the outbreak of the war.
5. YIDEL, described by Rivka as being handsome. He also worked on his father's farm. Later, Yidel married a woman from Koretz, a neighboring town. I have recently learned from Israel Zinman, head of the Organization of Mezeritsh in Israel, that Yidel Burko was one of approximately 150 Jews that were taken by the Nazis to Kiev at the outbreak of the war. He, along with others, died from hunger and was buried near the Dnieper River. This information is documented in the Mezeritsher Yizkor book. Rivka never knew the details of her brother's death.
6. ZELDA was Rivka's older sister and idol. Rivka always looked up to her. Sixty years later, Rivka would still talk about her. My father attended school with Zelda. Zelda learned how to sew professionally from the zvai shana svester (in Yiddish, the two pretty sisters) Chana and Sura, who were cousins of my father. When it came to picking a chusan (a groom), Zelda was extremely particular. Rivka recounted that Zelda met 59 chusamin (potential grooms) and rejected them all for any and all kinds of reasons: height, physical appearance, inappropriate apparel, etc. Her mother was worried that she would remain unmarried. Zelda did not care what her mother had to say. She told her father to go to the next daughter in line, Rivka. Zelda finally found an acceptable chusan by the name of Yitzchok Baruch, a dentist. She married him and moved to Dubna, a neighboring town. Rivka always recounted an interesting story regarding Zelda's potential marital prospects. On one occasion, a young man was seated in the chusanim room waiting for Zelda to come out. Apparently, Zelda took her time in coming out. Faiga entertained the gentleman by giving him tea and refilling his cup numerous times. He finally got to the point when he became bloated with so much tea that he shouted: "The engagement may be off but please don't give me any more tea!"
7. RIVKA—to be discussed later.
8. BRACHA (Buzia, for short). Rivka thought she would be the youngest child in the family. However, Faiga gave birth to Buzia nine years later at the age of 50. Buzia was the mezinkah (the youngest). Neighbors often made fun of Faiga having a child at such an age. However, Buzia turned out to be a great comfort to Faiga and Faiga wished that all of her loved ones would be blessed with such a daughter.

As you can see, life for the Burko family was good. They were a very close knit family, blessed with material wealth and steeped in the traditions of Jewish life. Jewish traditions were strictly observed in the Burko household.

As with all shtetlach, there were characters in Mezeritsh that stood out. One such character was Shivanu the Rebbetzin (the rabbi's wife). The truth of the matter is that Shiva never married. She was responsible for teaching young girls how to daven (pray). She would come late at night to the Burko household always carrying a koshik (a shopping bag). As the girls would start davening from the prayer book, Shivanu would nod off. Faiga yelled: "Shiva, how can you tell if the girls are pronouncing the words correctly if you are sleeping?" Her response: "Don't worry Faiga, I am not sleeping. I know all the prayers by heart." She always attended every wedding in Mezeritsh saluting the bride and groom by dancing the mitzvah dance.

Another such character was Pitzyah, who was referred to as Pitzyah the Meshugginer, Pitzyah the Crazy One. He was Shiva's brother. He did not work and refused to speak to his sister or accept any help from her. He was a self-trained fiddle player. He slept on a bench in a synagogue.

Rivka was a very devoted daughter and sister. She was also a very attractive redhead with klein (freckles). No wonder she attracted the attention of Izak Bebczuk, later known as Erwin Baker. Izak was born in a neighboring town of Ludwipol (in Polish) or Selitsch (in Yiddish) on March 5, 1913, to Leib and Gisia Bebczuk. He was the oldest of four children. The Bebczuks were also financially well off. As a young man, he owned a mill in Zalesnitza, near Mezeritsh. As Motel Burko had business in wholesale grain, he soon became acquainted with Izak. He was impressed with the entrepreneurship of this young man. Furthermore, he came from a good family. This would be the perfect shidach (match) for Rivka. He soon began courting Rivka traveling to her home on his bicycle. Rivka was not in a hurry to get married. However, she respected her parents too much to put them through heartache as Zelda did. In addition, her sister Chayka told her to marry Izak because he would be able to support her. Chayka did not want Rivka to suffer in making a living like she did. So, three weeks after Zelda got engaged, so did Rivka. Izak took Rivka to Selitsch in a horse and wagon to meet his parents. People from the town peeped out of their windows to see whom Izak Bebczuk has chosen for his kallah (bride). They were married in 1939, the same year that World War II started and the same year that Poland was divided in half, with Hitler taking the eastern section and Stalin taking the western section. Mezeritsh fell under the occupation of the Russians. This was the beginning of the end for the Burko/Bebczuk family life.