Bubbe Brocha

Bubbe Brocha

One of the greatest women to have ever come into my life as I was growing up was my great grandmother, Bertha Nehampkin. She would have an influence on my life that would be far reaching. I recently turned seventy years old and my memories of her are still vivid.

Bubbe Brocha, along with my grandmother and mother, taught me to speak Yiddish, with a smattering of Russian thrown in.

Bubbe Brocha was always called Brocha as long as I knew her because Brocha means prayer. She was an answer to prayer for many women in her little village inSimferopel,Russia. She was a mid wife, confidant and a friend to anyone who ever needed her, men and women alike. She was a sort of Jewish Mother Theresa. She cared for the ills of everyone.

When I knew her she was in her eighties, and she lived to be almost one hundred. She lived upstairs with her son and daughter-in-law, and my parents and I lived downstairs in a large two family house. When I’d go upstairs to visit with Bubbe Brocha, she’d always remind me to bring my skull cap. That was very important,

because she’d pray with me in Yiddish. To this day I’m grateful to have learned Yiddish.

Bubbe Brocha was the matriarch of our family and I’m thrilled that I had the opportunity to know this dynamic lady.

Related Articles

More From Prose

A Fishy Tale

I received a fish tank in my teens. I’m not sure if it was for my birthday or some other…
A Fishy Tale

Silly George

My neighbor asked if I could watch her cats while she was away. One of her cats, George, had to…
Silly George

A Lawsuit with God

One of the most beautifully haunting pieces of cantorial music I have ever sung was called A…
A Lawsuit with God

Attacking the Wrong Thing

One summer I was mowing the yard with my mom and at some point I heard her yell “run!” I…
Attacking the Wrong Thing

T'shuvah

T'shuvah is the Hebrew word, for lack of a better term, meaning return. The Jewish writer Erich…
T'shuvah

Tanya

Tanya grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home in the Soviet Union. Her family's tea business was…
Tanya

The Time I Hated God

That period of time may have lasted about a year or so, but the amount of time isn’t that…
The Time I Hated God

Burned but Beautiful

An EMT volunteer for United Hatzalah in Israel named Yoav Shemaryahu responded to a medical…
Burned but Beautiful

Trying to Fit

I have been very lucky in that there is a lot of flexibility regarding what I can wear to work.
Trying to Fit

Steven Grabiner

Steven Grabiner finally made it to Israel. The savings bonds that he received at his Bar…
Steven Grabiner

My Mother's Honor

 awoke late the morning that I write this, perhaps delayed by a vivid dream.
My Mother's Honor

Satan Popped the Watermelon

It was Friday and I was busy cleaning and getting ready for Sabbath as usual. I tossed out an…
Satan Popped the Watermelon

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation