Letter from Shaya Balaban to Max Portnoy, March 1971, Translation 2. See notes.
Translated by Hike Schulman.
March 14, 1971
Odessa, Russia
To our dear uncle and aunt.
We hope that our letter will find you in the best of health. Your letter which you wrote on March 1 was received by us March 12. It took 10 or 11 days. I’m writing you that I’m very happy to read that you and Aunt Esther are feeling well. Naturally not like in the younger days. The same is with me also. 25 years ago our health was a lot better. That’s the way it is. When one reaches an older age we have to thank G-d that we can walk around. I wrote you in my last letter that my , Chika feels better but it’s not the way I wrote to you. The whole time since she became ill she’s not better. She receives all kinds of medicine and she doesn’t become better from them. She doesn’t get the medicine free. It costs a lot of money. The cost wouldn’t bother us if she felt better from them.
If I didn’t tell you before about her illness I’m telling you now. She fell and she bruised herself and from then on she has headaches and she became nauseous and vomits. Besides this she has pain in her liver so much that she’s in bed more than she walks around. It is now over two months and I hope to G-d that she will become well. The doctor comes in all the time and no money is required for his visit. But you can’t be a pig and you must give him something in his hand.
As for myself, I can tell you that I must be well for her sake because aside from me there is no one else to care for her. So I’m strengthening myself. I should not G-d forbid fall on my feet (get sick).
Now I write to you that I wrote to your niece in Kiev. It’s been over three weeks and I have not received an answer from her. Perhaps they changed their address or they do not want to answer me or they can’t. But I’ll see. Perhaps someone a person will be going to Kiev and will find out if they are living and why they haven’t written an answer to my letter.
Now dear, uncle Max, you write and ask me if it would harm me if you put money into a letter
March 14, 1971
Odessa, Russia
To our dear uncle and aunt.
We hope that our letter will find you in the best of health. Your letter which you wrote on March 1 was received by us March 12. It took 10 or 11 days. I’m writing you that I’m very happy to read that you and Aunt Esther are feeling well. Naturally not like in the younger days. The same is with me also. 25 years ago our health was a lot better. That’s the way it is. When one reaches an older age we have to thank G-d that we can walk around. I wrote you in my last letter that my , Chika feels better but it’s not the way I wrote to you. The whole time since she became ill she’s not better. She receives all kinds of medicine and she doesn’t become better from them. She doesn’t get the medicine free. It costs a lot of money. The cost wouldn’t bother us if she felt better from them.
If I didn’t tell you before about her illness I’m telling you now. She fell and she bruised herself and from then on she has headaches and she became nauseous and vomits. Besides this she has pain in her liver so much that she’s in bed more than she walks around. It is now over two months and I hope to G-d that she will become well. The doctor comes in all the time and no money is required for his visit. But you can’t be a pig and you must give him something in his hand.
As for myself, I can tell you that I must be well for her sake because aside from me there is no one else to care for her. So I’m strengthening myself. I should not G-d forbid fall on my feet (get sick).
Now I write to you that I wrote to your niece in Kiev. It’s been over three weeks and I have not received an answer from her. Perhaps they changed their address or they do not want to answer me or they can’t. But I’ll see. Perhaps someone a person will be going to Kiev and will find out if they are living and why they haven’t written an answer to my letter.
Now dear, uncle Max, you write and ask me if it would harm me if you put money into a letter
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