LOVE,
S.H. and the Mrs.
© Orah Buck, ISBN 0-9681733-0-6
Original letters available
for exhibition.
72-page softcover book.
25 Hebrew letters from Shlomo Hillels (1873-1953).
Excerpted in Voices of the Heart, Jewish Federation of Toronto.
The story behind Love, S.H. and the Mrs.
is intriguing. After my father died, I packed some books
from his vast library in boxes with some family albums and
assorted papers and brought them home to Toronto. The papers
and photographs sat untouched for a number of years. When
I was rearranging things, I picked up one album and a manilla
envelope fell out. Inside were about 25 Hebrew letters from
Shlomo Hillels, founding director of Beit Bialik in Tel
Aviv and a noted writer/teacher/community worker in Russia,
Israel and the U.S. They were mostly written to my brother
and me during the 1940s, a tumultuous time in Jewish history.
When I translated the letters, which were
written during a period in which most of the world was unkind
to Jews in war-torn Europe, I was touched by his tenderness,
warmth and humour. His letters reflect the importance of
modern spoken Hebrew and the need to publish Hebrew literature
in the U.S. and Israel.
| 28 Adar
II 1946
Orah and Mordecai, who are so dear
and beloved to us:
In three more days, Mrs. H. and I
are leaving America and returning to Tel Aviv. I will
remember you. I will write and you will surely answer
my letters.
...we are certain that you will continue your Hebrew
studies diligently, that you will read Hebrew books,
write Hebrew and be very good Jews. When Father wishes,
I will send you good books to read that are being
published in our Country.
Yours with Love,
Shlomo Hillels and his wife.
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Original letters available for exhibition
to show the promotion
of Hebrew language and literature between 1935 -
1951.
|
THE
JEWISH PRESS — New York • Friday December
22, 1995
Love, S.H. and The Mrs.:
Selected Letters of Shlomo Hillels
Preface and Translation by Orah Wigser Buck
Edited and Designed by Wendy Rosen
Toronto: Parkdale Press, 1995
Reviewed by Oscar Mohl
"...Orah has now collected these letters in
this delightful volume, giving us a window through
which we can appreciate not only Shlomo Hillels,
but the period in which he lived...
...The personal exchange encapsuled in this volume
gives us insight to an important period in our pre-State
[Israel] history. Lovingly assembled, it is a gift
to us all."
Oscar Mohl
The Jewish Press
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