This article was originally published on March 8, 2010
Sharon Lettvin Neville, a 9-time traveler from Nipomo, California, had one goal in mind when she decided to join OAT on our Israel: The Holy Land & Timeless Cultures adventure: to reconnect with the long-lost relatives she’d last seen more than three decades before. With the help of her Trip Leader, Motti Saar, Sharon was able to orchestrate a family reunion—the details of which she shares here …
I knew that I had family in Israel: I had met them when I last visited the country in 1977, and some had also traveled to the United States—but I had lost touch with them when my mother passed away in 2001. So when our OAT Trip Leader, Motti Saar, contacted me and my husband, Jack, prior to our trip to introduce himself and ask if there was anything special we’d like to see or do during our time in Israel, I decided to see if he could help me reunite with my family.
Most of these relatives were my mother’s first cousins (from both sides of her family), so I wasn’t even sure if they were still alive. I had only met one cousin from my generation, but I knew that there were others. All that I had to help Motti and me find these family members was the faded listings in my mother’s old address book.
The evening we arrived in Israel, Motti called both sets of my relatives and—amazingly—was able to reach them! My mother’s cousin in Tel Aviv and another cousin’s wife in Rehovot (a city about an hour’s drive from Jerusalem) were still alive—and both were very happy we had contacted them. They were quite eager to see me and meet Jack; My Tel Aviv relatives invited us to join them for Shabbat dinner the next night, and we made plans to see my Rehovot relatives ten days later, when we would be in Jerusalem.
Sharon’s family on her maternal grandmother's side: (From left) Madeleine Foni, Amnon Yam, Haya Schori, Koro (the dog), Sharon Neville, and Rifka Schori.
The next evening, we walked to my cousin’s house for Shabbat dinner and were greeted by my cousin, Rifka, her daughter, Haya, her husband, Amnon, and another cousin, Madeleine (whom I had never met). After we caught up on the last years of my mother’s life, I heard stories about my mother as a child and the special relationship she had with Rifka. We pieced together the family of my mother’s generation, including where they had lived and who their children were. I learned about the cousins of my daughter’s generation and their children and heard stories about the emigration of Rifka’s family from Germany in 1934 and how Madeleine had survived the Shoah (Holocaust) and eventually found herself living in Israel. We traded addresses and email information so that we could stay in touch after we left. It was wonderful!
When we reached Jerusalem, my Rehovot cousins contacted Motti and said they would meet us at our hotel. He gave them directions, and on the night of their arrival, made sure they arrived safely at the hotel.
Sharon’s family on her maternal grandfather’s side: (From left) Schloime and Rifka Milioner, Sharon Neville, and Yocheved Tzachor.
This time, my mother’s cousin’s wife, also named Rifka, her daughter, Yocheved, and her son, Schloime, greeted us. I had met Rifka and her husband, Yacov, in 1977, but had never met Yocheved and Schoime, my second cousins.
We began by discussing the last days of my mother’s life, and I was regaled with tales of my mother’s childhood in Europe. We also caught up on mutual family members living in the U.S. I learned that my mother had sent the clothes I had outgrown to Israel when I was a child, and Yocheved shared how she was always complimented on them when she wore them. I learned about life on their moshav (a small agricultural Israeli town or settlement) and their children. Since Yocheved goes to Thailand several times a year, we decided we would try to meet and tour the country together. We exchanged information so we could keep in touch.
My trip to Israel was one of the best OAT trips that we have taken—but Motti made it even more special by going out of his way to make sure that I could reconnect with my Israeli relatives again. I am forever grateful to him for his patience and help. My family in the U.S. is very small, but now—because of Motti—I have rediscovered a very large family in Israel.
Have you connected—or reconnected—with relatives while traveling on an OAT adventure? If so, I'd love to hear about it. Share your stories with me at harriet@oattravel.com.
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