Hannah Israel had 18 children, 12 boys and 6 girls. They all survived to adult hood. My mother was also the youngest of the 18 children. One became a catholic priest, the others all married, and my mother had the smallest family, which was 6. The rest of the other children had up to 15 children, whose decendants are all still catholics today
“My way back Home”
I will begin back in 1812, when Jacob Goodman was born in what was then known as Prussia, Germany. Julia Goldman was born in 1814, and somehow, they ended up in England, where they had several children, one being Jane Goodman, who was my Great Grandmother. Jane Goodman married Morris Israel, and they also had several children, one being My Grandmother, Hannah Israel, who was born on the 1st April, 1877, in England. She was Jewish. My grand father was born in Ireland, and he was a catholic. Grandpa and Grandma came to Australia on the same ship in 1894. The family story was that Grandma and Grandpa were never legally married. This is not true, as I have found their marriage certificate. Their marriage was just never recognized by the catholic church, because they had got married in a Methodist Church. I don’t know if Jews have similar rules, but the catholic church does not recognize marriages unless both partners are baptized catholic and they get married in a catholic church. when they arrived in Sydney, Grandma ran off with Grandpa to Qld, where they were married, as Grandpa already had family there who had immigrated earlier.(actually, most of his ancestors were convicts and bushrangers) The only thing anyone knows about Grandma was that she was supposed to be coming out to Australia to marry a nice Jewish boy, but met my Grandfather on the ship coming out and upon arriving in Sydney, she absconded with him to QLD. My mother was 4 when Grandpa died, and Grandma was supposed to have written to her family (I have no idea where ) and the only answer she got back was a letter that said “You are dead to us”. How true this is I have no idea and there is no one to ask now anyway, as all the 18 kids are dead. My mother was the youngest and she died in 1988. Who Grandma’s family were and where they lived I have no idea to this day, as have found it quite impossible to find any of her relatives either here in Australia or in England.
My mother married my father when she was 24, and we went to W.A. to live. My parents were raised strict catholics and they went to live on a large cattle property in the Kimberly district of W.A.. I was one of 6 living children, and I was the oldest girl. Mum and Dad didn’t want us to end up without a proper education, as they had, so they thought it was the best thing at the time, to send us kids to a boarding school, so off we went to boarding school. I was in Grade 3 and my sister was just starting Grade 1 when we went to boarding school, as I and my 2 older brothers had had a governess from the time we had started Grade 1.
I was not a “easy” child at boarding school, or at home, and the nuns were for ever writing home to my parents, telling them I was a difficult child who rebelled against every thing the nuns taught me concerning religion, or anything else for that matter. While I at this boarding school, I happened to meet a Jewish girl whose name was Tamara. I can’t remember her last name, as it was so hard to say, so I just called her Tamara. She told me her parents were from Russia, and had come to Australia to get away from being persecuted. (what or who by I can’t remember, as I would have been about 10 or 12 at the time) Any way, one long weekend, Tamara asked me would I like to come home with her, and I said yes, as my parents were about 2,000klms away. We only went home for school holidays. For long weekends, us boarders always went to stay with day schoolers. Any way, this long week end, Tamara took me home with her and she showed me in her Bible, that she said was holier that the Pope’s, how the catholicts had changed the Bible to fit their religion by leaving out the second commandment and splitting the ninth one into two. She also told me that even Jesus would not have worshipped on a Sunday, he would have worshipped on a Sabbath, as he was a Jew. I can remember thinking at the time how wonderful this religion was, as they turned off their lights and lit candles at night, and prayed in a language that was not English or Latin, as being a catholic at that time, we all had to learn to say the mass in Latin. After we went back to boarding school, I refused to bow down to their stupid statues and told the nuns that Tamara had a Bible that was holier than the Pope’s, as the Jews had their Bible for thousands of years before catholics had theirs. Besides I told them, Jesus was a Jew, and he would not have worshiped idols like the nuns made us do, and he would not have gone to mass on Sunday, he would have gone to mass on a Saturday, so I told the nuns I was not going to go to mass on a Sunday any more, I was going to go to mass on a Satuday, the same day Tamara did. Saturday used to be our sleep in day, but I used to get up and go to mass every Sabbath, as worshiping God on the right day was more important to me than having a sleep in. I also completely refused to worship statues any more. You can imagine how well that went over in a strict catholic girls convent. The nuns flogged the life out of me, and I was made to attend confession on Sabbath, and then we went to mass on a Sunday. We used to have holy communion every Sunday, and I was forced to go to that, but you were not supposed to chew the host, you were supposed to swallow it whole, as the nuns told us we were hurting Jesus by chewing the host. Tamara told me that was a load of rubbish, so I always made sure a nun was looking at me when I took communion and would chew it just so I could get back at the nuns for flogging me. Also, when I went to confession, I used to make up the most outrageous sins that I could think of. The priest always used to give me so much penance, but I never said them. Tamara told me no man can forgive you your sins, only G-d could, so I no longer believed in this going to a priest when you had done something wrong. Besides, I thought, what sins could I do, when a girl locked up in a Catholic Convent was not even allowed to speak to a man other than her brothers. The nuns forbade me to even talk to Tamara after that, but we used to pass notes to each other during school. Tamara was a day schooler, while I was a boarder. The nuns wrote home to my parents, saying that I was causing problems, and when we came home for holidays, I told my Dad about Tamara’s Bible, and Dad told me I didn’t have to do any thing I felt was wrong, so I got him to write a note to the nuns, telling them I didn’t have to do what I thought was wrong. The nuns flogged the hell out of me, but I refused to conform to their ways. I promised Mary (Jesus mother), that if I ever had a daughter, I would call her Tamara, which I did. You must remember that I only ever read a catholic catechism, and my Sunday missal, so I was completely ignorant of what is in the Bible. Catholics back then never even read a Bible. Our Bible was a catechism and our Sunday Missal (which I still have to this day. I simply can’t throw them out. Why I don’t really know). Although I refused to worship statues, I still believed in this stuff about Mary being the first Catholic women, and the first apostles being the first catholics. I didn’t worship a statue of Mary anymore, I just prayed to her like any catholic girl locked up in a girls convent would.
The only reason I remained a catholic after I ran away from home was becasue I was told that once you are baptized a catholic, you are a catholic for life, and you can't get rid of it. Reminds me now of some disease that one keeps passing on to their children. The thought of chaning my religion never occured to me until way down the track.
I can remember every Christmas, my mother had a candle stick with 8 candles on it. She would light it the 8 days before Christmas, and us kids thought it meant 6 kids and Mum and Dad. Thus 8 candles. Where she got it from I have no idea. One of my sisters got the candle stick when Mum died and then flogged it off. I now have many Jewish candle sticks.
Tamara was from Russia, and I don’t know what happened to her, but I am sure G-d knows where she is today, as she changed my life forever.
I finished boarding school and go a job as secretary at the local shire and saved up enough money to by an air ticket to Qld, to get away from my mother and my family, as my mother was almost as abusive as the nuns. I told them all they were nothing but a bunch of pagans, as they still used to go to church on Sunday, where as I went to Chruch on Sabbath. I came to Queensland, and went and lived in single accommodation supplied by the mine which I worked for. I met my husband over bacon and eggs one morning, as he was also hired by the same mine. I married him on my 19th Birthday, and Tamara was born 40 weeks and 2 days from our wedding night. (and I am still married to the same man after 27 years). Yes, G-d blessed us with a daughter, who I immediately named Tamara. I told my husband why, and he said he loved the name, as much as he loved me and our new daughter. Then 23 months later we once again blessed with a child, who was a boy. I had all these names picked out if he was a boy, and they just didn’t suit him, and then the name Simon came into my mind, and I looked at him and he looked like a Simon to me, so that is what I called him. I had no idea that both Tamara and Simon were English variants of Hebrew names. To me now, it is all divine providence.
I had gotten married in the catholic church, when I was 19, and as my husband was not a catholic, but had been baptized Church of England, so the priest said he would marry us as long as my husband signed a piece of paper, allowing me to raise the kids catholics. My husband told me he didn’t care what religion I raised our kids, so long as I raised them to believe in God and keep the laws of the land and learn some moral values. I had to get maried in the catholic church, as my mother refused to sign the papers for me to get married any where else, as I was under 21. She also refused to come to my wedding as I was marrying a non-catholic. There were only two kinds of religion in my mother's eyes and they were catholics and non-catholics. However, my Dad and my favourite brother Russell came over from W.A. for my wedding. I did get the kids baptized as was the catholic church’s commandment. In about 1974 or 75, I bought a Readers Digest book, and in it, it listed the festivals of xmas and easter as pagan holidays, and also told how the catholics had burned Jews at the stake if they didn’t do what the Pope said. The book said that the pope called it "Judaizing on the Sabbath". I still have the book. I refused to celebrate xmas and easter any more. I never brought my kids up to believe in xmas or easter bunny stories, and they have got on just fine with out telling them a bunch of lies about pagan beliefs. Some thing medical happened to me, which caused me not to be able to have anymore children (we had planned on having at least 4), and the catholic priest found out about it and came to my bedside while I was in hospital and told me that what had happened to me was punishment from god for using contraceptives and for saying evil things about the Catholic Church. My husband ordered him out of my hospital room. When I recovered from the operation, I wrote in my resignation to the catholic church, telling them they were all a bunch of pagans and murders and I didn’t want my name written in some book that said I was a catholic when Jesus did come back to take us all to heaven. The catholic priest wrote back to me, tellling me if I did not withdraw my letter and go to confession, I would be excommunicated. I wrote back and said "Good, excommunicate me, and do it soon, as I don't want to die with my name written beside the names of a mob of pagans and idol worshippers". You must remember that as I had been raised catholic, I had all their stupid beliefs in the back of my mind, but just didn’t know what church to go to that worshipped on a Sabbath, and didn’t have a church full of statues of dead people. Tamara also told me that photos were not invented for years after Jesus and Mary died, so how would the catholics know what they looked like anyway. As you can imagine, Tamara has played a very deep part in my life. You can also imagine how the catholic nuns at boarding school reacted when I told them what Tamara had told me. My sisters and friends all ways used to say to me “Monica, why don’t you just give it up and do what the nuns tell you and you won’t keep getting a flogging” Anyone else with common sense would have, but not me, I refused to do what the nuns told me to do. No man or woman on this earth was going to tell me what to do. ( my husband says I haven’t changed in the 27 years we have been married)
I began reading the Bible from front to back not much longer after I sent in my resignation from the Catholic church, and could find nowhere in the Bible where Jesus had changed the Sabbath to Sunday, so I went in search of a religion that worshipped on the Sabbath and did not have a history of burning people at the stake for not believing in what they taught, and I found the Seventh Day Adventist church, which I joined. Also, I could not find anywhere in the Bible that said men are not allowed to get married, and women had to lock themselves up in a convent and be married to Jesus, just to show G-d how much you loved him. I also read that Jesus had brothers and sisters, so there went the catholic's theory that Mary was the "Blessed Mary ever virgin" story. Another thing I found out was Peter had a mother-in-law, and Peter was supposed to be the first Pope, so that threw catholism out my window completly.
I began reading the kids Bible stories from birth, and taught them the real 10 Commandments (I’m sure they don’t remember them). Then in 1984, I had an accident which left me in so much pain, and I was also partially disabled from the waist down. I could walk if I used my walking machine. (I gave it to the SDA Retirement village after G-d fixed my back up).
I ruptured 3 disc and broke 2 vertebrates in my back. I had many back operations, but was not given any relief , so in 1993, I went to Israel. I had heard or read (I can’t remember which, as I was in so much pain and on so may pills at the time) about a person who had gone to Israel and put note in the wailing wall, asking G-d to cure them and they were cured, so I went out and bought a pocket Hebrew book and found out the name of the Hebrew G-d –wrote it on a piece of paper and off to Israel I went and put a note in the wailing wall and asked the G-d of the Hebrews to fix my back, as I was in such pain that I gotten addicted to prescribed medication, so was placed on a methadone program. I had to get special permission from the Australian Government to take my methadone with me. When I got to Israel, I had to drag myself with the help of a walker to get to the wailing wall. I was on a conducted tour, and the tour guide told me he would put the note in for me, but I refused, as I believed at the time that the wailing wall was where Jesus would have worshipped, but was also where the Hebrews used to worship, but I decided to by pass this bloke called Jesus and go straight to the top so to speak, as I had gotten nowhere praying to Jesus to fix me. Anyway, I came home from Israel, and one night I had a dream, and an angel spoke to me and told me that all I had to do was step out in faith and throw away my pain medication and G-d would fix me. I woke my husband up and asked him had he heard anything, and he told me to go back to sleep, as I was probably hallucinating, so I went back to sleep and I had the same dream, so I woke up and got out of bed and threw all my methadone and all the other pills I was on at the time, down the bathroom sink, and I began to walk like I did before the accident, and I was not in any pain any longer. I did go through the terrible withdraws and my husband pleaded with me to ring up my doctor and get some more methadone, but I refused, as to do so in my eyes would have been a sin, so the best I could do for G-d was to ask him for the strength to get me through the withdrawals. I was a practicing SDA at the time this happened, and the SDA Minister gave me a scripture in the New Testament to read which was from Philippans 4, verse 13, which said “I can do all things through G-d who gives me strength”. I kept saying that over and over again, until the withdrawals left me, then I was OK again. I began going back to the SDA Church, and then began going to all the public schools in the small mining town we lived in, telling the little kids about this wonderful person called G-d, and what He had done for me.
In December, 1988, my mother died, and I sent for a copy of her death certificate, and discovered that my Grandma’s name was Hannah Israel, which sounded Jewish to me, but I did not do anything about it at that time. I had only seen my Grandmother up until I was 4, so I can’t remember anything much about her. I did not know then that made me Jewish by birth. I only found that out later.
Then, in 1996, I went back to Israel to put a note in the wall, thanking God for fixing me. We had to walk through the old city and we also visited the holocaust museum. I had no idea why, but I began crying when we walked through the part where all the little Jewish kids who were killed are pictured. I was crying so much because I had found out by then that these people would have been relatives of my Grandma. A Jewish woman I met on the buss, asked me why was I so upset, and I told her that these people were my Grandma’s relatives and I told her that my Grandma’s name was Hannah Israel and she was Jewish, and she told me that made my Mum Jewish and me Jewish and my kids Jewish. When I returned to Australia in 1996, I sent for a copy of my mother’s birth certificate, and on it it listed her mother’s name as Hannah Israel, along with all the names of the other 17 children's names she had had, so I sent for a copy of my grandparents marriage certificate, and on it it listed my Grandfather as catholic and my Grandmother as Jewish. They were married in a Methodist Church, but the catholic church never recognized their marriage. Grandma, for some unknown reason, brought up her 18 kids catholicts, including my mother, who was the youngest of the 18 kids. There were 12 boys and 6 girls.
Anyway, after finding out my Grandmother was Jewish, I began to study Judaism as a pass time, and then I rang up a Rabbi and asked him did he have any books he could recommend that would teach me about Judaism. He asked me why and I told him, and he told me I was already a Jewish woman, as the heritage was passed down by the mother, so I was already Jewish by birth, and that made my kids Jewish. ( I still can’t work out why Jews believe that.)
I was completely stumped by all this, so went to Brisbane last year and stayed with a Rabbi and his family, who were very kind to me, but I came away convinced I would never make a good Jewish woman. I had gone down to Brisbane to celebrate the Jewish New Year Festival. When I returned, I still kept on studying Judaism, but went to the SDA Church every Sabbath. I am not sure that I will ever call myself completely Jewish, as Grandpa was a catholic and Grandma was Jewish, thus making my mother only half Jewish, and Mum married a non Jew, that makes me a quarter Jewish and me marring a non Jew, makes my kids 1 eight Jewish. I still can’t work out how I am supposed to be fully Jewish, or where it says in the Bible that any kids born to a Jewish woman are automatically Jewish, but I accept that I am part Jewish. I have since been told told how and why I am fully Jewish.
In November last year, I discovered I had cancer of the liver, and the Doctor could not tell me how long I had to live, so I was going flat out trying to find my long lost Jewish relatives before I died. I had not told my family that I had cancer, as didn’t want them worrying about me.
A few weeks ago, I broke out in a rash all over my body, and I went to the Doctor and he told me that I was in the final stages of cancer, and the rash was caused by my organs shutting down, so I told my husband what I had, and what the Doctors had told me, so my husband rang up the kids, they came home and I was supposed to go to hospital and live out the rest of my life in some awful place that I hated the spell of, so I decided if was going to die, I wanted to die in my own bed. I went to hospital for one day, where they did a biopsy of all my organs and told me I was supposed to have cancer in other organs. That was enough for me, so I booked my self out of hospital and came home in a taxi with my nightdress on.(this was not the first time I have absconded from a hospital in my night dress, and caught a taxi home. I am quite renounced for doing this).
Tammy (Tamara) and Simon and his wife Peta, came home to see me, and I asked Tammy to look in my computer address book and find the email address of a man in Israel who I had been corresponding with, and she asked him to take a note to the wailing wall, asking G-d to fix me like he did in 1993, and sure enough, I was cured. Tammy also put a message over the internet, saying thank you for all the emails that every one had sent. I also read the things she said about me, and I was very humbled by what she wrote. She is such a quiet girl, and I was just astounded that she wrote what she wrote. Anyway, after I began feeling better, I went down to Brisbane to celebrate Pass over, and while I was there, I asked this holy man who is a Cohen, to pray over me, just to make sure that I was no longer sick. I never mentioned to the Rabbi I stayed with what had happened to me, as I don’t know what Rabbi’s think about G-d fixing up people who were supposed to be dieing. All I know is that I got better after my friend David in Israel, put a note in the wall, and I was cured, or so I thought so, so I went to Brisbane as I felt OK again. Before this, I couldn’t even get out bed without help, as I was so weak. The nurse came every day to take blood from me to work out how the condition of my organs were in, and the Doctor came every day to see me. He tried to get me back into hospital, but I refused, as I was still sure G-d would fix me like He did the last time. I was prescribed steroids to help take away the rash and stop my whole body from itching.
My sister arrived down from Townsville to see me as well, and she is a registered nurse, and she told me that the blood tests I had were just impossible for a person to have, and that I should be dead, but I am not and I just fine again now.
The doctor calls me a medical mystery, but I know I am a miracle mystery.
Anyway, I was supposed to be on my last legs, according to my doctor, and blood tests that came back after I had a biopsy were so high that I was supposed to be dead if I was to believe them, which I refused to believe anyway. I was sure that G-d didn’t get me up out of bed where I had been lying for 9 years, just to let me die of cancer a few years later. I have work to do for G-d, and I go and teach the kids in the State’s schools here in Rockhampton on a voluntry basis, all about this wonderful G-d who loves me and fixes me up when I am sick.
I will include the blood tests results so you can show them to a doctor and he can tell you what they are supposed to mean. Myself, I have no idea what they mean. My sister does.
Bill mine78 ( normal 2-20)
ALP mine 750 (normal 30-115)
SST mine 766 (normal 0-45)
DCT mine 1,550 (normal 0-45)
AST Mine 1,500 (normal 0-40)
CD mine 2,500 (normal 80-250)
So, if was supposed to be dieing, then I sure wasn’t dead, but I was very sick the week before Passover, as I had arranged to go down to see Rabbi Wernick for that week, but I had to ring up and tell him I was not coming. But, when I got better, I rang him up and told him I was coming down for Passover. I didn’t mention that my blood tests said I should be dead, I just told him I was supposed to have cancer and I asked the Rabbi to ask the holy man who is a Cohen, to pray over me, and he did, so I was sure that I was cured by then, so when I got back home, I went and got another set of blood test done to see how bad my liver was not functioning, and the blood tests came back all normal.
I had had a blood test every day from when I broke out in the rash, as the doctor wanted to monitor my supposed cancer, but I refused to stay in hospital after they did another biopsy, which said not only did I have cancer of the liver, I also had cancer of the pancreas and the upper and lower bowel. I refused to believe the doctor, and I was sure that G-d would fix me, and he did.
I still go to the Seventh Day Adventist Church most Sabbaths, as there are no Jews or Synagogues where I live. My husband keeps asking me why I go there, as the few times he has been to church with me, I have got up and walked out because I didn't agree with the Minister who was giving the sermon, or if they start singing hymns where they say God is 3 and God is 1, I get up and walk out, as to me God is God, one God, not 3. Sometimes on a Sunday, I go to the old people's home and visit them, as their kids have just dumped their parents there and have forgotten about them. I think it is so sad, as I believe the old folks have alot to give us in the way of knowledge. Besides, both my parents are dead, and I just wish they were still alive so that I could tell them that we not going to go to hell and burn forever. I have a Saint Bernard dog called Abby who weights 120 kgs, and she comes with me to the old people’s home, and they all love her and she licks everyone to death, but they don’t seem to mind. I think they are just glad to see me and my dog. My husband plays golf on a Sunday a lot, so when he does, I go visiting.
The rest of the week, I go to the public schools here on a voluntary basis and teach the little kids about God, and how wonderful He is. Being a music teacher, I am able to take pieces of scripture and put them to music, and I think there is nothing more beautiful that for God to hear the little kids voices lifted up in songs of praise to Him.
So , if you want to believe what I have written, that is OK with me, if you don’t want to believe it, that is Ok too, but I know in my heart that it was the G-d of the Hebrews who fixed me and it will be Him who I pray to from now on.
Since first writing this, I have had several emails from people who I know all mean well, but please, who ever is reading this, don't suggest I divorce my husband of 27 years who has stuck with me through thick and thin, just because he is not a Jew. I refuse to believe that Almighty G-d wants me to divorce Geoffrey, just because Geoffrey is not Jewish. Geoffrey believes in G-d just as much as I do, and he says that never a day goes by without him casting his eyes up wards and saying "Thankyou Mate for what you have done for my wife and family". If by divorcing Geoffrey is the only way I can become a practicing Orthodox Jew, then I will remain a Seventh Day Adventist, as when I stood at the alter in the catholic church, which I know I have left, I promised G-d that I would would "love, honor and cherish Geoffrey until death do us part", and I made that vow to Almighty G-d, so there is no way I am ever going to break that vow. I believe in the saying "what G-d has joined together, let no man tear apart", and I know in my own heart that G-d does not expect me to break my marriage vows.
Also, I believe that G-d gave me Geoffrey because He knew what a great bloke Geoffrey was, and I was going to need such a great bloke on my journey through this life. I am quite sure I will be with him and all my other family, in the next life as well. Besides, what other man would have put up with so much? G-d certainly picked out Geoffrey for me long before I even knew him, or that is what I believe anyway.
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