ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 100502 - Translation - Tombstone


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - Tombstone
Approval Date: 11/16/2022 11:57 AM
Family Surname:
Country: Lithuania

Click the picture to enlarge

I found this photograph among the papers of my cousin, a Holocaust survivor who died in 2019. He lived in Kovno and Gargzdai, Lithuania, during the Holocaust and later immigrated to New York. He visited Lithuania in the 1990s when the photographs were taken.

Can anyone translate the tombstone on the left (I believe that is the important one)? I'm wondering if my cousin took the photograph because the tombstone was for a member of our family, either the Olschwanger family or Birman family.

Response

11/16/2022 3:56 PM

This is a bit challenging, due to the grass obscuring part of the text. Here is what I can make out:

She breathed her last,

our mother, the important and the proper, flawless and honest.

And SARAH BOLFOVITZ died,

___ Fraydil daughter of David

[she passed away ___] Adar I, 5689

[May her soul be bound up in the bond of life.]

====================================================

The phrase "and Sarah died" is taken from the Book of Genesis, describing the death of the foremother Sarah, Abraham's wife.

The last name, Bolfovitz, might also be read as Volfovitz [Wolfowitz], although the letters V/W are usually represented by a double Vav, rather than by a Bet/Vet.

The name Fraydil is a Yiddish name. Since there is obscured text before this name, it is hard to be sure, but it might mean that even though her official name was Sarah, she was known as Fraydil.

I cannot see the name of the month, but it is followed by the letter Alef, meaning that this is the first month with that name, and this can only apply to the month called Adar. (In a Jewish leap year, the 12th month, Adar, is replaced by two months: Adar I and Adar II.). The exact day in that month is obscured, but the month of Adar I in the year 5689 began on February 10th, 1929, and ended on March 11th.

ViewMate Posting VM 100502

Submitted by Anna Olswanger

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Learn how to enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles submitted by volunteer researchers just like you!

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 100502

Submitted by Anna Olswanger