Remember the day the sun came out in Szczebrzeszyn?

Let me quickly tell you what I did this morning since I'll want to go into detail about my extremely exciting afternoon. I went back to Yad Vashem to do some more research, and while I was largely unsuccessful in finding out more information about Grandma Esther (I only found one document related to her and it requires further analysis), I was able to visit the office of the Righteous Among the Nations. There I saw the original testimony and documentation related to Marisia's being honored at Yad Vashem, and I made some copies of letters I hadn't seen before.

Anyway, this afternoon my search for Zayde's cousin continued. The back-story: A woman named Sima Keniger (nee Roitman) had posted about the deaths of Zayde's brothers and mother on the Yad Vashem website in 1999, and listed herself as a niece of Zayde's mother (making her Zayde's first cousin). While there was a contact number on the posting, the same number today is that of a kitchen supply store. Yesterday, I tried searching on the Israeli white pages for the last name Keniger, but no Sima showed up. Today, I decided that I couldn't give up until I called each Keniger on the list and asked if they were related to Sima. I started going down the list, and after 3 unanswered calls and 1 woman who only spoke Yiddish, I decided to call a man named Joseph Keniger, since it would be more likely that a male Keniger would be related to Sima rather than a female. I asked Joseph Keniger if he was related to Sima, and he said that he was. I asked if she was his mother, and he said that she was something like a great aunt. He asked me my name, and I told him why I was calling, and then asked if Sima had children. He told me that she never had kids, but that her sister, Leah had two children. Then I asked him the question that I was dreading to hear the answer to: if Sima (or now also her sister) was still alive. He replied that he didn't know, since he stopped talking to that side of the family many years ago. But he did happen to have Leah's son's phone number, so he was next on the list to call.

When I called the number that Joseph gave me, Dov Shefer, Leah's son, picked up. I asked him if he was related to Sima Keniger, and he told me that she's his aunt--Leah's sister. He asked why I wanted to know, and I told him that I believed my grandpa and his mother and aunt were first cousins. He asked me what my grandpa's name was, and I told him Tobias Zylberman. "Tobias Zylberman...I've heard that name before," was his response. You can imagine how many emotions I was feeling just then! And then, the question I dreaded to ask Joseph Keniger, I could barely ask Dov--I was too nervous to hear the answer. He heard how I hesitated, and he understood what I wanted to ask. "They're still alive, in their 90's, and they live in a nursing home now. But they're sharp and clear." Well, it felt like my heart was about to pound right out of my chest. What a feeling it is to know that you've just made contact with family, and to know that a grandparent's family member is still alive! But then came the most surprising, most exciting, and the most mind-blowing. Dov said that a month ago, Sima was talking about her life and mentioned a Tewel (anther name for Tobias) Zylberman who used to send things when there were hard times in Israel and visited her when he came to Israel. Dov told me that Sima mentioned where he was from--"Sheshin maybe?" Szczebrzeszyn! Dov and his wife talked about trying to reconnect with Tewel's family, but they had no idea how to start looking for him in America.

When I told my dad that Dov said that all this happened a month ago, he realized...weren't we in Zamosc a month ago? I checked to see where we went exactly a month ago, and what do you know--that was the day we found Zayde's birth record and visited the synagogue and cemetery in Szczebrzeszyn. What are the chances of that!

Anyway, if that all isn't enough, I'm so excited to go visit Dov and his sister Miriam (my dad's and uncle's second cousins), Sima and Leah (Zayde's first cousins) and Dov's and Miriam's families (my third cousins) tomorrow! Yes, I'll be meeting everyone tomorrow afternoon. It's really unbelievable that I managed to find these cousins, and that Sima and Leah are still here. My family has never been this big--I can't wait to meet everyone tomorrow!