By early September, 2005, history will have been made: Naomi Berenberg Leavitt (my Mom) and her little sister Miriam ("Mim") Berenberg Null will be living near each other in Southbury, Connecticut. The recent photo (above) was taken by and emailed to me by Mim.
As I understand it, the sisters were separated first when my mother went off to college at NJC (New Jersey College for Women). After Mom lived in Brooklyn, then Albuquerque with my dad and me, and later my sister Nancy, they were reunited briefly in Brooklyn in the late 1940's when we all lived briefly with David and Rose Berenberg. No long afterwards, Mom moved to Philipsburg, NJ with Dad and the two kids, and Mim married Mike and ended up in Long Island.
Mom moved to Southbury from Bethlehem, PA after Dad died, and Nancy and Bernie moved to nearby Torrington. Now, at the end of August, Mim will be moving to Southbury too.
And just where is Southbury, you might well ask? For you satellite photo buffs out there, here's the answer. That long island in the photo south of Connecticut is, well, Long Island.—JDL
The Graduate
Posted: 29 Jun 2005 8:36 AM
Yes, the berenblog is back, thanks to the contributions of some of our readers.
Now: a recent and very welcome message from my first cousin Elaine Post Ehrlich (her mom was Ruth Leavitt Post, my father's sister.) The graduate is her son, Nathaniel Ehrlich. The other "boy" is Nate's brother Sam.
Stay tuned for an update on the original Berenberg Sisters/.—JDL
We are bursting with pride that Thursday night, in an "amazing come from behind victory" (as Sam would put it), our Nate graduated with his class at El Camino Real High School! (Please see the attached photo.) He will be starting at L.A. Pierce College in the Fall.
Love to all,
Elaine & Alan & the "boys"
Happy Mother's Day
Posted: 6 May 2005 5:29 PM
This photo was taken in July, 1949 during a vacation at the farmhouse near Warrensburg, New York belonging to David & Rose Berenberg. There are three mothers and three fathers in the photo. The mothers are (clockwise from the left) Naomi Berenberg Leavitt, Anna Mutterperl Leavitt, and Nancy Leavitt Matus. The fathers are Herbert M. Leavitt, Max A. Leavitt, and Jonathan D. Leavitt. Only three of the six people are still living.
Even back in the 1940's it was clear who in the family were the Sad Sacks and who were the Good-Time Charlies.—JDL
Flower Girl
Posted: 28 Apr 2005 6:13 PM
If you think that I've been taking a little vacation from the Berenblog, you're right. Well, the vacation's over, and this afternoon Eva Rose (yes, that Eva Rose, i.e., my daughter) and I met for an Italian soda at Espresso Roma and got caught up. Eva's been quite busy lately:
Since the wedding business dropped off (are any heterosexuals getting married these days, other than David and Deirdre?), Eva has expanded her business Rocío Flowers from a floral design studio to a floral and garden design studio. She is already working on a project redesigning and landscaping a garden for an artist's home in the Berkeley Hills. Some of her other projects including designing and decorating the new headquarters of a Berkeley website producer, who has moved to a larger and posher new location on lower Solano. Eva tells me that his business is booming; I am getting the distinct impression that the dot-com industry is making a good recovery, though not so crazy as in the late '90's.
Most of Eva's energy, however, is going into the courses she is taking as a part-time student, expanding her garden/landscape design skills. She is boning up on native California plants with Glenn Keator, a prominent local botanist who is a prolific writer—tops in his field. She is simultaneously taking courses in drafting (the old-fashioned way, with paper drawings and blueprints), and CAD, doing the same thing with computers. In short she is a total dynamo. However, Eva is not so busy that she can't visit Mica on weekends. They recently spent a weekend in New Orleans for the Jazz Festival.
Naturally, I'm a very proud papa.—JDL
PS. I have added a comments feature to the berenblog. Please click the following link and comment on this post. In fact, please, please, please:
Billroth meets Berenberg, 1923-1925
Posted: 27 Mar 2005 12:13 AM
From an encyclopedia website in Colombia, South America:
During a web search using Teoma, believed by some to be the "smart" Google, I ran across this interesting item in the Colombian encyclopedia concerning Abraham Flexner , American medical educator and founder of the Princeton Institute of Advanced Study.
Theodor Billroth (1829-1894) publicó en 1876 la obra clásica Lehren und Lehren... (Enseñando y Aprendiendo... o como lo traducía Flexner, Enseñanza y Estudio...), un erudito tratado de 508 páginas, pleno de tablas y gráficos, dividido en cinco capítulos sobre la educación médica en Alemania y Austria y, en el Apéndice, sobre las facultades de medicina del mundo. Esta gran obra fue traducida al inglés bajo los auspicios de Flexner, en 1923-1925, para lo cual tras muchas vicisitudes se contrató a David P. Berenberg, profesor de alemán en la Franklin School de la ciudad de Nueva York. Se decidió eliminar algunas notas en letra pequeña y también algunas tablas y gráficos, y Flexner personalmente encargó a William H. Welch, de Jonhs Hopkins, de escribir la introducción. Absolon transcribe la correspondencia entre Flexner y Welch, el primero urgiendo el cumplimiento del encargo, por cuanto en junio de 1924 el libro estaba listo para impresión por la editorial The Macmillan Company de Nueva York, auspiciado por el General Education Board. Welch incumplía los plazos que él mismo había propuesto, pero finalmente, fue la Introducción enviada a Flexner y el libro entró en impresión, con el título The Medical Sciences in the German Universities. A Study in the History of Civilization. Flexner quedó muy satisfecho con el trabajo de Welch.
Translation of the second sentence, referring to a classic text by Theodor Billroth, Austrian surgeon who pioneered modern abdominal surgery:
"This great work was translated into English under the auspices of Flexner, in 1923-1925, for which, after many vicissitudes, he contracted with David P. Berenberg, German teacher at New York City's Franklin School."—JDL
Lake Hopatcong
Posted: 19 Mar 2005 5:05 PM
My grandfather's sister, Elsa Berenberg Meyerson, lived in South Orange, NJ, and summered at a cottage on Lake Hopatcong. As a kid, the lake and cottage was one of my favorite destinations for family weekends. One reason: Aunt Elsa's husband, Sam Meyerson had (hold your breath, guys—a speedboat). Such a conveyance was unusual in my 8, 9, or 10-year old life.
But there were other reasons for enjoying the family visit, not the least of which was visiting my cute red-haired cousin Steffi Fantl and her brothers Peter, Ted, and Gene. Years later Steffi attended Swarthmore College when I was a senior there, where she met her husband-to-be John Troyer. That year I didn't hang out with Steffi very much, which I now regret, because Steffi became eligible for the legacy page of the berenblog long before her 60th birthday, having perished prematurely from a terminal illness. Steffi, I miss you. I also miss the surviving members of the Meyerson-Fantl-Troyer branch of the Berenberg clan, who are far away from California: email me, guys!—JDL
Eva Rose at the Taj Mahal
Posted: 10 Mar 2005 9:56 PM
My daughter Eva Rose, who went to India with Mica, her boyfriend from Palo Alto, sent this photo with commentary—JDL
Here is our picture perfect India snapshot. Couldn't have staged it any better. The photographer was some french teenage girl wearing a tank top. (Not cool, women's shoulders should not be bare in India.) Aside from her cultural insensitivity, she's quite the Ansel Adams.
The day at the Taj began as one of our most stressful. It was the absolute last chance for us to see it and we had a lot of mileage to cover in order to get to Agra (Plains) from Dharamsala (Himalayan Foothills). The morning after the bus ride to Delhi was filled with overcharges and miscommunications. Then a 3 hour drive while Mica had to constantly re-negotiate with the share jeep driver in his broken Hindi. At long last, we made it to the grassy area around the Taj that is closed off to motor traffic and payed not too much more then we had originally agreed upon. Hotel Host was an oasis, not by Conde Nast standards but it was a sanctuary from the day's rushed travel which was riddled with rip-offs.
Our room was fine (by backpackers' standards, this room would not be acceptable even as a Motel 6). We showered, ate an overdue lunch and hightailed it over to the gates. We removed our shoes (common practice when entering Asian landmarks) and felt the cool smoothness of the marble on our tired bare feet. We hustled along with hundreds of other tourists, Indian and foreign, to catch a glimpse of Mumtaz Mahal's tomb, which is covered in inlays of stones like lapis lazuli. We lay down and watched the clouds pass by the minarets for a good while. I had to be careful that my knees weren't poking out from under my skirt (again, not cool). More magic awaited us at the hotel. There was a roof deck that featured uninterrupted eyelines of the Taj, balmy breezes, and bird's eye views of all the surrounding businesses/homes. We saw pet goats being fed dinner on back terraces, heard the radio blare of muslim prayers at sundown and watched the silhouettes of a flock of bats flutter past us. We each got dinner thali platters and I had a banana lassi. Beer would have been better but alcohol isn't available in every state.
Caroline's New Book
Posted: 4 Mar 2005 3:38 PM
Caroline Pincus (daughter of Miriam Berenberg Pincus), a book editor, formerly of HarperSanFrancisco, has co-authored Invisible Girls, the first addition of which is about to be released. Here is what a reviewer on Amazon has said about Invisible Girls:
Dr. Patti Feuereisen has been working with teenage girls for twenty-five years and has been a pioneer in helping abused girls find their voices. What she discovered in listening to hundreds of girls was not only that sexual abuse of young girls is in fact epidemic, but if the abuse can be processed when girls are still young—in their teens and early twenties—remarkable healing can take place. Girls and young women who are given an opportunity to speak out will most often go on to thrive as adults; without such an opportunity the traumatic effects of their abuse will often continue to cause them difficulty long into adulthood.
Invisible Girls weaves together powerful first-person narratives with gentle guidance and seasoned insights to help girls through the maze of feelings that swirl around the abuse experience. This gives every young woman who has experienced sexual abuse the courage that comes from knowing that she is not alone and that she can be vibrant, healthy, and whole.
I will be updating berenblog readers on Invisible Girls as I learn more.—JDL
From Naomi Leavitt's Memoirs: Senay (Part I)
Posted: 24 Feb 2005 2:12 PM
My mother Naomi Berenberg Leavitt sent me a story about a visitor from Ethiopia, whom I remember well. This visit would have taken place some time between 1959 and 1963 when I was in college.—JDL
My son Jon planned to visit us that weekend. He was away at Swarthmore College and as Erev Rosh Hashona fell on that Friday night he thought it would be nice to come home. He had friends at Lafayette college and wanted to see a few of them. So he invited Senay Likkey, a fellow from Ethiopia, to stay over at our house that night . I was tickled. For I had never met anyone from Ethiopia, and thought it would be fun.
Just as I was getting ready to serve dinner Senay excused himself. He said he wanted to change his clothes before he sat down to eat! He did, and came down the stairs clothed in a white gabilla."Please excuse my dress this evening" he said,"but it is a special holiday for me tonight" We always wear a white gown like this to celebrate. Yes, it was a special holiday for us too. It was the night before the Jewish New Year,. How come it was such a special holiday for him? He was a Christian. I was confused about the development of Christianity in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia was a much larger country in biblical times and served as an important trading link between Palestine and Africa . After all the Queen of Sheba made that long trek to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon. Was it to cement trade relations? It was said that she stayed long enough to have had a son by him.With such an ancient connection it would not be surprising that Christianity also had an early blossoming there. And in the beginning I'm sure many Jewish customs and holidays were included in the new religion's ritual.
Being curious, I asked Senay if he ate any shell fish which of course would have been forbidden by the kosher laws. Senay did me one better. He said "his mother told him he was never to eat any fish at all. "There's always plenty of lamb," she said, "eat it". I noticed that he didn't mentioned that he could also eat pork. Arabs don't. Maybe it was proscribed in Ethiopia as well.
There were many jews in Ethiopia. They were called Falasha, which meant alien. They had been there for centuries. Many now, perhaps most of them, migrated to Israel during the late twentieth century. The remaining ones are trying desperately to get there.
Ethiopia also boasts of having the Arc of the Covenant. It was said to have been taken there when Herod's Temple was destroyed by the Romans. Is there really such a relic? Do they actually have it? If so where are they hiding it? No westerner has ever seen it to compare it to the description of it in the Bible. Well you can imagine that I wished I could have questioned Senay all night.
To be continued—JDL
New Year Letter from Bernie (Part 2)
Posted: 22 Feb 2005 12:25 PM
It may be almost two months from New Year's Day, but it's not too late to post the second and final segment of Bernie Matus' New Year letter, for those of you who have not already seen it.
When we interrupted Part 1, Bernie was saying:
Bernie had a one-man photography/digital image show at the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, CT, along with a showing of our Edward Curtis collection. He plans to do another show next summer there again.
The best news of all is… (to be continued—JDL).
Here now is Part 2:
…the engagement of David to Deirdre Killebrew who will be finishing her PhD this spring at the University of Hawaii in viral studies. Dave continues with his research in evolutionary and developmental biology and hopes to be finished sometime next year or thereabouts. They have planned a September wedding in St. Louis.
Lisa and Josh have moved from Washington, DC back to the NYC area. Josh is teaching physics at Adelphi University and setting up a research lab at the school. Lisa is the Program Development Coordinator for CUNY School of Professional Studies. They are living in Forest Hills, Queens, and learning the joys of co-op ownership.
Nancy is enjoying the change in pace from her practice, but with all the time involved in packing and moving, has yet to get to the leisure activities she has coveted. She is taking a correspondence course in writing children's literature, and hoping to spend more time painting and making jewelry.
We are looking forward to the New Year with all the exciting changes ahead.
Wishing you and your families a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season and New Year
Three Berenberg Sisters
Posted: 3 Feb 2005 3:03 PM
My mother, Naomi Berenberg Leavitt, mailed me a copy of this poem written by her cousin Carla*, and a photo of the three sisters, my great-aunts, all of whom were born with the name Berenberg.—JDL
LENA IS
STILL
DANCING
That three sisters
indestructible
would look good together,
their memories loosed
by Aunt Gretchen's false teeth.
(plates clacking together)
by chopped liver
and Manischevitz.
was as unexpected
as the rush of love
we felt
in the recognition
of their frailty and strength.
Three octogenarians!
that in itself
made us want
to acknowledge them
as their competitive
memories
rattled the ghost of their mother.
''She was difficult,"
said difficult Aunt Clara,
"She was arrogant,"
said Gretchen, the proud.
"She could never admit
being wrong," said Elschen
my infallible mother.
My daughters and I
exchanged a forgiving
smile and said hello
to that woman, Lena Theodore
Still dancing in our blood.
[*Carla Theodore is the daughter of Elsa Berenberg Meyerson and granddaughter of Lena Theodore Berenberg]
Dan, you're the man
Posted: 1 Feb 2005 8:26 AM
My cousin Daniel Pincus, classical tenor, cantor, Manhattanite, and blogger, reports a new venture—JDL
As many of you know, one of my greatest recreational pleasures is playing, thinking about, watching videos about, and reading books about pocket billiards, you know..."pool." Now, I have taken it to the next level.
Phil Capelle is a pool master teacher and author of authoritative books on, well...pool.
This is from Phil Capelle's "Play Your Best 8-Ball", Billiards Press, 2004, page vi:
I took a long time friend Darlene Stinson's [touring professional] recommendation by hiring Cantor Dan Pincus to work on the book. Dan did a great job editing the text and was the source of numerous improvements and suggestions including one for diagram presentation. His love of the game and his enthusiastic response to getting a huge amount of work done while under a very tight deadline made him a true delight to work with. Dan, you're the man."
Coming soon (?): "Bill-Yids, or Jews Should Play Pool (Why should Gentiles Have All the Fun?)
