Page 47 - Kol Bogrei Habonim - October 19
P. 47
FROM MY PERSONAL HISTORY
DOROTHY YOUNG (NEE DOT GAMP)
A to Jerusalem, in about 2002, where my two sons
lot of time has passed since I was in the
Movement, but I still like to keep in
had rented a flat for a few weeks, and we stayed
touch with its Bogrim. Here is what has
This visit included, at last, a visit to the Kotel,
happened in my life, beginning from there with our youngest daughter over Pesach.
those early days when I joined. which just vibrated for me! We visited Israel
again, when both the boys were married
I did not have a direct relationship with any Ken,
as I lived outside of the Jewish community. there. After the weddings we visited the US and
However, from 1960 until September 1961 I was Israel, and we stayed with their families.
on Hachsharat Noah (at the Eder Farm, Dial-Post, The oldest, Shimon, chose to stay on there and to
Horsham), which at that time included a month on continue his studies at Yeshiva. He had a group of
Israel Camp. Because the Old City of Jerusalem friends in Jerusalem that included his girl-friend
was in Jordan, we could not get to the Western called Shira, with whom he went out and later she
Wall. But at least we could claim that as Jews we became his wife. Then, Shim said to Shira "Let’s
had come from Israel! go to the restaurant now." The friends responded
with: “Why not come back with us for a nosh and
At the end of this period, I also joined in the
formation of Garin Zayin. Soon after that, I met a chat?" “OK” they agreed, however they stayed
Sam, my husband in Southend, where my parents too long and ate too much. Shimon then said:
had recently moved to be in a Jewish community. "Tell you what, let’s go to the café, opposite the
We were married in 1966 and we wanted to go on restaurant." Fortunately, they did so, because very
Aliyah. Therefore, we asked the Jewish Agency soon after that, with horror they watched the
"What should we do to prepare to go on Aliyah in restaurant blow up in front of them, due to a
3 years' time?" They replied that all we should do terrorist bomb. But they have now retaliated, by
is to “Come back in 3 years". having four beautiful kids (keineinhora).
Jack, our next younger son, came home to the UK
In those 3 years after getting married, we began
our family, which has 4 children, two boys and and meanwhile he was living and working in
two girls. My parents grew older and moved near London. One day he parked his car outside the
us, so we could all keep in touch. At that time, we house where he lived and shared with some
could not afford to travel to Israel due to house religious friends. Some thugs came up to him,
purchases and later due to the university fees for threatened him with a gun and got him to take
our children’s studies. them to into his home. They tied him up and his
friends too. But all that these intending thieves
Skip forwards about twenty years. The two older could find were Torah related books and not the
boys had completed their studies at university and expensive teenage stuff they hoped for. They took
decided to go on to study in a Yeshivah in Israel. him at gun-point to the car, drove to a cash
They became modern Orthodox and later we machine and there they let him go. The police
followed (in this way). We and our youngest subsequently identified and found them through
daughter, Esther, visited Israel for Pesach, even the fingerprints (or DNA) that remained on the
before the boys married. Sam and I managed to go
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