Our Family Legacy

Our Family LegacyEtta Nisenholz Beck is my paternal great grandmother. She was born circa 1863 in rural Ukraine and died in the United States in 1947. Though I did not have the chance to know her, I have learned so much about her life as a young woman in the latter part of the 19th century from her diary entries, which were translated from Yiddish to English by my grandfather Harry Beck. Women's life stories are often hidden from history, and without writing their

Etta Nisenholz Beck is my paternal great-grandmother. She was born circa 1863 in rural Ukraine and died in the United States in 1947. Though I did not have the chance to know her, I have learned so much about her life as a young woman in the latter part of the 19th century from her diary entries, which were translated from Yiddish to English by my grandfather Harry Beck. Women's life stories are often hidden from history, and without writing their stories down, they can be lost. This book is a way to bring Etta's stories, and those of other immigrant European Jewish women of her generation, to life. The themes of social justice centered on tikkun olam (repairing the world) and intellectual curiosity are consistent threads that run through each generation of our family. Their strong and spirited examples invite us to consider the question, "In what ways are we called to show up in the world?" It is my hope that this book will help the reader to discover their own answers.