Mina is the daughter of Eliyahu Gellerstein and Sara Subotnik-Gellerstein. She is the grand daugher of Rabbi Avraham Akiva Subnotnik, Rabbi in Zabludow 1904-24. Eliyahu Gellerstein was Hornorable Chairman of the Zabludow Yizkor (memorial) Book Committee. He dedicated much of his activities and effort after the war to supporting the survivors and immigrants of Zabludow, and memorializing the community. Mina is a graduate of the Bialystok Hebrew Gymnasium. Mina left Zabludow with her family for Chile in June of 1939.
Click here to read "Missing my Parent's Home", by Mina Baron-Gellerstein Click here to earn more about Mina and her friends Childhood friends in Zabludow Email From Mina, June 1, 2004 Thanks for your emails and pictures about the "Zabludow Model Project". It always makes me remember my childhood in the atmosphere of the legends and the events in our village. I remember that weddings took place in front of the old synagogue. Amost all the Jewish people accompaned the chatan vekala (bride and groom) with music all the way to the synagogue and there
by the entrance, the ceremony took place under the "cupa".
During the last years before the War, the synagogue was closed for regular prayers because of security problems; but once a year, on the last day of the Succot holiday, called Simchat Torah (the joy of the Torah) which is the day when we begin to read the Torah from the beginning, then the synagogue was open with big light. The congregation use to sing and dance with the rolls of the Torah around the Bimah. We, children came with special flags with an apple and a candle on top.
I suppose you know this story, but I enjoy to memorialize it. From all the legends, perhaps the most famous one is that during all the ages many enemies tried to destroy the synagogue without success. One day there was a big fire in the area. It was very dangerous, but thousands of birds covered the roof and saved the synagogue.
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