Through the eyes of a child and the memory of an adult, Lora Hellman pictures her home in the Republic of Dagistan in the Southern part of Russia-its glistening crystal chandeliers and wine goblets, its ornate carved ceilings and Persian rugs, its fruit trees and vegetable gardens. "We grew chickens in our yard, which my mother took to the Rabbi for kosher slaughter. My father made wine from our crop of grapes, peaches and pomegranates." Perhaps, in reality, the home and the yard were not so big, but as always, through the eyes of a child, and to this day, they seemed so.
Socially isolated as Jews, Lora and her four siblings formed their own little group, playing together in their free summers and visiting their mother's parents, who lived l5 minutes away and whom Lora loved. "My parents, Rafael and Margaret Azizov, were good earners and we supported my
grandparents."
"I was one of two Jewish girls in our class of 30, but my only friend was Muslim," Lora recalls. "I didn't really know I was Jewish. On Pesach I brought matzoh to school, and they made fun of me, accusing me of using the blood of Christian children. I didn't know what they were talking about."
There were other memories, too, of the late 60's and early 70's in Communist Russia-the long bread lines Lora stood in for a loaf or two of bread, and the hungry men lying in the streets, starving. Lora's parents, NAMES, who had both studied in Moscow Univeristy, aspired to more, but the dream was 7 years in coming.
A serendipitous lecture by a Moslem professor at Moscow University about Golda Meir's political victory in Israel changed the destiny of the family, and spawned their dream of moving to Israel. "Look what Golda Meir has accomplished as a woman," Lora's mother said to her husband, thinking of her daughters. "If we stay in Russia,our daughters will marry and move to a far off place. We must go to Israel, where the family will always be together in that small country, no matter where they move to."
In l974, the family emigrated, settling in a tiny, three-room apartment in Netanya. Once in Israel, another child was born. Her mother, now age 70, still resides in Netanya, where five of her children live nearby. It was in those years that Lora learned valuable lessons of hachnasat orchim, the mitzvah of hospitality, from her mother. "In a whole year," she recalls, "I think I only slept in my own bed 20 times. My mother, who worked full-time as an accountant for City Hall in Netanya, was always entertaining. In our tiny little apartment, with six children and one bath, my mother fashioned a feather mattress out of feathers she brought with her from Russia. That is what I used to sleep on. Guests get the best,' she taught me. 'And only good will come from good'. I follow that to this day. Because of my Mom, I learned that hosting is exciting and fulfilling, and gives a wonderful sense of fulfillment." Today, Lora and her husband, Arthur, are the host family for visiting guests at M'kor Shalom. With her first income as a nurse in later years, Lora bought herself a big, beautiful mahogany double bed with drawers and a mirror!
Lora met her husband, Arthur, who was training as a surgeon, in l982 at the Hadassah Hospital, where she was studying nursing. They knew each other 9 months when they married, and moved to Houston,
Texas, where he pursued additional training as a thoracic surgeon. They celebrated their 25th anniversary last December.
Life was incredibly lonely for Lora in her new surroundings. She knew no one and didn't speak the language. She spent the days and nights doing rounds with her husband, listening to TV with a dictionary and reading the newspaper. "My husband was on call every third night. I knew no one, so I went with him. I didn't know how to drive. I survived one day at a time."
Lora had decided that despite the fact that there was no observance in her home, that when she got married she would seek a spiritual center to her life. Lora decided to observe family purity, and the mikvah in Houston was at Chabad. She became friendly with the Chabad rebbitzen, began to attend classes and fell in love with Judaism.
Lora and her huband are pioneers at Chabad, from the time it was a storefront in a small shopping center. "I grew in my Judaism," she says, drawing richness from Mendy's Tanya classes, where she learned a new way of thinking about Judaism and relating to God. "My mother taught me that education was the most important thing in life. 'You'll never suffer from being educated,' she used to say." Lora, who has been a pre-school teacher at Temple Beth Sholom, is studying for a Master's in Education at Nova Southeastern University. She will complete her studies next year.
"Chabad reaches out to so many people without preconditions," she says. Like so many others who have found a home in Chabad, she says, "They accept you unconditionally and have done so much for Jews around the world. "
Lora and Arthur have two children, Sarah, who is studying business at the University of Pennsylvania, and Moshe who just finished 8th grade and won the Mensch Award at Politz