Sofia Iosifovna

Sara, the oldest daughter of Golda and Joseph, was born at Orgeev in 1857 and died in Moscow in the second half of the 1930s. Sara, like all of Joseph's children, accepted her father's teachings and was baptised with her sisters in the Reformed church at Rohrbach near Odessa on October 4, 1887.

In one of Rachel's letters, she mentions that when she was 28, i.e., in 1885, she went to work "on a dairy farm for a private man." (The letter was written in 1937, hence the word "privateer" is obviously of Soviet origin.) She was married twice, but as far as is known, she had no children. Her first husband, Joseph Axelrud, had been working for the Mildmay Mission since 1890 on Joseph Davidovich's recommendation. He had an office in Odessa and frequently travelled to neighbouring towns, distributing religious literature to the Jewish population. In 1893 he died during a cholera epidemic.

After her husband's death, Sophia returned to her parents. She helped her father and was by his side until his last days. In March 1899 Sofia accompanied Joseph on a trip to Merano, and after his return to Kishinev together with Peter they transported his sick father to a sanatorium in Odessa, where he died.

Sofia's second husband was Ilya Offenheim of Kiev. When Sofia moved to Moscow is unknown.

But in 1903 she and her husband were the godparents of Rachel's son, Andrew, born and baptised in Moscow. At that time there is a letter addressed to Rachel C/o Ilya Offenheim at Georgievsky Lane, Tverskaya, Bldg.22,. Some time in 1915, Sophy must have moved in to another apartment because in a 1937 letter to Rachel, Sofia writes "that she had been living in the apartment for 22 years", but her new address is not known.

It was here in October 1921 that Sofia's younger brother Peter stayed, when he came to the capital from Arkhangelsk in search of work. In January 1922, when Peter moved the whole family to Moscow, he left his younger sons with his sister while the older ones helped their parents in their new place.

Sarah, the only one among all of Joseph Davidovich's children, retained her connection to the Messianic movement. A representative of the Swedish Jewish

mission, B. Shapiro, who visited Moscow in 1928 and met with Peter, Ivan and Sofia. According to Shapiro, the sons said that their father's cause lives on, there is a Jewish Christian group in Moscow, but they have no contact with it. They are far from Christianity and have no interest in religion. Sophia, on the other hand, was happy that she finally found Christian believers.

From Sofia's letters to her sister in England, we know that Joseph's children retained a very warm relationship. They all met the new year 1927 together at Sofia's and Ilya's house. There was Peter with Glasha and his younger sons, Pavlik and Rostik, and Ivan with his wife Mirra Kalistratovna. Everyone added a few warm words to Rachel's New Year's letter.

In 1932 Ilya died and Sophia was left alone. In one of her last letters to England, written on March 20, 1935, she wrote that she was growing weaker by the day and that she had to devote all her mental and moral energies to go on living. She was 78 at the time. She was sick a lot, especially in her legs, she did not leave her apartment for several months, because she lived on the third floor and could not come down. Her brothers helped her financially, but did not visit her often. They worked a lot. Once a month Peter brought food, neighbours helped. The money she received from Rachel twice a year, ten shillings each, was a help. The money could be used to buy groceries at the Trading House. A lonely, sad old age. But her letters were full of warmth and love for her sister and brothers. She rejoiced, nephews' successes, brightened her loneliness by reading newspapers, and proudly wrote about the success of the Spanish Republicans at Guadalajara.

Maria Zezina July 2021

Софи Рабиновиц

Сара, старшая дочь Голды и Иосифа, родилась в Оргееве в 1857 г., а умерла в Москве во второй половине 1930-х гг. Сара как и все дети Иосифа приняла учение отца и крестилась вместе с сестрами в реформатской церкви в местечке Рорбах недалеко от Одессы 4 октября 1887 г. После крещения она получила имя София.

В одном из писем Рашель она упоминает, что когде ей было 28, т.е. в 1885 г. она уехала работать «на молочной ферме у частника». (Письмо написано в 1937 г., отсюда слово «частник» явно советского происхождения).

Она дважды была замужем, но, насколько известно, детей у нее не было. Ее первый муж, Иосиф Аксельруд, по рекомендации Иосифа Давидовича с 1890 г. работал на Милдмей миссию. У него был офис в Одессе, он часто выезжал соседние города, распространяя среди еврейского населения религиозную литературу. В 1893 г. он умер во время эпидемии холеры.

После смерти мужа София вернулась к родителям. Она помогала отцу и до последних его дней была с ним рядом. В марте 1899 г.

Когда София переехала в Москву, неизвестно.

Но в 1903 году она и ее муж были крестными родителями сына Рахили, Андрея, родившегося и крещенного в Москве. К этому времени относится письмо, адресованное Рахили к/о Илье Оффенгейму по адресу: Георгиевский переулок, Тверская, д.22. Где-то в 1915 году Софи, видимо, переехала в другую квартиру, потому что в письме Рахили от 1937 года София пишет "что живет в этой квартире уже 22 года", но ее новый адрес неизвестен.

В октябре 1921 года здесь остановился младший брат Софии Петр, приехавший в столицу из Архангельска в поисках работы. София сопровождала Иосифа в поездке в Мерано, а после возвращения в Кищинев вместе с Петром они перевезли больного отца в санаторий в Одессу, где он скончался.

Вторым мужем Софьи был Илья Оффенгейм из Киева. В 1903 году Софья и ее муж стали приемными родителями (крестными) сына Рахили, Андрея, который родился и был крещен в Москве. Предполагается, что они жили на Тверской-Георгиевской, так как по этому адресу есть письмо, адресованное Рахили на имя Ильи Оффенгейма. В письме к Рахили в 1937 году Софья пишет, что живет в этой квартире уже 22 года. Это предполагает, что она переехала в 1915 году, но новый адрес нам неизвестен.

Maria Zezina July 2021