How do you spell Silka?

"This set belongs to the first baby
that is named after me.
With love,
Ma"

בלי עין הרע, there are already a number of Ma’s descendant’s named after her.  Her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren called her Ma. Relatives and friends called her Tante Cilla, Aunty Cilla, or just Cilla. We don’t know of any one who called her by her proper Yiddish name Silka.

After Ma passed away there was much discussion as to the proper spelling of the name Silka. The name Silka is actually Yiddish, not לשון הקודש. (It may be a variant of Shulamis). 

On Ma's grandmother's מצבה
the name is spelled סולקה

Ma was named after her maternal grandmother Silka Deutsch nee Schick. Silka Deutsch passed away in 1903 and is buried in Vienna. If we take a look at Ma's grandmother's מצבה we will notice that Silka is spelled סולקה, with a סמ"ך and a ווא"ו at the beginning and a ה"א at the end.

Ma at the קברים of her parents
Notice שם אמה צילקא
Written on the bottom of Ma's mother's מצבה

Now, if we look at Ma’s mother’s מצבה in the Vienner section of the בית החיים in Woodbridge N.J., we will notice that her grandmother’s name is spelled צילקא, with a צדי"ק and a יו"ד at the beginning and an אל"ף at the end.

The בית שמואל in Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer when discussing the name Silka writes that the proper spelling is, סילקא או סולקא או זולקא. The name should definitely end with an אל"ף. He then adds that the various spellings are depended on the different pronunciations of the name. Based on this it seems that the spelling on the מצבות mentioned above are incorrect.

On Ma's מצבה
her name is spelled סילקא

On Ma’s מצבה her name is spelled סילקא, with a סמ"ך and a יו"ד at the beginning and an אל"ף at the end. The assumption was that since her name was pronounced Silka and not Sulka, therefore according to the בית שמואל mentioned above, it should be spelled סילקא.

On Ma's כתובה
her name is spelled סולקא

When we later found Ma’s כתובה, which was probably prepared by הר' ישעי' פירשט זצ"ל the Rav of the Schiffschull in Vienna, we found that her name was spelled סולקא, with a סמ"ך and a ווא"ו at the beginning and an אל"ף at the end.

Ma's signature סולקא

The reason for this may be that in Vienna the name was pronounced with a slightly different accent, Rabbi Furst may also have been aware that the name was actually סולקא with a ווא"ו. 

Ma’s grandfather after whose wife Ma was named was also at the חתונה, he may have notified Rabbi Furst that the name was סולקה, which is how he had it inscribed on his wife’s מצבה. (Although the ה"א at the end is definitely incorrect.)

Regards from Slotfina 1941

Ma's grandfather Yitzchok Nachman Kaufman
Grete Bauer nee Kaufman (Ma's sister)
Hersh Kaufman (Ma's uncle)
Slotfina 1926

Ma’s parents Opi (Lazar Kaufmann) and Omi (Malvine מלכה), arrived in the United States in 1940. Their daughters, Cilla (Ma) and Ditha (Aunty) and their families, had arrived some time earlier. The youngest daughter Grete, her husband Erno Bauer and family remained in Europe. 

In September 1941 Grete who was living in Szombathely, Hungary traveled with her daughter Matika to visit her grandfather (Opi's father) Yitzchok Nachman Kaufman in Slotfina (today Solotvyno, Ukraine).

Grete sent a letter from Slotfina to her parents Opi and Omi in America. The Slotfiner grossvater, Yitzchok Nachman added a few lines in Yiddish at the end of the letter. He also sends regards to his children and their families who had settled in the United States many years earlier.

Letter sent by Yitzchok Nachman from Slotfina
to his son Lazar (Ma's father, Opi)
אלול תש"א

טייער קינדער לייזער עט ליבע מאלוויען

איער קאנט אייך דענקען וואס אָפרייט די טייערע גרעטע האט אנש פערשאפין, אויך מיט איערע  [זיסע?] טאכטער מאטיליע, אם בעראפין איז זי זיס. [זיי] זענען ב"ה גיזונד. דאס זעלבע זאלין מיר פון אייך [נאר?] הערען. מיר גריסען אייך צי פיעל מאל. וואס מאכען אייערע זיסיע קינדער? וויא געט ... פיר דער ליבא צילשיא, דיטויא מיט איערין ליבען קינד?

איך גריסיע אויך מיינע ליבע קינדער:
ליבע חוה עט פאמליע

ליבער אברהם יהודא עט פאמיליע

ליבע משה ליב עט פאמליע

פון אייער פאטיר איציק נחמן קויפמאן

איציק נחמן קויפמאן

English translation:

Precious Children Lazer and Dear Malvine,

You can imagine how much we enjoyed dear Grete. We also enjoyed her sweet daughter Matile, she is umberufen sweet. They are ב"ה well. May we hear the same from you. We are sending you many regards. How are your sweet children? How are things with Dear Cilla, Dita and her child [Eva Bauer- Stief]? 

I am sending regards to my dear children:
dear Chava and family,
dear Avrahom Yehuda and family,
dear Moshe Leib and family.

From your father Itzik Nachman Kaufman

This visit is also mentioned in a letter that Grete sent to Opi and Omi on her return from Slotfina see here. It was probably the last time that Grete saw her Grandfather.

Less than three years later, Yitzchok Nachman, his dear granddaughter Grete and her children, Matika and Eva shared the same tragic fate as millions of Europe's Jews הי"ד.

יאהרצייט ר"ח סיון

Yitzchok Nachman Kaufmann הי"ד
Ma's father's father
The Slotfiner Grossvater
יאהרצייט ר"ח סיון

Yitzchok Nachman's Yahrzeit is ר"ח סיון. He is among the many קדושי אונגארן who were murdered by the Nazis ימח שמם in the spring of 1944.

Following is a description of the deportation of the Jews of Yitzchok Nachman's shtetl, Slotfina (today Solotvyno, Ukraine). It is loosely translated from ספר הזכרון לקהלת מארמאראש.

The Slotfina Ghetto was liquidated, and its inhabitants were deported to Auschwitz in two transports. The first transport left on Shabbos the 27^th of Iyar 1944. The second transport left the following Tuesday ר"ח סיון. 

Before the deportation the Jews were forced into the local school and searched for anything of value. They underwent degrading and cruel treatment by the hands of the Nazis ימ"ש. Others were brought to the local airport from where they were deported. They were forced to run to the train station some two kilometers from town dragging their children and packages.

The railway wagons were overloaded with some 75-85 persons per wagon. As they were forced into the wagons members of families were separated and it was a heart wrenching scene. The heartless Hungarian Gendarmes were not moved in the slightest ימח שמם.

Many קדושים died in the wagons on the way to Auschwitz. 


The Rav הרה"צ ר' חיים יצחק אייזק האלבערשטאם הי"ד spoke דברי תורה in his wagon and talked much about the concept of קידוש השם.

In one wagon the Vizhnitzer Chosid R’ Bendit Cahana הי"ד danced a חסידישע ריקוד, and in the crowded wagon people made place for him, he breathed inspiration into their souls.

Our Great Grandfather, Ma’s father Yitzchok Nachman Kaufman, and many members of his family were among the קדושים of Slotfina who were murdered by the Nazi’s ימח שמם.

May Hashem avenge his blood and may he be a מליץ יושר for all his many descendants.