Page 54 - issue
P. 54
Exodus
the parents would speak to them in Farsi and they would an-
swer in English.
uuu
Chana Lavi, in her early 30s, was the first American-born baby
girl in the Baltimore Persian community, and her son was the
first boy of the next generation to celebrate his bar mitzva.
“When I started out in Bais Yaakov nursery school,” Mrs. Lavi
relates, “I didn’t speak a word of English. The teachers called my
parents and said, ‘Your daughter is just sitting in the corner; I
don’t think she understands the language.’ My dad suddenly re-
alized this was true. That was a minor detail they forgot. I guess
they assumed I would just pick it up quickly.” Her parents began
speaking more English to her and that helped. She went on to
successfully graduate Bais Yaakov. It was challenging, since, like
many children of immigrants, her parents could not proofread
and check her homework for punctuation and grammar. “Ba-
ruch Hashem, I worked hard and graduated with honors.”
Both of Mrs. Lavi’s parents, Shlomo and Miriam Moinzadeh
(of Shlomo’s Kosher Meat and Fish Market) had come to the
States from Shiraz before the revolution, and because it hap-
pened while they were here, they stayed. In Iran it was hard to
get into university; only the elite families were easily accepted.
So it was common to go overseas for education and then re-
turn to Iran for the good life a degree ensured. Shlomo earned
a degree in mechanical engineering in Oklahoma, intending to
return to Iran with these skills.
While at Oklahoma State University, Mrs. Lavi’s father “was
one of the few men in Oklahoma who had a minyan in his
house; that was very important to him. He led a religious life-
style and would walk an hour and a half to get to shul. He had
come to America with several other Jewish men who did that as
well. They were all from Shiraz, where people tended to be more
religious than Jews in other cities.” Mrs. Lavi’s father would lat-
er move to Texas. Her mother still speaks of how welcoming the
Baltimore community was when she first arrived in America.
She later moved to Cleveland. Someone told her father about a
Persian girl in Cleveland, and “he got in his car and drove from
Texas to Cleveland. People did what they had to do to find a girl
from the same background.” After a few dates they got engaged
and moved to Baltimore where he was quickly connected to Ner
Israel.
Like many of her generation, Mrs. Lavi is American yet has
a strong love of Persian traditions and culture and feels very
connected to her shul, Ohr HaMizrah. “Some people get embar-
rassed by their background or the coloring of their skin or their
accents, but I never felt that way. I am, and always was, proud to
be a Persian. I guess it’s because my parents just kept us happy.
When I came home, my mom always had fresh hot food for us
to eat. She couldn’t check my reports, but she was there for us
in other ways. I felt secure that I was able to do what I had to
do in school and excel. We are a very close-knit family, which
Persians especially tend to be. Persians stick together.”
46 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
the parents would speak to them in Farsi and they would an-
swer in English.
uuu
Chana Lavi, in her early 30s, was the first American-born baby
girl in the Baltimore Persian community, and her son was the
first boy of the next generation to celebrate his bar mitzva.
“When I started out in Bais Yaakov nursery school,” Mrs. Lavi
relates, “I didn’t speak a word of English. The teachers called my
parents and said, ‘Your daughter is just sitting in the corner; I
don’t think she understands the language.’ My dad suddenly re-
alized this was true. That was a minor detail they forgot. I guess
they assumed I would just pick it up quickly.” Her parents began
speaking more English to her and that helped. She went on to
successfully graduate Bais Yaakov. It was challenging, since, like
many children of immigrants, her parents could not proofread
and check her homework for punctuation and grammar. “Ba-
ruch Hashem, I worked hard and graduated with honors.”
Both of Mrs. Lavi’s parents, Shlomo and Miriam Moinzadeh
(of Shlomo’s Kosher Meat and Fish Market) had come to the
States from Shiraz before the revolution, and because it hap-
pened while they were here, they stayed. In Iran it was hard to
get into university; only the elite families were easily accepted.
So it was common to go overseas for education and then re-
turn to Iran for the good life a degree ensured. Shlomo earned
a degree in mechanical engineering in Oklahoma, intending to
return to Iran with these skills.
While at Oklahoma State University, Mrs. Lavi’s father “was
one of the few men in Oklahoma who had a minyan in his
house; that was very important to him. He led a religious life-
style and would walk an hour and a half to get to shul. He had
come to America with several other Jewish men who did that as
well. They were all from Shiraz, where people tended to be more
religious than Jews in other cities.” Mrs. Lavi’s father would lat-
er move to Texas. Her mother still speaks of how welcoming the
Baltimore community was when she first arrived in America.
She later moved to Cleveland. Someone told her father about a
Persian girl in Cleveland, and “he got in his car and drove from
Texas to Cleveland. People did what they had to do to find a girl
from the same background.” After a few dates they got engaged
and moved to Baltimore where he was quickly connected to Ner
Israel.
Like many of her generation, Mrs. Lavi is American yet has
a strong love of Persian traditions and culture and feels very
connected to her shul, Ohr HaMizrah. “Some people get embar-
rassed by their background or the coloring of their skin or their
accents, but I never felt that way. I am, and always was, proud to
be a Persian. I guess it’s because my parents just kept us happy.
When I came home, my mom always had fresh hot food for us
to eat. She couldn’t check my reports, but she was there for us
in other ways. I felt secure that I was able to do what I had to
do in school and excel. We are a very close-knit family, which
Persians especially tend to be. Persians stick together.”
46 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
