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Jared Meline
Davis Academy
Atlanta, GA

                            Grandpa’s Talit
     
     There is a story that links my Grandpa James’s talit, which he used during the
Holocaust, to my life.
    In 1941 during the Holocaust, my Grandpa, James Sadafta, lived a simple very
religious Jewish life in the heart of Poland.  He was a very clever journalist who kept a
journal that documented his whole life.  As World War II approached its climax he
inevitably knew that the Nazis would come to his town soon, so in response he alerted
the rest of his town.  The people of the town, also Jewish, became extremely scared and
began to panic.  In response to this, James figured that one logical way to protect the
people of his town was to pray to God.  My Grandpa bought a new talit just for that
occasion because he wanted to find a new way to connect to God.  He and his village
prayed to God all night and fasted to God for two days.  
    Grandpa James had many friends in the Polish Army from the days when he was a
general in World War I.  He contacted one of them to bring the biggest ship possible and
luckily managed to get a medium sized ship that could transport 30 people.  His propose
of leaving was to save as many people as possible who could help build a new, Jewish,
peaceful, community in Switzerland.  Only the able-bodied people who were under 20
years old were allowed to go.  Of course, even despite the danger, James joined them
too.  Because of the size of the ship, each person was only allowed one pair of clothes
to carry and one small item.  My Grandfather, the orthodox, long-haired, gentleman that
he was, chose his new talit and a small siddur to take with him so that he could pray at
any time during the trip over land and sea.
    The conditions were very rough on the boat and sadly, two young teenagers did not
manage to make it the whole length of the trip.  This caused much grief to James
because of the thought that those two young men could have been very helpful when
building a new community.  Despite the tragedy of the two men, everyone else walked
off the ship healthy and excited. None of them had ever been out of the country before,
except for James, of course, when he was in the army.  On their mysterious journey to
Switzerland, the newcomers found a large field that was said to be abandoned because
no one was ever successful in growing crops there.  James’ group, desperate for a
place to live, quickly claimed the land.  The building process was very tough, and each
individual had to contribute greatly in their own way.  When the buildings of the
community, such as the clinic and synagogue, were finished the small community
worked on the agriculture.  Because they knew that it was such tough, difficult soil to
plant in, the group used a cycle method that the Native Americans used at the time.  
This method allowed them to grow different crops each season.  This ability also
allowed them to sell and eat these crops so that they could pay for things like furniture
and dinnerware.  The overall success of the “town” encouraged new people to join,
which helped them expand their crop and field production.  About 30 years after the
town was established, despite the need for constant care for the community, the
townspeople still managed to pray every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, even
without a Torah.  James used the same talit that he seemed to have connected to God
with because of the great success of his journey. Unfortunately, on July 7, 1987, James
Sadafta, died at the age of 78.  The town was seriously wounded by his loss because
he was considered the founder of the town.  His talit was given to his good friend Sam.  
Sam, who was 37 years old at the time, took the talit with him to the U.S and passed it
on to my Grandma, who luckily survived Auschwitz.  She had a son with James four
years before he left, and he did not join him on the journey because he was too young.  
The talit was passed down to David, my dad, and then passed down to me.  This talit
still has the same meaning to me that it had to my Grandfather James because I wore it
at my Bar-Mitzvah, and also I know the story and I know the importance of the talit and
how it saved many lives.   It is also important to me personally because when I wear it I
can feel my Grandpa with me.
    And that is how my grandfather’s talit is linked to my life today.